Fed Beige Book Sees Mixed Housing Activity

The Federal Reserve released its periodic Beige Book report on Wednesday. Of the 12 regions the Fed tracks, economic activity was up in seven and had slowed or was mixed in five.

Here is what the districts reported about housing:

Boston: “Residential real estate sales are very weak following the expiration of the home-buyer tax credit but selling prices are up slightly in many parts of the region …”
New York: “Commercial real estate markets have generally been steady to softer since the last report. Residential real estate sales markets weakened to very low levels, though New York City’s rental market continued to improve modestly.”
Philadelphia: “Residential real estate [practitioners] and home builders said that there has been no rebound from the sharp drop in home sales that followed the expiration of the federal tax credit for purchases. Contacts in the commercial real estate sector said there has been practically no change since the last Beige Book in the generally weak market conditions around the District.”
Cleveland: “An uptick was seen in residential and nonresidential construction.”
Richmond: (no mention)
Atlanta: “Residential real estate contacts noted that the pace of new and existing home sales slowed, and their outlook remained pessimistic. Nonresidential real estate activity remained weak.”
Chicago: “Private construction decreased.”
St. Louis: “Residential real estate markets held steady and commercial real estate activity remained slow.”
Minneapolis: “Activity in the commercial and residential real estate sectors decreased, while commercial construction remained weak.”
Kansas City: “The downturn in commercial real estate eased somewhat, while residential real estate markets weakened further.”
Dallas: “Housing demand has retrenched and private nonresidential activity is almost nonexistent.”
San Francisco: “Housing markets continued to slide, while demand for commercial real estate remained weak.”

Source: MarketWatch.com (09/08/2010)