Business Contact Surveys: Construction and Real Estate
December 2013
Both Southeast residential brokers and builders reported that sales remained ahead of the year-earlier level in October, but brokers indicated that sales continued to slow.
Most brokers continued to report home inventory levels were below the year-earlier level; reports from builders were mixed.
Both builders and brokers continued to indicate home price appreciation in October.
Both builders and brokers have reported a sharp drop in buyer traffic on a year-over-year basis in recent months.
The outlook among brokers and builders remained slightly positive in October. The outlook for sales growth over the next several months was a bit weaker compared with responses a year earlier.
Most Southeast builders reported that construction activity was slightly ahead of year-earlier levels in October.
Note: The poll results are based on responses from 52 residential brokers and 26 builders. Responses were collected November 4–13, 2013.
The housing survey's diffusion indexes are calculated as the percentage of total respondents reporting increases minus the percentage reporting declines. Positive values in the index indicate increased activity; negative values indicate decreased activity.