Housing Heat Maps Offer Pulse Check

Single-family permitting data provides a real-time pulse check on housing market conditions, and the latest figures indicate a softening of demand, despite the peak selling season. Elevated mortgage rates and persistent macroeconomic uncertainty continue to dampen builder activity and suppress homebuyer confidence ahead of the summer months. 

Goldman analysts Susan Maklari, Charles Perron-Piche, and Rhea Bhatia provided clients on Thursday with multiple heat maps for the housing market based on single-family building permits, which offer a forward-looking signal about future housing supply, builder confidence, and anticipated demand.