by Calculated Risk on 8/06/2013 08:56:00 AM

The Department of Commerce reported this morning:

[T]otal June exports of $191.2 billion and imports of $225.4 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $34.2 billion, down from $44.1 billion in May, revised. June exports were $4.1 billion more than May exports of $187.1 billion. June imports were $5.8 billion less than May imports of $231.2 billion.

The trade deficit was lower than the consensus forecast of $43.0 billion.

The first graph shows the monthly U.S. exports and imports in dollars through June 2013.

Click on graph for larger image.

Imports decreased in June, and exports increased.  

Exports are 15% above the pre-recession peak and up 3% compared to June 2012; imports are 3% below the pre-recession peak, and down 1% compared to June 2012 (mostly moving sideways).

The second graph shows the U.S. trade deficit, with and without petroleum, through June.

The blue line is the total deficit, and the black line is the petroleum deficit, and the red line is the trade deficit ex-petroleum products.

Oil averaged $96.93 in June, up slightly from $96.84 in May, and down from $100.13 in June 2012. 

The trade deficit with the euro area was $6.1 billion in June, down from $6.9 billion in June 2012.

The trade deficit with China decreased to $26.6 billion in June, down from $27.5 billion in June 2012.  Most of the trade deficit is related to oil and China. And most of the recent improvement in the trade deficit is related to a decline in the volume of imported petroleum.

by Calculated Risk on 8/05/2013 09:16:00 PM

From Nick Timiraos at the WSJ: Obama to Seek Limited U.S. Mortgage Role

In a speech Tuesday, Mr. Obama will begin making the case that a limited government guarantee is needed to preserve access to the long-term, fixed-rate loans that have become a staple of the U.S. housing market. But he also will call for ending the business model of Fannie and Freddie ...

Mr. Obama is expected to outline other steps that can begin shrinking the federal government's outsized role in the mortgage market, including allowing loan limits in high-cost housing markets to gradually decline. Advisers said the president would also reiterate calls for long-stalled legislation that would help homeowners refinance even if they owe more than their homes are worth.

On Wednesday, President Obama will answer questions on housing. From Yahoo:

Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff will moderate the event, using questions submitted through a range of social media with the hashtag #AskObamaHousing. Zillow will be looking for especially frequent questions, as well as queries that housing experts think are timely. The White House will not get the questions in advance.

There are three ways to submit a question for Obama:

1. Video: Create a short video submission on YouTube, Instagram or Vine. Share the video on Twitter or Facebook using #AskObamaHousing.

2. Facebook: Visit Zillow’s Facebook page (facebook.com/Zillow) to submit a question.

3. Twitter: Tweet a question to @Zillow using #AskObamaHousing.

Tuesday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, the Trade Balance report for June from the Census Bureau. The consensus is for the U.S. trade deficit to decrease to $43.0 billion in June from $45.0 billion in May.

• At 10:00 AM, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for June from the BLS. Jobs openings increased in May to 3.828 million, up from 3.800 million in April. The number of job openings has generally been trending up, but openings are only up 1% year-over-year compared to May 2012.

• Also at 10:00 AM, the Trulia Price Rent Monitors for July. This is the index from Trulia that uses asking house prices adjusted both for the mix of homes listed for sale and for seasonal factors.

by Calculated Risk on 8/05/2013 06:12:00 PM

CR Note: Tom Lawler mentioned in a previous note that the Census Bureau will probably revise down New Home sales for the first half. The table below is on starts and completions. Early this year I mentioned: "I've heard some builders might be land constrained in 2013 (not enough finished lots in the pipeline)." That has shown up in the results (fewer communities), but will probably be resolved soon as Lawler notes below.

From housing economist Tom Lawler: First Half Housing: MF Starts a Bit Above, SF Starts Below Consensus; Builder Buying of Land/Lots Over Last Year to Boost SF Production “Soon”

US Housing Starts (000's)
	Total	SF	MF
2010	586.9	471.2	115.7
2011	608.8	430.6	178.2
2012	780.6	535.3	245.3
2013 H1 SAAR	914.7	611.5	303.2
US Housing Completions (000's)
2010	651.7	496.3	155.4
2011	584.9	446.6	138.3
2012	649.2	483.0	166.2
2013 H1 SAAR	736.7	559.7	177.0

While overall housing starts in the first half weren’t that different from consensus, the mix was different, with SF starts somewhat below but MF starts somewhat above consensus. SF starts were in all likelihood lower than what home builders would have liked, reflecting labor shortages, some materials’ shortages, and developed lot “shortages.” (Recall that the NAHB Housing Market Index dipped from January to April of this year, in part because of labor/other shortages as well as spikes in lumber costs).

Home builders as a group have, however, increased their acquisitions of land/lots significantly, and as a group are planning a significant increase in active communities and homes for sale. E.g., for the nine publicly-traded builders I track who report on a “MJSD” basis (DHI, PHM, RYL, NVR, SPF, MDC, MTH, MHO, and BZH), their combined number of lots controlled at the end of this June was up 23.6% from a year ago, with only Pulte (with its “balanced approach” strategy) not showing an increase.

Click on graph for larger image.

Here is some history of lots owned or optioned by D.R. Horton, the nation’s largest home builder (Horton’s FY ends in September).

The second graph are some historical stats for lots owned or optioned at Toll Brothers, the self-proclaimed “leading builder of luxury homes.” The latest data available are for April 30, 2013 – Toll reports on a JAJO basis, and its FY ends on Halloween.

Note that both the largest builder of “affordable” homes and the leading builder of luxury homes went on a speculative land/lot “buying spree” in 2004 and 2005, exacerbating the real estate bubble.

by Calculated Risk on 8/05/2013 04:51:00 PM

Weekly Update: One of key questions for 2013 is Will Housing inventory bottom this year?. Since this is a very important question, I'm tracking inventory weekly in 2013. 

There is a clear seasonal pattern for inventory, with the low point for inventory in late December or early January, and then peaking in mid-to-late summer.

The Realtor (NAR) data is monthly and released with a lag (the most recent data was for June).  However Ben at Housing Tracker (Department of Numbers) has provided me some weekly inventory data for the last several years. This is displayed on the graph below as a percentage change from the first week of the year (to normalize the data).

In 2010 (blue), inventory increased more than the normal seasonal pattern, and finished the year up 7%. However in 2011 and 2012, there was only a small increase in inventory early in the year, followed by a sharp decline for the rest of the year.

Click on graph for larger image.

Note: the data is a little weird for early 2011 (spikes down briefly).

So far in 2013, inventory is up 17.2%, and I expect some further increases over the next month or two.

It now seems likely that inventory bottomed early this year. 

It is important to remember that inventory is still very low, and is down 9.9% from the same week last year according to Housing Tracker.  Once inventory starts to increase (more than seasonal), I expect price increases to slow.

by Calculated Risk on 8/05/2013 02:00:00 PM

From the Federal Reserve: The July 2013 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices

The July 2013 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices addressed changes in the standards and terms on, and demand for, bank loans to businesses and households over the past three months. The survey also contained special questions about changes in banks' lending standards on, and demand for, the three main types of commercial real estate (CRE) loans over the past year, and on the current levels of banks' lending standards for many types of business and household loans relative to longer-term norms. In the July survey, domestic banks, on balance, reported having eased their lending standards and having experienced stronger demand in most loan categories over the past three months. This summary is based on the responses from 73 domestic banks and 22 U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.

Regarding loans to businesses, the July survey generally indicated that banks eased their lending policies for commercial and industrial (C&I) and CRE loans and experienced stronger demand for such loans over the past three months ...

The survey results also indicated that banks eased standards and terms on, and saw increases in demand for, some categories of lending to households. Modest net fractions of respondents reported having eased standards on prime residential or nontraditional mortgage loans, and a large net fraction indicated that they had seen increased demand for prime mortgage loans. A moderate net fraction of respondents reported that they had eased standards on auto loans over the past three months, and small net fractions indicated that they had eased standards on credit card loans and other consumer loans. Demand for all three types of consumer loans asked about in the survey had reportedly strengthened, on balance, over the second quarter.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

Here are some charts from the Fed.

These two graphs shows the change in lending standards and demand for CRE (commercial real estate) loans.

Increasing demand and easing in standards suggests some increase in CRE activity going forward.

In general this survey indicates lending standards are easing and demand is increasing.