Eye On Housing
About two years ago, NAHB reported that 22 percent of single-family builders had used aerial drones (or unmanned aircraft systems, as the Department of Defense calls them) at least once in their construction businesses. But the times they are a-changing. When we revisited the issue in March of this year, we saw that the percentage of builders using drones had… Read More ›
According to the 2016 ACS, over 23% of construction workers are self-employed, while an economy-wide average does not reach 10% of the employed labor force. The high self-employment rates in construction reflect a common practice of builders and remodelers to maintain relatively small payrolls and rely on subcontractors for a large share of the construction work. During the housing downturn,… Read More ›
The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that mortgage contract rates on purchases of newly built homes rose by 11 basis points over the month of February to 4.14 percent, near its last peak level of 4.18 percent established one year ago in February 2017. Over the past year, the average mortgage rate on purchases of newly constructed homes fell by… Read More ›
The new NAHB study presents the most recent and comprehensive estimates of home building employment, including self-employed workers, by state. NAHB Economics estimates that out of 9.8 million people working in construction in 2016, more than 3.8 million people worked in residential construction, accounting for 2.5% of the US employed civilian labor force. These numbers reflect modest but steady job… Read More ›
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the economy grew faster in the fourth quarter of 2017 than was originally estimated. The third estimate of GDP growth in the quarter 2.9 percent, was faster than the 2.6 percent “advance” estimate and the 2.5 percent second estimate. It confirms that the economy grew faster than its potential, strongly indicating that the… Read More ›
After a slow start to the year, the Pending Home Sales Index increased 3.1% in February, but remains 4.1% below a year ago. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The PHSI increased to 107.5 in February from a downwardly 104.3 in January. The PHSI… Read More ›
Contracts for new, single-family home sales were effectively flat in February, inching down 0.6% to a 618,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to estimates from the joint release of HUD and the Census Bureau. Matching solid readings of the NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI measure of home builder confidence, new home sales data for prior months were revised up. For example, the initial January estimate… Read More ›
As was widely expected, the Federal Open Market Committee (the FOMC) raised its key interest rate 25 basis points to a range of 1.50 percent to 1.75 percent following its March meeting. The Fed noted that its decision reflected “realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation”, but that the current level of the federal funds rate remains “accommodative”, supporting… Read More ›
Existing-home sales increased 3.0% in February, but the first-time buyer share remained at 29%, compared to 31% a year ago. The National Association of Realtors reported that 46% of homes sold last month were on the market less than a month. The February inventory increased 4.6%, but remains 8.1% below the level a year ago, and has decreased for 33… Read More ›
The count of unfilled jobs in the construction sector increased in January, nearing a post-recession high set in July of 2017. According to the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and NAHB analysis, the number of open construction sector jobs increased to 250,000 at the start of the year. The post-recession high count of open, unfilled construction jobs… Read More ›