Eye On Housing
Recent data released under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) on mortgage loans indicates that the FHA-insured share of all 1-4 family mortgage originations in owner-occupied homes increased in 2015. At the same time, refinancings relative to home purchase and home improvement mortgages also rose, especially for FHA-insured mortgages. The HMDA was enacted by Congress in 1975 and was implemented… Read More ›
Wood framing remains the most dominant construction method for single-family homes in the U.S., according to NAHB analysis of Census Bureau data. For 2015 completions, 93% of new homes were wood-framed. Another 7% were concrete homes, and less than half a percent were steel-framed. In absolute number terms, 603,000 single-family homes were completed in 2015 and had wood frames. Concrete homes totaled… Read More ›
A majority of new homes that completed construction in 2015 included two-car garages, according to NAHB analysis of Census Bureau Survey of Construction data. For new single-family completions in 2015, 61% of homes offered a two-car garage. Another 24% of homes possessed a garage large enough to hold three or more cars. Just 6% of newly-built homes had a one-car garage, and only 1%… Read More ›
The September pace of total housing starts decreased 9% due a substantial decline in multifamily production. Single-family construction continues, as expected, along a positive trend. According to estimates from the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, single-family starts increased 8.1% to a 783,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in September. Year-to-date, single-family housing starts are running almost 10% higher… Read More ›
Builder confidence in the market for newly constructed single-family homes remained on firm ground in October, declining two points to a level of 63 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Despite the decline, the HMI now stands at its second-highest level in 2016, a sign that the housing recovery continues to make solid progress. However,… Read More ›
In its Survey of Construction (SOC), the US Census Bureau publishes data on the number of bathrooms in new homes started. In the last several years, the share of new single-family homes with 3 or more full bathrooms has increased, which may reflect the move by builders to focus on higher-end, larger homes in the post-recession period. However, recent data indicate that this trend… Read More ›
New homes with 5,000 square feet or more of living space increased both as a share of all new construction and in absolute number in 2015, according to the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction. In 2015, the share of new homes this size reached a post-recession peak of 3.9% of new homes started. The total number of 5,000+ square-foot homes… Read More ›
Sales of newly-built, single-family homes fell 7.6% on a monthly basis in August to a 609,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate according to estimates from the Census Bureau and HUD. However, the monthly change masks the fact that the August pace of new home sales was the second strongest since the end of the Great Recession. New home sales for August… Read More ›
NAHB Economics analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC) data shows that less than 9% of new single-family homes started in 2015 are served by individual wells and close to 16% have private septic systems. These shares, however, vary widely across the nine Census divisions with the corresponding shares reaching 39% and 47% in New England – the highest occurrence… Read More ›
A recent NAHB post shows that, after rising to a record high, the size of new single-family homes has leveled off and, as of the second quarter of 2016, is now trending downward slightly. Several things could be responsible. NAHB (and others) have emphasized a changing mix of repeat and first-time home buyers. Before focusing exclusively on this, however, it would be good… Read More ›