Prices for inputs to new residential construction, excluding capital investment, labor and imports decreased 0.1% in August according to the most recent Producer Price Index (PPI) report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compared to a year ago, this index was up 0.8% in August after a 1.8% increase in July. The inputs…
After its first post-COVID rate hike enacted more than two years ago, the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced at the conclusion of its September meeting a significant reduction for the short-term federal funds rate. Tight monetary policy was undertaken to fight the worst bout of inflation in four decades. Today’s policy action marks…
Single-family starts posted a solid gain in August on robust demand and moderating mortgage rates even as builders continue to grapple with challenges related to lot and labor shortages and elevated prices for many building materials. Overall housing starts increased 9.6% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million units, according to…
With mortgage rates declining by more than one-half of a percentage point from early August through mid-September, per Freddie Mac, builder sentiment edged higher this month even as builders continue to grapple with rising costs. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 41 in September, up two points from a reading…
Over the first seven months of 2024, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 599,308. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an increase of 13.7% over the July 2023 level of 527,158. Year-to-date ending in July, single-family permits were up in all four regions. The range of permit increases spanned…
The average length of time to complete construction of a multifamily building after obtaining authorization was 19.9 months in 2023, according to the 2023 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau. The permit-to-completion time inched up 0.1 months in 2023, after an increase of 2.3 months in 2022, as the ongoing skilled labor shortage…
Shares of new single-family homes built with private wells and individual septic systems decreased in 2023, compared with the previous year. NAHB tabulation of data from the Survey of Construction (SOC) indicates approximately 9% of new single-family homes started in 2023 were served by individual wells and 17% had private septic systems. There are large…
