Real Estate and Construction. Residential and commercial real
estate activity continued to improve in July and early August,
and construction activity strengthened. Residential home sales
and prices rose, and home inventories fell. Contacts reported
multiple offers on homes and expected continued housing market
improvements in coming months. Homes under $300,000 sold
particularly well, while homes priced over $500,000 and condos
were slow to sell in some markets. Several contacts reported
that a large inventory of homes in foreclosure has been held
back and could put downward pressure on prices when the homes
come onto the market. Builders reported an increase in housing
starts and a rise in new home prices as well as improvement in
the traffic of potential buyers. Land prices and the cost of
building materials rose during the survey period as demand
improved. Commercial real estate conditions also improved.
Construction and sales of commercial real estate properties
rose, real estate prices and rents increased, and vacancy rates
continued to fall. Several commercial real estate contacts
expected uncertainty surrounding the presidential election to
slow activity until late in the year. Developers reported that
access to credit remained unchanged.
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