High interest rates for construction and development loans as well as ongoing challenges regarding labor shortages and higher prices for many building materials continued to slow the building market this summer. Overall housing starts decreased 6.8% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.24 million units, according to a report from the U.S….
Of the roughly 950,000 single-family and 470,000 multifamily homes that started construction in 2023, 49,000 (30,000 single-family and 19,000 multifamily) were built in age-restricted communities, according to NAHB tabulation of data from the Census’s Survey of Construction. A residential community can be legally age-restricted, provided it conforms to one of the set of rules specified in the Housing for…
A lack of affordability and buyer hesitation stemming from elevated interest rates and high home prices contributed to a decline in builder sentiment in August. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 39 in August, down two points from a downwardly revised reading of 41 in July, according to the National…
Inflation dropped below a 3% annualized growth rate for the first time since March 2021 even though housing costs continue to climb. Nonetheless, the headline reading is another dovish signal for future monetary policy, following signs of weakness in the most recent job report. Despite a slowdown in the year-over-year increase, shelter costs continue to…
Over the first half of 2024, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 514,728. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an increase of 14.6% over the June 2023 level of 449,226. Year-to-date ending in June, single-family permits were up in all four regions. The range of permit increases spanned 19.9%…
Inputs to residential construction, goods less foods and energy, decreased 0.04% in July according to the most recent Producer Price Index (PPI) report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The index for inputs to residential construction, goods less food and energy, represents building materials used in residential construction. Compared to a year…
The majority of NAHB builder members are small businesses, according to the annual census of its members NAHB has been conducting since 2008. The most recent installment of the census was conducted at the end of 2023 and covered business activity through 2023. The census shows that, on average, NAHB builders started 59.2 homes in…
