Eye On Housing
Data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) indicate that construction job openings increased in April, consistent with the ongoing challenge of the availability of labor for builders. The estimated number of job openings in the construction sector increased to 404,000, a post-Great Recession high. Moreover, this marks a significant gain over the 258,000 openings estimated in April… Read More ›
Well over 40 percent of builders continue to use aerial drones, according to special questions on the March 2019 survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The first of these questions asks the single-family builders in the HMI panel if they have ever used drones in their businesses, including any cases where they may have hired third parties… Read More ›
May is National Home Remodeling Month. As has become a tradition, Eye on Housing recognized the occasion with a series of posts related to the topic. As the month draws to a close, we provide a summary of those posts for readers who may have missed them: For Remodelers, Shortages of Skilled Labor Remain Elevated: May 1, 2019. Remodeling to… Read More ›
After rising throughout most of 2018, with one minor exception, interest rates on loans for residential acquisition, development, and construction (AD&C) backed off slightly in the first quarter of 2019, according to results from NAHB’s latest AD&C survey. The NAHB survey showed average first quarter interest rates of 6.56 percent on land acquisition loans, 6.25 percent on loans for land… Read More ›
After an upward revision, March and April newly-built single-family homes sales data indicate that lower mortgage rates and price incentives increased the volume of transactions as the spring home buying season stabilized after weakness in late 2018. Contracts for new, single-family home sales declined to a 673,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate according to estimates from the joint release of HUD… Read More ›
Despite some recent improvement, household formations have been lagging since the latest downturn. The accompanying effects have been many—including a lower rate of housing production, a lower rate of replacing older housing units, a consequently aging housing stock, and increased doubling up. Remodeling is also potentially affected, as the tendency to double up may be accommodated in part by modifying… Read More ›
New single-family home size increased slightly at the start of 2019, as the market slowed. According to first quarter 2019 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, median single-family square floor area ticked up to 2,355 square feet. Average (mean) square footage for new single-family homes increased to 2,584 square feet. On… 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 recent quarters. There were 29,000 total custom starts for the first quarter of 2019. This was down slightly compared to the first quarter of 2018 (31,000). Over the last four quarters, custom housing starts totaled 170,000. This was… Read More ›
Last week’s post covered general issues related to Aging-In-Place (such as how many professional remodelers do it, and how many of their customers are receptive to it), using data from NAHB’s Remodeling Market Index (RMI) survey for the 4th quarter of 2018. This post covers some of the more detailed questions from the same survey, including specific types of Aging-in-Place projects undertaken… Read More ›
The number of single-family homes built-for-rent declined at the start of 2019. According to data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, there were 5,000 single-family built-for-rent starts for the first quarter of 2019. This is lower than the 6,000 estimated for the start of 2018. Over the last four quarters, 42,000 such homes began construction…. Read More ›