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Current Economic Conditions from the Federal Reserve "Beige Book"

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Services for Real Estate Pros
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Current Economic Conditions 
by Federal Reserve District

Real Estate and Construction

All twelve Districts reported that real estate and construction activity was little changed on balance from the prior report. Residential construction remained at low levels, particularly for single-family homes. That said, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Minneapolis noted small increases in single-family construction, and construction of multifamily dwellings continued to increase at a moderate pace in Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco. Home sales remained weak overall, and home prices were reported to be either flat or declining across all of the Districts. In contrast, rental demand continued to rise in a number of Districts. 

Commercial real estate conditions remained weak overall, although commercial construction increased at a slow pace in most Districts. Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Cleveland cited some gains in demand for construction of education, healthcare, and institutional-related buildings, and New York reported an increase in hotel development. Furthermore, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Chicago noted an increase in demand for manufacturing and distribution facilities. Vacancy rates remained elevated, but Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis and Dallas reported an increase in leasing activity and Philadelphia and San Francisco indicated rising investor interest in well-leased office space.

To read the full report, click here.

Comments (3)

Joe Petrowsky
Mortgage Consultant, Right Trac Financial Group, Inc. NMLS # 2709 - Manchester, CT
Your Mortgage Consultant for Life

I don't expect much change over the next few months.

Oct 20, 2011 01:41 AM
Doug Anderson
Tucker Associates Real Estate Services - Danville, CA
Bay Area Real Estate Views

Unfortunately these facts are lingering. I am looking forward to the day that all of this is behind us for a while.

 

Oct 23, 2011 04:46 PM
Larson Educational Services
Larson Educational - Fort Myers, FL
Larson Educational Services

Things will pick up more steam as we go on. We are on the upside of the cycle and the dam has yet to break. Good little report here.

Mar 04, 2014 03:12 AM