Archive for Industry statistics
Tell Congress to Extend and Expand the Homebuyer Tax Credit
Posted by: | CommentsWe have been seeing encouraging signs that the housing market and the U.S. economy are beginning to stabilize, but it’s far too early to celebrate. Locally I have been told that 60 percent of today’s home sales are to first time home buyers as a direct result of the $8,000 tax credit. Unfortunately that credit expires November 30th leaving the housing market with an uncertain outlook.
Unemployment is expected to continue rising. The best forecast economists have to offer is that the economy will stop contracting; but it will be a long, slow crawl back to health following the most devastating recession since World War II.
Housing is the best opportunity for putting this country back to work. We urge Congress to extend today’s $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers for another year and making it available to all buyers.
Home construction is a powerful economic engine. Already the 2,455 permits issued in the nine-county Central Indiana area have created $421 million in local revenue, $40 million in local taxes and 6,432 jobs.
One of the best things that Congress can do to restore a full-fledged recovery is to work to restore the health of the housing industry.
For more information and to join the coalition of housing industry professionals calling for a renewal of the tax credit, go online to www.FixHousingFirst.com.
Dan Wolf, Bedrock Builders
2009 President, Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis
Housing Affordability Continues To Hover Near Highest Level In 18 Years
Posted by: | CommentsAugust 19, 2009 – Bolstered by affordable interest rates and low prices, nationwide housing affordability during the second quarter of 2009 continued to hover near its highest level since the series began 18 years ago, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released today.
The HOI showed that 72.3 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the second quarter of 2009 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,000, down only slightly from the record-high 72.5 percent during the previous quarter and up from 55.0 percent during the second quarter of 2008.
“The increase in affordability — along with the $8,000 federal tax credit for home buyers — is stimulating demand, particularly among young, first-time buyers,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. “But to keep the recent upturn in home sales going into next year, Congress will need to extend the tax credit for another year and make it available to all buyers in an effort to encourage activity in the trade-up market.”
Robson noted that the tax credit, which expires on Nov. 30, is currently limited to just buyers purchasing their first home.
Indianapolis, once again, was the most affordable major housing market in the country during the second quarter. Almost 95 percent of all homes sold were affordable to households earning the area’s median family income of $68,100. Indianapolis has now topped the affordability list 16 consecutive quarters.
Also near the top of the list of the most affordable major metro housing markets were Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.; Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.; Dayton, Ohio; and Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.
Several smaller housing markets posted even higher affordability scores than Indianapolis, with Kokomo, Ind. outscoring all others. There, almost 98 percent of homes sold during the second quarter of 2009 were affordable to median-income earners. Other small housing markets ahead of Indianapolis on the affordability scale included Lansing-East Lansing, Mich.; Mansfield, Ohio; Elkhart-Goshen, Ind.; Lima, Ohio; and Bay City, Mich.
New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J., where just over 21 percent of all homes sold during the period were affordable to those earning the median income of $64,800, was once again the nation’s least affordable major housing market in the second quarter. This was the New York metro area’s fifth consecutive appearance at the bottom of the list. Other major metro areas near the bottom of the affordability chart included San Francisco; Honolulu; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.; and Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif.
Among smaller metro areas, San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif. was the least affordable market, followed by Ocean City, N.J.; Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif.; Flagstaff, Ariz.; and Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Calif., respectively.
Please visit www.nahb.org/hoi for tables, historic data and details.
New homes create jobs, local income, and local tax revenue
Posted by: | CommentsThe Housing Policy Department of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) completed their economic impact analysis of the Indianapolis MSA to demonstrate the economic impact of home building on our local communities. The detailed reports demonstrate how the home building industry benefits the local economy through job creation and income from new residents.
The NAHB model is divided into three phases: (1) local industries involved in homebuilding (2) ripple effect experienced when the wages and profits for local area residents earned during the construction period are spent on other locally produced goods and services, and (3) ongoing, annual effect that results from the home being occupied.
According to the report, the economic impact of the 4,460 single-family housing permits issued in 2008 in the Indianapolis MSA includes:
- $765 million in local income,
- $73 million in taxes and other revenue for local governments, and
- 11,717 local jobs.
These local impacts represent income and jobs for residents of the Indianapolis MSA and taxes (and other sources of revenue, including permit fees) for all local jurisdictions within the metro area. They are also one-year impacts that include both the direct and indirect impact of the construction activity itself, and the impact of local residents who earn money from the construction activity spending part of it within the local area.
Additionally, there is an annual recurring impact of building the 4,460 single-family homes. This impact results from the new homes being occupied and the occupants paying taxes and otherwise participating in the local economy year after year, totaling:
- $122 million in local income,
- $26 million in taxes and other revenue for local governments, and
- 2,093 local jobs.
“The impact of the homebuilding industry is unlike any other. In 2008, it accounted for 11% of the GDP, more than three times what the automobile industry produced,” says Steve Lains of BAGI. “At times like this, we truly see how much the housing industry benefits our communities and how important it is to continue building.”
