Quikrete Industry Dashboard: starts and sales

After a busy week of movement for hardware and building supply metrics, the Quikrete Industry has updates for residential construction, retail sales and existing home sales.

The results are mixed.

The monthly sales numbers for NAICS 444 – building material and garden equipment retailers – jumped significantly in January 2022. The Estimate of $35.2 billion was up 12.8% from January 2021. But it was down from December’s figure of $38.2 billion.

Meanwhile, total housing starts slipped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.638 million in January, down 4.1% from the prior month. Single family starts declined 5.6%.

And most recently, the National Association of Realtors reported Friday morning that existing home sales increased in January to a rate of 6.50 million.

"Buyers were likely anticipating further rate increases and locking-in at the low rates, and investors added to overall demand with all-cash offers," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "Consequently, housing prices continue to move solidly higher."

Next up for the Quikrete Industry Dashboard: The Consumer Confidence Index, which stood at 113.8 for January is slated to be released by the New York-based Conference Board Feb. 22.