Consumer prices continued to accelerate in January due to higher food, electricity and housing costs. This was the largest year-over-year gain since February 1982. This higher-than-expected inflation may push the
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest weekly application surveys show average loan sizes reaching consecutive record highs each week for the latest month, with a record high of $446,000 for
The Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit Report states that consumer credit increased 5.9 percent in 2021, with revolving and nonrevolving credit increasing 6.6 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively. During
Supply-chain bottlenecks that put upward pressure on home prices along with rising interest rates contributed to housing affordability falling to a 10-year low. The likelihood of higher interest rates in
Much like last year, the price and availability of building materials topped the list of problems builders face. According to special questions on the December 2021 survey for the NAHB/Wells
Despite the omicron surge, the U.S. job market experienced solid gains. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 467,000 in January, and the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.0%. Additionally,
In the third quarter of 2021, the demand for apartment and other multifamily properties surged, contributing to the rise in their price levels, as shown by the Commercial Real Estate
Most analyses of lumber price trends and levels fail to account for inflation because the price data for softwood lumber used in framing applications is generally quoted using the Random
The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) reported the U.S. homeownership rate at 65.5% in the last quarter of 2021. In contrast to some data reporting in 2020 and earlier
An earlier post revealed that 67% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the final quarter of 2021 have spent 3+ months searching
NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total private residential construction spending rose 1.1% in December after an increase of 0.7% in November 2021. Spending stood at a
The construction labor market remains tight, as the industry sees a rising number of job openings year-over-year. The count of open construction jobs declined for the month to 337,000 unfilled
The share of prospective buyers actively trying to find a home fell in both the third (57%) and fourth quarters (52%) of 2021, after reaching a series high of 61%