A Fed nightmare? Housing permits and starts confirm improvement from bottom, multi-unit construction sets new record high  – by New Deal democrat Housing construction is perhaps the single most important method by which the Fed seeks to translate its interest rate policy into effects on the economy.  To be blunt, the Fed’s sledgehammer attempt via […]

Housing permits jump; the last hurrah before mortgage rates bite? This morning’s report on January housing permits and starts highlighted the unique divergence between the two. As I have often pointed out, permits are the more leading and less noisy of the two reports, so I usually highlight them, especially single family permits. But in […]

July housing permits and starts: yellow flag for economy in 2022 Last month I noted that, from here on, the comparisons with 2020 in housing would become much more challenging. And so they have. While permits (gold in the graph below) did increase this month, their declining trend remains intact. Starts (blue), and more importantly, […]