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Thursday, November 20, 2014

CPI unchanged in October; Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims at 291,000

by Calculated Risk on 11/20/2014 08:36:00 AM

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): Consumer Price Index - October 2014

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was unchanged in October on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.7 percent before seasonal adjustment.
...
The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in October.
emphasis added
I'll post a graph later today after the Cleveland Fed releases the median and trimmed-mean CPI.

On weekly unemployment claims, the DOL reported:
In the week ending November 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 291,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 3,000 from 290,000 to 293,000. The 4-week moving average was 287,500, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 750 from 285,000 to 285,750.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims.
The previous week was up to 293,000.

The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since January 2000.

Click on graph for larger image.


The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased to 287,500.

This was higher than the consensus forecast, but the level suggests few layoffs.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Thursday: Existing Home Sales, Inflation, Unemployment Claims, Philly Fed Mfg Survey

by Calculated Risk on 11/19/2014 09:00:00 PM

Goldman Sachs has a model that divides the business cycle into four stages: early-cycle, mid-cycle, late-cycle and recession.  According to Goldman economist Kris Dawsey, the economy appears to be transitioning from early to mid-cycle (but not late-cycle or worse):

The likelihood of the economy showing late-cycle behavior or being in recession by the middle of 2015 is very low, according to the model. However, we expect a transition from early- to mid-cycle over the next half year. ... since early 2010 the model has characterized the economy as "early-cycle." This reflects the high degree of slack, a solid growth rate of activity, subdued inflationary pressure, and financial market outcomes consistent with an easy stance of monetary policy. ... Over the past year, the signal strength has declined considerably, showing that the choice between early- and mid-cycle has become more difficult. While mid-cycle behavior is qualitatively similar in many ways to early-cycle behavior, key differences include (1) smaller output and employment gaps, (2) slightly firmer inflation outcomes, (3) a trough in credit spreads and stock market volatility, and (4) a higher fed funds rate and related flattening in the yield curve led by the front end.
emphasis added
Thursday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, the initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released. The consensus is for claims to decrease to 281 thousand from 290 thousand.

• Also at 8:30 AM, the Consumer Price Index for October. The consensus is for a 0.1% decrease in CPI in October, and for core CPI to increase 0.1%.

• At 10:00 AM, Existing Home Sales for October from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The consensus is for sales of 5.15 million on seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) basis. Sales in September were at a 5.17 million SAAR. Economist Tom Lawler estimates the NAR will report sales of 5.31 million SAAR.

• Also at 10:00 AM, the Philly Fed manufacturing survey for November. The consensus is for a reading of 18.5, down from 20.7 last month (above zero indicates expansion).

Lawler: Updated Read on Existing Home Sales, Table of Distressed Sales in October

by Calculated Risk on 11/19/2014 06:15:00 PM

From housing economist Tom Lawler:

Based on state and local realtor/MLS reports released through today, I have increased my estimate of October existing home sales as measured by the National Association of Realtors to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.31 million (my estimate in last Friday’s report was 5.28 million). I also now “guesstimate” that the NAR’s existing home inventory number for October will be down 3.5% from September, and up 5.2% from last October. Finally, I project that the NAR’s median existing SF home sales price for October will be about 4% higher than last October.

CR Note: Existing home sales will be released tomorrow, and the consensus has moved up since Friday, and is now at 5.15 million.

Lawler also sent me the updated table below of short sales, foreclosures and cash buyers for selected cities in October.

On distressed: Total "distressed" share is down in these markets mostly due to a decline in short sales.

Short sales are down significantly in these areas.

Foreclosures are up in several of these areas.

The All Cash Share (last two columns) is mostly declining year-over-year. As investors pull back, the share of all cash buyers will probably continue to decline.

  Short Sales ShareForeclosure Sales Share Total "Distressed" ShareAll Cash Share
Oct-14Oct-13Oct-14Oct-13Oct-14Oct-13Oct-14Oct-13
Las Vegas10.6%21.0%8.9%6.0%19.5%27.0%35.1%44.9%
Reno**6.0%16.0%4.0%4.0%10.0%20.0%   
Phoenix3.7%8.4%6.2%6.9%9.9%15.3%27.7%31.6%
Sacramento6.1%13.7%6.3%5.9%12.4%19.6%20.6%23.9%
Minneapolis2.7%5.1%9.8%16.4%12.5%21.5%   
Mid-Atlantic 4.8%8.2%10.0%7.9%14.9%16.1%19.2%19.9%
Orlando5.2%15.5%26.7%20.7%31.8%36.2%41.8%47.8%
California *6.1%10.3%5.3%6.7%11.4%17.0%   
Bay Area CA*3.5%7.3%2.7%3.7%6.2%11.0%   
So. California*5.9%10.8%4.8%6.3%10.7%17.1%   
Miami MSA SF8.3%16.3%19.5%15.1%27.8%31.4%39.3%46.4%
Miami MSA C/TH4.9%11.3%23.4%18.3%28.3%29.6%69.3%73.1%
Tucson            26.8%32.1%
Toledo            38.2%37.1%
Wichita            28.9%30.5%
Des Moines            18.8%20.2%
Peoria            22.8%21.1%
Georgia***            27.8%N/A
Omaha            18.5%20.0%
Pensacola            33.5%33.7%
Knoxville            24.7%26.5%
Memphis*    13.3%19.8%       
Birmingham AL    15.2%21.0%       
Springfield IL**    8.3%15.3%       
*share of existing home sales, based on property records
**Single Family Only
***GAMLS

Comments on October Housing Starts

by Calculated Risk on 11/19/2014 03:58:00 PM

A few key points:
• Housing permits in October were at the highest level since 2008. Last year, in 2013, there was a surge in multi-family permits in October - and that was followed by an increase for starts in November. It looks like that might happen again this year.

• Multi-family completions have increased sharply (2nd graph below). Completions are what matter for apartment market supply, and with more completions it appears that the apartment vacancy rate has reached bottom and even increased a little (but still low). More apartments on the market will probably mean higher vacancy rates and less upward pressure on rents.

• Single family starts are increasing, but are still extremely low (last graph below). As we've been discussing for several years, demographics have been very favorable for apartments (and the housing bust boosted apartments too).  However, looking forward, the demographics will become more favorable for home ownership. This is a positive for single family housing and for the overall economy.

On starts: There were 848 thousand total housing starts during the first ten months of 2014 (not seasonally adjusted, NSA), up 9.6% from the 774 thousand during the same period of 2013.  Single family starts are up 5%, and multifamily starts up 20%.  The key weakness has been in single family starts.

The following table shows the annual housing starts since 2005, and the percent change from the previous year (estimates for 2014). The housing recovery has slowed in 2014, especially for single family starts.  However I expect further growth in starts over the next several years.

Housing Starts (000s) and Annual Change
  TotalTotal
%
Change
SingleSingle
%
Change
20052,068.35.8%1,715.86.5%
20061,800.9-12.9%1,465.4-14.6%
20071,355.0-24.8%1,046.0-28.6%
2008905.5-33.2%622.0-40.5%
2009554.0-38.8%445.1-28.4%
2010586.95.9%471.25.9%
2011608.83.7%430.6-8.6%
2012780.628.2%535.324.3%
2013924.918.5%617.615.4%
20141999.08.0%645.04.5%
1Estimate for 2014

This graph shows the month to month comparison between 2013 (blue) and 2014 (red).  Starts in 2014 have been above the same month in 2013 for seven consecutive months.

Starts Housing 2013 and 2014Click on graph for larger image.

The year-over-year growth will slow in November and December because the comparisons will be more difficult.  However it does appear (based on permits) that starts will finish the year strong (like in 2013).

Below is an update to the graph comparing multi-family starts and completions. Since it usually takes over a year on average to complete a multi-family project, there is a lag between multi-family starts and completions. Completions are important because that is new supply added to the market, and starts are important because that is future new supply (units under construction is also important for employment).

These graphs use a 12 month rolling total for NSA starts and completions.

Multifamily Starts and completionsThe blue line is for multifamily starts and the red line is for multifamily completions.

The rolling 12 month total for starts (blue line) increased steadily over the last few years, and completions (red line) have lagged behind - but completions have been catching up (more deliveries), and will continue to follow starts up (completions lag starts by about 12 months).

Multifamily completions were up more than 50% year-over-year in October, but multi-family starts were down slightly year-over-year (starts are volatile month-to-month).

Single family Starts and completionsThe second graph shows single family starts and completions. It usually only takes about 6 months between starting a single family home and completion - so the lines are much closer. The blue line is for single family starts and the red line is for single family completions.

Single family starts are moving up again on a rolling 12 months basis. 

Note the exceptionally low level of single family starts and completions.  The "wide bottom" was what I was forecasting several years ago, and now I expect several years of increasing single family starts and completions.

FOMC Minutes: "a few expressed concern that inflation might persist below the Committee's objective for quite some time"

by Calculated Risk on 11/19/2014 02:00:00 PM

From the Fed: Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, October 28-29, 2014. Excerpts:

In their discussion of the economic situation and the outlook, most meeting participants viewed the information received over the intermeeting period as suggesting that economic activity continued to expand at a moderate pace. Labor market conditions improved somewhat further, with solid job gains and a lower unemployment rate; on balance, participants judged that the underutilization of labor resources was gradually diminishing. Participants generally expected that, over the medium term, real economic activity would increase at a pace sufficient to lead to a further gradual decline in the unemployment rate toward levels consistent with the Committee's objective of maximum employment. Inflation was continuing to run below the Committee's longer-run objective. Market-based measures of inflation compensation declined somewhat, while survey-based measures of longer-term inflation expectations remained stable. Participants anticipated that inflation would be held down over the near term by the decline in energy prices and other factors, but would move toward the Committee's 2 percent goal in coming years, although a few expressed concern that inflation might persist below the Committee's objective for quite some time. Most viewed the risks to the outlook for economic activity and the labor market as nearly balanced. However, a number of participants noted that economic growth over the medium term might be slower than they currently expected if the foreign economic or financial situation deteriorated significantly.
...
In their discussion of communications regarding the path of the federal funds rate over the medium term, meeting participants agreed that the timing of the first increase in the federal funds rate and the appropriate path of the policy rate thereafter would depend on incoming economic data and their implications for the outlook. Most participants judged that it would be helpful to include new language in the Committee's forward guidance to clarify how the Committee's decision about when to begin the policy normalization process will depend on incoming information about the economy. Some participants preferred to eliminate language in the statement indicating that the current target range for the federal funds rate would likely be maintained for a "considerable time" after the end of the asset purchase program. These participants were concerned that such a characterization could be misinterpreted as suggesting that the Committee's decisions would not depend on the incoming data. However, other participants thought that the "considerable time" phrase was useful in communicating the Committee's policy intentions or that additional wording could be used to emphasize the data-dependence of the Committee's decision process. A couple of them noted that the removal of the "considerable time" phrase might be seen as signaling a significant shift in the stance of policy, potentially resulting in an unintended tightening of financial conditions. A couple of others thought that the current forward guidance might be read as suggesting an earlier date of liftoff than was likely to prove appropriate, given the outlook for inflation and the downside risks to the economy associated with the effective lower bound on interest rates. With regard to the pace of interest rate increases after the start of policy normalization, a number of participants thought that it could soon be helpful to clarify the Committee's likely approach. It was noted that communication about post-liftoff policy would pose challenges given the inherent uncertainty of the economic and financial outlook and the Committee's desire to retain flexibility to adjust policy in response to the incoming data. Most participants supported retaining the language in the statement indicating that the Committee anticipates that economic conditions may warrant keeping the target range for the federal funds rate below longer-run normal levels even after employment and inflation are near mandate-consistent levels. However, a couple of participants thought that the language should be amended in light of the prescriptions suggested by many monetary policy rules and the risks associated with keeping interest rates below their longer-run values for an extended period of time.
emphasis added