Eye On Housing
Housing Construction Weakness Continued in March
According to a estimates from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department, single-family starts continued to show weakness in March, despite the recent stabilization in the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). After downward revisions made to the February data, single-family starts were down 0.4% to a 785,000 seasonally adjusted annual pace in March, the lowest such rate… Read More ›
Recent Posts
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Remodelers’ Confidence Falls Three Points in First Quarter
The Remodeling Market Index (RMI) fell three points to 54 in the first quarter of 2019, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Despite the drop, the RMI is still over the index break-even point of 50, which indicates that more remodelers report that market activity is higher than report it is lower, compared to the previous quarter. The… Read More ›
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Home Building Employment Across States and Congressional Districts
A new NAHB study presents the most recent and comprehensive estimates of home building employment, including self-employed workers, by state and congressional district. NAHB Economics estimates that out of 10.3 million people working in construction in 2017, more than 4 million people worked in residential construction, accounting for 2.6% of the US employed civilian labor force. Despite steady job gains… Read More ›
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Builder Confidence Edges Higher in April
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose one point to 63 in April, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. Sentiment levels have held in the low 60s for the past three months. Builders report solid demand for new single-family homes but are also grappling with affordability concerns… Read More ›
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Single-Family Permit Decline in February
Over the first two months of 2019, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 116,189. On a year-over-year basis, this is a 6.2% decline over the February 2018 level of 123,871. Year-to-date ending in February, single-family permits reported growth only in the Northeast region of the country. The South, Midwest, and the West regions declined by… Read More ›
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How Much Are Buyers Willing to Pay for Energy Efficiency?
On average, home buyers are willing to pay an additional $8,728 upfront on a home in order to save $1,000 a year in utility bills, according to NAHB’s recently released study, What Home Buyers Really Want (2019 Edition) (Figure 1). The study is based on a survey asking recent and prospective home buyers (people who bought homes in the previous… Read More ›
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Prices of Construction Inputs Rise Despite Declines in Lumber, Gypsum
Prices paid for goods used in residential construction increased 1.5% in March (not seasonally adjusted) according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices have risen more quickly thus far in 2019 than they did during the same period in 2018 and are at their highest level since last October (see below). The… Read More ›
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Bedrooms, Kitchens Consume Copious Space in New Homes
In the average new home, 28.0 percent of the finished floor space is allocated to bedrooms and 11.2 percent to the kitchen area, according to a recent NAHB study. The study is based on special questions appended to the November 2018 survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The questions covered 13 specific types of areas or rooms, plus… Read More ›
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Energy Prices Rose Sharply in March
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index for March. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.4% in March, after a 0.2% increase in February. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the “core” CPI increased by 0.1% in March, the same increase as in February. The price index for a… Read More ›
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Government Issues New Definitions for Metropolitan Statistical Areas
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued new definitions for some of the nation’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Metropolitan Divisions in 2018. In this context, the definition of a metro area is simply the list of counties(y) that officially belong to that metro, grouped together based on commuting patterns. Larger MSAs, such as New York or Washington DC, are… Read More ›