After more than a year of strong gains, average hourly earnings for residential building workers* increased at a relatively slower pace in the past few months. Wage growth has retreated below 3%, from the peak rate of 8% in 2021. According to the Bureau of…
Job growth remained solid in September as the Fed fights against inflation. In fact, the recent jobs data has been stronger than most economists expected and is a reminder that GDP growth for the third quarter will be very strong and inflation risks persist. Total…
NAHB analysis of the 2022 American Community Survey data shows that New Jersey leads the nation with the highest average annual real estate tax (RET) bill ($9,285)—$8,425 more than yearly property taxes paid by Alabama’s homeowners ($860). The size of this disparity grew 1.1% in…
The share of homes with patios edged up to another record high last year. Of the roughly one million single-family homes started in 2022, 63.3% percent came with patios—up from 63.0% in 2021, and the seventh consecutive year of setting a new record. The source…
NAHB Analysis of the Census Bureau’s Characteristics of Units in New Multifamily Buildings Completed finds that 93% of the 368,000 multifamily units completed in 2022 were built-for-rent while the remaining 7% were built-for-sale. The share of new multifamily units that are built-for-sale has remained below…
Financial conditions continue to tighten, as the 10-year Treasury rate increased to above 4.75%. Among the factors leading to higher rates (more debt issuance, higher-for-longer monetary policy expectations, long-term fiscal deficit conditions, and strong current GDP growth forecasts) was a surprise jump in August for…
NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that private residential construction spending rose 0.6% in August. It is the fourth consecutive increase since May 2023, standing at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of $879.9 billion. However, total private residential construction spending is still 3.1%…
