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 the months ahead (as the Federal Reserve moves to tighten interest rates) along with ongoing production challenges threaten to drive housing affordability even lower 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 Fargo Housing Market Index, building material prices were a significant issue for 96% of builders in 2021, and 91% of the builders expect it to…
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, job gains in December and November were much stronger than initially estimated, according to revisions of the establishment survey data. Construction industry employment (both residential…
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 Price Index (CREPI) series. This recent development owed to a combination of several related factors: an increase in COVID-19 vaccinations, more lenient lending standards by…
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 Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price or lumber futures prices–neither of which is inflation-adjusted. Adjusting for inflation shows that, although the historical price differences are smaller…
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 2021, the last quarter of 2021 data collection was not affected by the pandemic, as in-person interview returned in all areas. The national homeowner vacancy…
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 for a home without success. The inability to find a home they could afford once again became the most common reason (41%) these long-time searchers…
