NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing published by the Census Bureau reveals that cash sales accounted for 11,000 new home sales in the fourth quarter of 2017. Cash purchases also accounted for 11,000 new home sales in Q2 2017, but only made up 6.5% of the total. In contrast, they made…
From the trough of the housing downturn in 2010 through 2015, the number of homes under construction increased by 131 percent and the number of employees working in construction trade businesses increased by 18 percent. Over that span, how much would you guess the number of one-person construction trade firms increased? The answer, believe it or…
Prices paid for OSB (-13.0%), softwood lumber (-1.0%), and inputs to residential construction (-0.1%), all decreased in December, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index for gypsum products advanced (+1.6%). Over the course of 2017, the price paid for every major input to construction NAHB…
