Eye On Housing
Building material prices topped the list of problems builders faced in 2018, but cost and availability of labor is expected to return to the number one spot in 2019, according to special questions on the January survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The survey results showed that material prices were a significant issue for 87% of builders last… Read More ›
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes held steady at 62 in March, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Builders report the market is stabilizing following the slowdown at the end of 2018, and they anticipate a solid spring home buying season. In a healthy sign for the housing market,… Read More ›
After significant data revisions for 2018, new data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings remained near a cycle high as of January, an indication that the skilled labor shortage continues into 2019. The open position rate (job openings as a percentage of total employment plus current job openings) held steady at 3.9%. The… Read More ›
On an annual basis, total nonfarm employment in January increased by 2.8 million jobs, which is a 1.9% increase compared to January 2018. During this time, total nonfarm employment in the Western region increased by 1.9% and in the Southern region by 1.8%. The Midwest and the Northeast recorded the lowest gains at 1.0% during this time. According to the… Read More ›
Upward revisions to December and November data resulted in a 6.9% decline for new single-family homes sales in January, according to data from the joint release of HUD and the Census Bureau. The seasonally adjusted annualized January pace of 607,000 was 4.1% lower than January of 2018; however, combined with lower mortgage interest rates, the first monthly rate for 2019 establishes a solid… Read More ›
An elevated rental share of multifamily construction is holding typical apartment size below levels seen during the pre-Great Recession period. As multifamily developers build more for-sale housing units in the years ahead, the average size of multifamily homes is likely to rise. According to fourth quarter 2018 data, the average per unit square footage of multifamily housing construction starts was 1,136, off from the… Read More ›
The number of single-family homes built-for-rent increased over the course of 2018, as construction starts of this type of housing totaled 43,000 homes, compared to 37,000 for 2017. There were 10,000 single-family built-for-rent starts for the final quarter of 2018. According to data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, the market share of single-family… Read More ›
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates custom home building was effectively flat over the course of 2018. There were 36,000 total custom starts for the fourth quarter of 2018. This was down compared to the final quarter of 2017 (40,000). Over the course of 2018, custom housing starts totaled 170,000. This… Read More ›
Continuing a multiyear trend, new single-family home size decreased during the final quarter of 2018. According to fourth quarter 2018 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, median single-family square floor area ticked down to 2,316 square feet. Average (mean) square footage for new single-family homes increased to 2,567 square feet. On a less volatile one-year moving average,… Read More ›
According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, townhouse construction posted outperformed other building sectors over the course of 2018. However, like other submarkets, townhouse construction softened during the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, townhouse construction is set for further expansion given the demographics of renters entering the for-sale market, as well as… Read More ›