Builder confidence for future sales expectations received a slight boost in July with the extension of the 2017 tax cuts, but elevated interest rates and economic and policy uncertainty continue to act as headwinds for the housing sector. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 33 in July, up one point…
Residential building material prices rose in June, driven primarily by higher construction machinery and equipment part prices. Metal commodities also experienced significant increases, following recently implemented tariffs on steel and aluminum. Meanwhile, price growth for services used in construction continues to outpace both domestic and imported goods. Prices for inputs to new residential construction—excluding capital investment, labor,…
Housing permits continued a downhill trend for the fifth month in a row, pointing to a broader residential construction slowdown for 2025. This slowdown is attributed to factors like higher mortgage rates, tariff concerns, and challenges about future housing demand due to economic uncertainty. Over the first five months of 2025, the total number of…
Inflation rose to a 4-month high in June as consumer prices began to reflect tariff policy. The Consumer Price Index increased from 2.4% in May to 2.7% in June year-over-year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report. Despite the increase, core inflation came in softer than expected, suggesting full tariff impacts will likely push…
The number of residential remodelers in the U.S. has reached a record high of 128,187 establishments, 65% higher than the number of residential builders (single-family and multifamily), which stands at 77,455. These official government counts were released by the U.S. Census Bureau as part of its 2022 Economic Census, which tallies American businesses every five…
Despite shrinking lot sizes, values for single-family detached spec home lots continued to rise, with the national median outpacing U.S. inflation and reaching a new high in 2024. The U.S. median lot value for single-family detached for-sale homes started in 2024 stood at $60,000, according to NAHB’s analysis of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction…
The share of smaller lots remained record high in 2024, with two out of three new single-family detached homes sold occupying lots under 9,000 square feet (1/5 of an acre or less). Moreover, a high share of 40% occupied lots under 7,000 square feet (or less than 1/6 of an acre). These shares match the…
