Eye On Housing
Builder Confidence Stays at Healthy Level in July
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes remained unchanged at a solid 68 reading in July on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Builders are optimistic about housing market conditions, basing their confidence on continued solid demand for single-family homes. However, persistent increases in construction costs make it increasingly challenging to produce homes… Read More ›
Recent Posts
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Western States Lead Single-family Residential Permits Growth, Northeast Lags
Over the first five months of 2018, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 363,327. On a year-over-year basis, this is an 8.0% increase over the May 2017 level of 336,410. The results from the SOC are similar, year-to-date single-family permits over the first five months of 2018 was, 363,700 which is 8.6% ahead of its… Read More ›
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Apartment Construction Times Lengthened in 2017
The average length of time to complete construction of a multifamily building, after obtaining authorization, was 15.7 months according to the 2017 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau. The authorization-to-completion time has been on an upward trend since 2013, increasing by approximately one month each year. The average time to build multifamily homes varies with the number of… Read More ›
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Slightly Longer Hours Worked Makes Up For Faster Inflation
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that, on a seasonally adjusted basis, headline consumer prices, grew over the month of June, but at a slower pace than in May. The monthly slowdown partly reflected a decline in energy prices, electricity and utility (piped) gas specifically, although food prices accelerated over the month. Excluding energy and food prices, “core” inflation held… Read More ›
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Lumber Prices Increase While Gypsum Falls in June
The prices of building materials generally increased in June, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For the second consecutive month, softwood lumber (+4.0%) led the way, followed by oriented strand board (+2.2%, not seasonally adjusted). Similarly, the indexes for ready-mix concrete (-0.3%) and gypsum products (-0.6%) both declined for the second… Read More ›
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Count of Unfilled Construction Jobs Remains Near Cycle High
The count of unfilled jobs in the construction sector was flat in May, remaining near post-Great Recession high levels. According to the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and NAHB analysis, the number of open construction sector jobs came in at 243,000. The post-recession high count of open, unfilled construction jobs was 255,000 in July of last year…. Read More ›
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Time Needed to Build a Single-Family Home in 2017
The 2017 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau shows that the average completion time of a single-family house is around 7.5 months, which usually includes almost a month from authorization to start and another 6.5 months to finish the construction. The average completion time in 2017 was the same as it was in 2016, but it was longer… Read More ›
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Housing Share of GDP: First Quarter 2018
With the release of the final estimate of first quarter 2018 GDP growth (2% growth rate), housing’s share of gross domestic product (GDP) declined slightly to 15.3%. The home building and remodeling component – residential fixed investment – held steady at 3.5%. Housing-related activities contribute to GDP in two basic ways. The first is through residential fixed investment (RFI). RFI is effectively the… Read More ›
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Women Enter the Labor Force in June
According to the Employment Situation reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in June, jobs increased by 213,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 4.0% due to the increase in the number of unemployed persons. The labor force participation rate rose by 0.2 percentage point to 62.9%. The release also indicates that the number of construction jobs rose by… Read More ›
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Geography of Declining Young Adult Household Formations
NAHB’s analysis of the Census data shows that only 40% of young adults ages 25 to 34 led their own household in 2016. In comparison, close to 46% of adults in this age group were household heads in 1990 and 2000. Rather, increasing numbers of young adults now choose to live with their parents, parents-in-law, relatives or share housing with… Read More ›