This relatively slow week for economic data releases brought us some bleak housing market updates, bad news on oil prices, and more.
Monday
NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index
Homebuilders are sad. Very sad. The saddest they’ve been since early 2012, according to this confidence measure. More than 4 in 10 builders cut prices in October. It’s a pretty good time to buy a house (if you don’t have to finance it).
Tuesday
Pending Home Sales
Pending home sales, which hint at what actual home sales will look like in a month or two, fell to the lowest level ever recorded in September (the record goes back 25 years). This isn’t a mystery; nobody wants to finance a home with rates in the mid-7% range.
New Residential Construction
Housing starts fell for the third straight month in September and are now down about 7.5% over the past year. Permitting also slowed a bit. Yes, there’s been a sharp drop in new housing construction, but we’re still building at roughly the same pace as in 2019.
The number of housing units under construction held steady in September and appears to have stopped its rapid descent.
Oil Stuff
Gas prices fell slightly during the week ending October 19th, while diesel prices rose modestly, but next week will be an ugly one on the fuel price front. Brent crude futures surged to a five-month high due to simmering tensions in the Middle East.
Electricity Prices Shockingly High
Electricity prices have risen more since the start of 2020 than they did over the 30 years before that.
We’re working on a longer post about what this means specifically as we head into winter and broadly as U.S. electricity demand rises for the first time in decades.
