Homebuilders

State officials are set to grant a private-equity firm building a passenger train to Las Vegas the ability to issue tax-exempt bonds, while requests for using the funding for affordable housing go by the wayside.

Stock prices rose for publicly-traded homebuilders after Lennar Corp.'s fourth-quarter orders and revenue beat estimates, even as home prices fell in the quarter.

The percentage of homes started last year and built within an association rose 2 percentage points to 63%, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Houston secured the top spot in the new-home sales market in Texas as builders sold 1,481 new homes in the area in November.

Pending new home sales increased both on a month-to-month and annual basis, benefitting from the current low mortgage rate environment, although they are still constrained by inventory issues, a Meyers Research report said.

Dallas-Fort Worth home sales and construction totals are expected to rise only modestly in 2020, but the expected increases could still be enough to push area home numbers to new highs.

A property deal for hundreds of apartments near downtown San Jose has cleared the way for a major renovation of the property that will also ensure the preservation of affordable housing for decades to come at the complex.

Construction of new homes increased more than forecast in November and permits to build climbed to a 12-year high as the housing market strengthened amid low mortgage rates, solid job growth, and optimistic buyers and builders.

Even with an increase in both new and existing home construction activity during November, the slowdown over the previous 11 months will constrain inventory going into 2020, according to BuildFax.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment advanced in December to the highest level since 1999 amid stronger sales and a surge in prospective buyer foot traffic.