NAHB Market Update:
Eye on Housing
• New Home Sales Hold Steady at a Relatively Tepid Level
Challenging affordability conditions, elevated interest rates and economic uncertainty continue to act as headwinds on the housing sector as many potential buyers continue to stay on the sidelines.
Sales of newly built single-family homes edged 0.6% higher in June, rising to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 627,000, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The past two months have been the slowest sales pace since October of last year, as mortgage rates averaged above 6.8% in June.
Economic Outlook
NATO Numbers
Among the 31 NATO countries, the one spending the most on defense in 2024, as a percentage of GDP, at 4.12% was Poland, followed by Estonia at 3.43%. In third, the US at 3.38%, trailed by Latvia at 3.15%, then Greece at 3.08%, Lithuania at 2.85%, and Finland at 2.41%. Outside of the US and Greece, the other nations all border Russia or their satellite Belarus. Spain’s 31st at 1.28%.
Harvard Hit
Harvard faces a $1 billion budget shortfall/year should Trump follow through on his threats spanning research, taxes, and enrollment. At 5%, Harvard’s $53 billion endowment yields $2.5 billion/year. However, in FY24 Harvard drew $2.4 billion from it to fund one-third of the budget. Moreover, 80% of the endowment is restricted and 75% is in illiquid private equity, hedge funds and real estate. Harvard will talk big but buckle and negotiate.
