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Home builder’s confidence slipped, Homes being flipped for profit decreased, Two-day Fed meeting kicks off tomorrow

September 18, 2017

Home builder’s confidence slipped a bit in September from August as the latest hurricanes here in the U.S. raised members’ concerns about the availability of labor and the cost of building materials. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported on Monday that its Housing Market Index fell three points to 64, below the 67 expected. Any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor. The NAHB did say, “With ongoing job creation, economic growth and rising consumer confidence, we should see the housing market continue to recover at a gradual, steady pace throughout the rest of the year.”

The amount of homes being flipped for profit decreased in the second quarter of 2017 while returns declined for the third consecutive quarter, reports ATTOM Data Solutions, a multi-sourced property database. There were 53,638 single-family homes and condos flipped during the second quarter of 2017, which was 5.6% of all home sales. That is down from 6.9% in the first quarter though unchanged from the same period as last year. The report defines home flipping as a property that is sold in a short amount of time for the second time within a 12- month period.

The two-day Fed meeting kicks off tomorrow and ends on Wednesday with the 2:00 p.m. ET release of the monetary policy statement. The statement will be accompanied by the Fed’s economic projections. Fed Chair Yellen will hold a news conference following the statement release at 2:30 p.m. ET. At this point in time, there is a near zero percent chance of a hike to the short-term Fed Funds Rate at this week’s meeting.