Number of new private sector jobs added in the first half of 2010. Coupled with the fourth consecutive quarter of positive growth [in inflation-adjusted gross domestic product], this trend has created positive occupancy increases in industrial, apartment, retail, and hotel properties, according to Glenn Mueller, producer of the Dividend Capital Real Estate Market Cycle Monitor. Mueller reports that office occupancies were flat in 2Q10, and rents declined by 0.5% for the quarter, resulting in a 4.5% annual decline. Industrial occupancies improved 0.1% in 2Q10, and rental growth fell 0.8% for the quarter and 6.8% annually. Apartment occupancy improved 0.2% in 2Q10, and rental growth improved 0.1% for the quarter but fell 2.5% annually. Retail occupancy improved 0.2% in 2Q10, and rental growth fell 0.1% for the quarter and 5.5% annually. Hotel occupancies improved 1.1% in 2Q10, and [revenue per available room] improved 13% for the quarter and 6.2% annually.
Source: Dividend Capital Real Estate Market Cycle Monitor
One-Stop Placement: Market Trends, Construction
Percentage of 369 contractors, equipment distributors, and industry service suppliers polled in a quarterly e-mail survey who indicated that they “expect the economic downturn for the U.S. construction industry to last until the third quarter or 2011 or beyond.”
Source: Wells Fargo Equipment Finance
One-Stop Placement: Market Trends, Construction
Median number of years that wage and salary workers in the construction industry have been with their current employer in 2010. Employee tenure in the construction industry, which started losing employees in September 2006, rose from 3 years in 2002, 2004, and 2006 to 3.5 years in 2008 — and 4.2 years in 2010.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
One-Stop Placement: Market Trends, Construction
Percentage increase in nationwide total housing starts in August, putting the total at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 598,000 units and bringing the pace of production more in line with the level of construction activity before the popular home buyer tax credit temporarily stimulated housing sales earlier this year. While most of the month’s gain occurred on the multifamily side, single-family housing production, which increased 4.3% to 436,000 units, was still 9.1% below August 2009 as builders struggled to obtain financing and remained cautious about sustained demand.
Source: National Association of Home Builders and U.S. Commerce Department