Eye On Housing
Total housing starts posted a 5.8 percent increase in December (1.67 million units) compared to an upwardly revised November estimate of 1.58 million units according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. Relative to December 2019, total starts are 5.2 percent above the annual pace of 1.59 million units. Single-family starts posted a monthly increase of… Read More ›
Rising material costs led by a huge upsurge in lumber prices, along with a resurgence of the coronavirus across much of the nation pushed builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes down three points to 83 in January, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Despite the drop, builder sentiment remains at a strong… Read More ›
New NAHB research based on the latest 2019 American Housing Survey (AHS) shows that, on average, homeowners spend around $9,240 per year to operate and maintain a single-family detached home. This includes property taxes, insurance, maintenance and utilities, with property taxes being the costliest component. Annual operating costs increase consistently with household income, home size and value. When measured as… Read More ›
Job openings in construction remained steady in November as net job gains continued, albeit with distinctions between residential and nonresidential construction. As detailed in the December BLS employment data, over the past eight months job gains in residential construction have offset all of the jobs lost in March and April. Sector employment now stands higher than in February. In contrast, only… Read More ›
After a surge in the pace of new home sales in earlier in the year, the monthly growth rate of newly built single-family home slowed during recent months. Sales exceeded construction starts by a historic margin at the end of the summer. This necessitated an increase in starts and some slowing of sales. Nonetheless, the acceleration of sales in 2020… Read More ›
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 32 states in November compared to the previous month. The largest increase came from Texas, which added 61,000 jobs during this time. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased just 245,000 over the month of November, following an increase of 610,000 jobs in October. Month-over-month (MoM), total nonfarm employment… Read More ›
Single-family starts leveled off in November, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau. Single-family construction is up 10.1% year-to-date, with notable gains in 2020 for the Midwest, parts of the West and other lower-density markets. The pace of single-family starts in November was the highest production rate since the spring of… Read More ›
Ending a string of three successive months of record highs, builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell four points to 86 in December, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Despite the decline, December is still the second-highest reading in the history of the series after last month’s 90. Housing demand is strong… Read More ›
Job openings in construction slowed again in October, as the sector experiences a two-tier recovery. As detailed in the November BLS employment data, over the past seven months, job gains in residential construction offset 96% of the jobs lost in March and April, in contrast to the 58% job recovery in nonresidential construction. On net, this has left job openings… Read More ›
According to data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), the custom home share increased to 20.2 percent of all single-family homes started in 2019. Contractor-built or owner-built houses – that together make up the custom home market – are built one at a time for owner occupancy on owner’s land with either the owner or a builder acting… Read More ›