Clark Biweekly 11 21 24

Author

Anthony Hazzard
November 21, 2024

Homebuilders have an optimistic outlook on the single-family home market in 2025. But what about talk of home shortages and the recession? Find out all the details later in this email. 

💵 Today’s Top Stories
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🏠️ Builders Feel Optimistic About the Single-Family Home Market in 2025

Builders this week expressed renewed optimism in the construction and sales of new single-family homes.

That’s good news for the coming months. Especially for prospective buyers greeted with this headline from Reuters on Tuesday: “US single-family housing starts slump; high mortgage rates remain a challenge.”

New construction on single-family homes in October fell 6.9% with the new data this week, including 10.2% in the South.

“The recession in residential housing construction remains deep in the woods with no daylight seen for buyers facing supply shortages as they hunt for new single-family homes,” an economist told Reuters.

“The housing shortage and affordability issues will remain unless there is a big jump in new construction.”

However, builder confidence data seems like more of a leading indicator. And the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) also released data this week.

“Builders are expressing increased confidence … in significant regulatory relief for the industry that will lead to the construction of more homes and apartments,” NAHB chairman Carl Harris said.

“This is reflected in a huge jump in builder sales expectations over the next six months.”

An index score above 50 indicates “good” conditions. Here are the three index scores:

Current sales conditions: 49 (up two points)
Sales expectations for the next six months: 64 (+7)
Traffic from prospective buyers: 32 (+3)

📊 Stat of the Day

☎️ -50%: Scam calls are down by half in the last three years based on an FTC report. The FTC cited its Operation Stop Scam Calls (launched in 2023) and new legal hurdles for telemarketers. Remember, Clark’s advice is to avoid answering phone calls from numbers you don’t recognize.

💰️ Deal Alert: Today’s Top Deals
Amazon Prime box
Sam's Club warehouse
🎙️ Podcast

It’s the Super Bowl of deals right now! Deal expert and managing editor of Clark Deals, Charis Brown, joins Clark to discuss the best discounts and bargains in November, in addition to sharing the top retailer sales. Also, what will happen in the stock market over the next several months? Clark looks into his crystal ball, explains his strategy and reveals if he will make any major changes to his portfolio.

☎️ Need Money Help?

The Team Clark Consumer Action Center is a free helpline that can help you navigate your money questions. Call 636-492-5275. Visit clark.com/cac for more information.

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