Next Article | Previous Article | Contact HUD USER | Table of Contents
The year 1996 was a record-setting one in the housing industry. The new issue of U.S. Housing Market Conditions, HUD's comprehensive quarterly digest of current housing statistics, reports that demand for homeownership, spurred by growing consumer confidence and the availability of low interest rates, accounted for the strong growth.
Existing home sales -- more than 4 million -- rose to an all-time high in 1996, while new home sales reached their third highest level since 1963. Total home sales attained a peak of 4.8 million units. Despite fourth quarter declines in housing production, marketing, and sales, 1996 was the best year since 1988 for housing starts and building permits. Shipments of manufactured homes to dealers grew to an all-time high of 365,000 units, up 25,000 units from 1995. For the second straight year, the Nation's homeownership rate increased 0.7 percent to 65.4 percent in 1996. With some regional rental housing markets softening, the rental vacancy rate rose to a record level, while multifamily housing construction remained modest.
A special article in this issue of U.S. Housing Market Conditions discusses results from HUD's Property Owners and Managers Survey, which compares the characteristics and attitudes of owners and managers of affordable rental housing with their counterparts who operate more expensive units. The article finds that more than one-half of all owners report earning a profit or breaking even, but that affordable properties tend to be less profitable. The majority of affordable housing providers expect to retain ownership for 5 or more years.
Brief analyses by HUD's economists in 10 administrative regions examine regional housing conditions and highlight developments in selected metropolitan areas. This issue focuses on: Boston, Massachusetts; Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York; Washington, D.C.; Louisville, Kentucky; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Las Cruces, New Mexico; Des Moines, Iowa; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Phoenix, Arizona; and Spokane, Washington.
U.S. Housing Market Conditions provides a one-stop source of national data on housing production, marketing, finance, and the housing inventory. It is a valuable resource for those who rely on comprehensive, accurate, and timely data for conducting research and analysis, making business and investment decisions, and planning in the public interest. One-year subscriptions (four issues) are now available from HUD USER for only $30. Quantity discounts to one address are available.
Next Article | Previous Article | Contact HUD USER | Table of Contents