Although high construction costs and elevated interest rates continue to hamper housing affordability, builders expressed cautious optimism in March as a lack of existing inventory is shifting demand to the new home market. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in March rose two points to 44, according to the National Association…
Consumer prices in February saw the smallest year-over-year gain since September 2021 with an eighth consecutive month of a deceleration. However, the shelter index (housing inflation) continued to rise at an accelerated pace and was the largest contributor to the total increase, accounting for over 70% of the increase. Shelter inflation is a lagging indicator…
Over the first month of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 53,062. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 36.4% below the January 2022 level of 83,404. Year-to-date ending in January, single-family permits declined in all four regions. The Northeast posted a decline of 20.3%, while the West region…
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 48 states and the District of Columbia in January compared to the previous month, while Wyoming and Rhode Island lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 504,000 in January, following a gain of 260,000 jobs in December. On a month-over-month basis,…
Job growth continued in February. After a revised 504,000 job gain in January, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 311,000 in February, and the unemployment rate edged up to 3.6% from 3.4% in January. Wage growth increased to a 4.6% year-over-year gain from 4.4% last month, but down compared to February 2022. Today’s job report…
The most recent release of the Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States shows a decrease in the value of households’ real estate assets over the fourth quarter of 2022. As home prices begin to decrease from pandemic highs, households’ real estate asset value fell for the first time since the first quarter of 2012….
The NAHB recently published its latest Cost of Construction Survey. Results show that 60.8% of the average home sale price consisted of construction costs, essentially unchanged from the 61.1% posted in 2019. Since the inception of this series in 1998, this was the fourth time construction costs represent over 60% of the total price of…
