Eye On Housing
Have High Prices Reduced New Construction Interest?
The share of prospective home buyers looking to buy a newly-built home peaked at 42% in the fourth quarter of 2020, before falling to 38% and 33%, respectively, in the first two quarters of 2021. The drop is most likely the direct result of strong gains in new home prices in 2021, which have been driven by double-digit growth in… Read More ›
Recent Posts
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Modular and Other Non-Site Built Housing In 2020
The total market share of non-site built single-family homes (modular and panelized) was at 3% of single-family completions in 2020, according to Census Bureau Survey of Construction data and NAHB analysis. This share is expected to rise moderately in 2021 and in the years ahead, due to the ongoing labor shortage in the residential construction sector and the need to lift labor… Read More ›
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Existing Home Sales Stabilizing in June
After four months of declines, existing home sales stabilized in June as housing inventory modestly improved, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). However, the median existing home price in June remained elevated and was the second-highest on record. Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 1.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of… Read More ›
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Most Common Exteriors On New Homes are Stucco and Vinyl in 2020
According to the data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), stucco was the most common principal exterior material on new single-family homes started in 2020 (28 percent), followed by Vinyl siding (26 percent), fiber cement siding (such as Hardiplank or Hardiboard (21 percent), brick or brick veneer (19 percent). Far smaller shares of single-family homes started last year had wood… Read More ›
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Desire for Homeownership Continues to Increase
Seventeen percent of American adults are considering the purchase of a home within a year, according to NAHB’s Housing Trends Report (HTR) for the second quarter of 2021. The share (now seasonally-adjusted*) has increased for five consecutive quarters, after hitting a series low of 10% in the first quarter of 2020. The upward trend is clear evidence of Americans’ growing… Read More ›
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Lot Size Remains Low in 2020
The median lot size of a new single-family detached home sold in 2020 stands at 8,306 square feet, or just under one-fifth of an acre. This is slightly larger but statistically not different from the lowest on record median of 8,177 square feet set a year ago. The share of smaller lots, under 0.16 acres, is now record high at… Read More ›
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Housing Starts Solid But Permits Weaken in June
Housing production was steady in June, although permit issuance weakened as higher construction costs and other supply limitations are deferring and delaying some construction projects. Overall housing starts increased 6.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.64 million units, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. However, single-family permits… Read More ›
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Employment Situation in June: State-Level Analysis
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 44 states and the District of Columbia in June compared to the previous month while six states lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 850,000 in June, following an upwardly revised increase of 583,000 jobs in May. On a month-over-month basis, employment data was strong in… Read More ›
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Builder Confidence Edges Lower as Material Challenges Persist
Strong buyer demand helped to offset ongoing supply-side challenges of labor shortages, regulatory costs, and rising prices of materials as builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes inched down one point to 80 in July, according the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Among the supply-side challenges, the price of OSB (oriented… Read More ›
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Led by OSB, Lumber Products are Now Adding $30K to House Price, $92 to Rent
According to NAHB’s latest estimates, changes in prices for softwood lumber products that occurred between April 17, 2020 and July 08, 2021 are enough to add $29,833 to the price of an average new single-family home, and $9,990 to the market value of an average new multifamily home. The increase in multifamily value, in turn, translates to households paying $92… Read More ›