Eye On Housing
In January, NAHB released its new Priced-Out Estimates for 2020. A previous post discussed the often-cited estimate that a $1,000 increase in the price of a median-priced new home will price 158,857 U.S. households out of the market for the home. A second post discussed the related estimate that a quarter point increase in the mortgage rate will price out… Read More ›
The shortage of lots that has been hindering the housing recovery eased somewhat in 2019, but remains elevated by historical standards, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The survey consisted of a set of special questions included on the instrument for the September 2019 NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The survey asked… Read More ›
Only 41 percent of single-family homes started in 2018 included fireplaces, according to NAHB tabulation of recently released data from the Survey of Construction (produced by the U.S. Census Bureau with partial funding from HUD). This percentage is the lowest on record since NAHB began tabulating the data in a consistent fashion in 2001. Since 2015, the share of single-family… Read More ›
Labor and subcontractor shortages remained widespread in July of 2019 and are continuing to impact the industry in a number of ways—including putting additional upward pressure on new home prices— according to results from special questions on the survey for the NAHB/Well Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). In July, the HMI survey asked builders specifically about shortages in 16 different occupations. … Read More ›
Following a sharp decline in March, existing home sales, released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), continued to fell in April despite lower interest rates and a strong labor market. Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, declined 0.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.19 million in April. On a year-over-year basis, sales were… Read More ›
In the first quarter of 2019, 13% of adults reported plans to purchase a home within a year. That is just slightly below where the share stood a year earlier, at 17%. The decline marks the second consecutive year-over-year drop in the share of adults planning to buy a home, providing further evidence that the deterioration in affordability is having… Read More ›
Rising home prices and interest rates pushed housing affordability to a 10-year low in the second quarter of 2018, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). In all, 57.1 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of April and end of June were affordable to families earning the U.S. median… Read More ›
Rising home prices offset a quarter-point drop in mortgage interest rates to move housing affordability slightly lower in the second quarter of 2017, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). In all, 59.4 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of April and end of June were affordable to families… Read More ›
Homeownership is a key housing and economic measure of social conditions. Due to the housing downturn, the national homeownership rate declined precipitously, and has failed to recover to its historical norm. In fact, the homeownership rate reached a 50 year low in the second quarter of 2016 and has only edged up slightly since then, rising to 63.5% at the… Read More ›
Shortages of buildable lots and skilled labor, along with excessive regulations, rising mortgage interest rates and ongoing home price appreciation pushed housing affordability in the fourth quarter of 2016 to its lowest point since the third quarter of 2008, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). In all, 59.9 percent of new and existing… Read More ›