Eye On Housing
Author Archives
-
The Average Builder Uses 10 Different Green Products and Practices
On average, single-family builders use 10.2 different green products or practices, and 22 percent always or almost always have their homes certified to a green standard, according to a recent NAHB survey. The survey consisted of special questions on the January survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. A total of 337 single-family builders responded to these questions, one… Read More ›
-
Builders Satisfy Demand for Open Floor Plans
According to a recent NAHB article, open floor plans are popular among home buyers, and the design of new single-family homes tends to be, if anything, even more open. For example, in a 2015 NAHB survey, 70 percent of recent and prospective homebuyers said they preferred a home with either a completely or partially open kitchen-family room arrangement with 32 percent preferring… Read More ›
-
In New England, Two-Thirds of New Homes Include Decks
Of the 714,500 single-family homes started in 2015, 64 percent included porches and 23 percent included decks, according to data from the Survey of Construction (which is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and partially funded by HUD). NAHB tabulation of these data show that porches have become somewhat more common on new homes over the past decade. In 2005,… Read More ›
-
Data Imply Most Homes Last More than a Century
Of the 132.42 million homes that existed in the U.S. in 2011, 98.8 percent (130.85 million) were still there two years later, according to a report published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2016. The report is called Components of Inventory Change: 2011-2013, and is based on the American Housing Survey (AHS). The AHS, funded by HUD and conducted in… Read More ›
-
New Study Describes Characteristics of U.S. Subdivisions
A recent NAHB study shows that the median size of a subdivision in the United States is 25 total acres, and the median number of housing units in a subdivision is 50. The results are based on a survey of development projects currently under way or recently completed, conducted by NAHB’s Economics and Housing Policy Group in May 2016. NAHB… Read More ›
-
Basements Didn’t Matter: New Homes Were Still Larger in 2015
A recent NAHB post shows that, after rising to a record high, the size of new single-family homes has leveled off and, as of the second quarter of 2016, is now trending downward slightly. Several things could be responsible. NAHB (and others) have emphasized a changing mix of repeat and first-time home buyers. Before focusing exclusively on this, however, it would be good… Read More ›
-
More Builders Report Labor/Subcontractor Shortages
A survey of single-family builders conducted by NAHB in June 2016 shows that shortages of labor and subcontractors have become more widespread than they were a year ago. The survey consisted of special questions on labor and subcontractor availability that NAHB has periodically added to the instrument for the monthly NAHB/Well Fargo Housing Market Index. The questions have covered 9… Read More ›
-
What Building 1,000 Homes Means to the U.S. Economy
According to NAHB’s National Impact of Home Building model, building 1,000 average single-family homes generates 2,975 jobs and $111.0 million in taxes and fees for all levels of government. Similarly, building 1,000 average rental apartments generates 1,133 jobs and $42.4 million in taxes. The jobs are measured in full-time equivalents (enough work to keep one worker employed full-time for a… Read More ›
-
New House Price Data Show Why Costs Are a Problem
New data released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development provide strong evidence that the costs of producing new housing are making it difficult to impossible to build homes for a significant part of the U.S. housing market. At the beginning of June, the Census Bureau traditionally releases data about the Characteristics of New… Read More ›
-
Home Buyer Preferences for Green Features Remain Stable
In NAHB’s latest home buyer preference survey, buyers gave high marks to particular types of green features. Indeed, ENERGY STAR® rated appliances ranked second from the top among 150 different home and community features that buyers rated on a consistent scale. Comparing results over the last several surveys shows a stable trend: preferences for particular green features in 2015 were about… Read More ›