Credit conditions on loans for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) were still tightening in the third quarter of 2025, according to NAHB’s quarterly survey on AD&C Financing. The net easing index derived from the survey posted a reading of -11.0 (the negative number...
Lending standards for most types of residential mortgages were essentially unchanged, according to the recent release of the Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS). For commercial real estate (CRE) loans, lending standards for construction & development were modestly tighter, while multifamily was essentially unchanged. Demand for...
All types of mortgage activity rose on a year-over-year basis in October, supported by recent declines in interest rates. Notably, adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) applications more than doubled from a year ago, and refinancing activity continued to strengthen. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index,...
In April 2020, total payroll employment in the United States fell by an unprecedented 20.5 million, following a loss of 1.4 million in March, as the COVID-19 pandemic brought the economy to a sudden halt. The unemployment rate surged by 10.4 percentage points to 14.8%...
Overall consumer credit continued to rise for the third quarter of 2025, but the pace of growth remains slow. Student loan balances continue to rise as well, slowly returning to pre-COVID growth. Furthermore, credit card and auto loan balances continue to grow but at historically...
International trade remains a source of volatility across the building materials sector, particularly in the softwood lumber market. Recent adjustments to antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) rates, combined with the imposition of Section 232 tariffs, have increased the trade-related cost of Canadian imports. As a...
As the nation’s housing stock continues to age and new homes remain out of reach for many buyers, remodeling is capturing a growing share of the residential construction market, both in terms of the number of firms and employment. With most U.S. households unable to...
Following the release of the 2024 single-family MAI last week, the National Association of Home Builders developed the Multifamily Market Association Index (MAI) to measure how closely multifamily building permits in metro areas follow national patterns. By comparing local and national trends, the MAI helps...
Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing increased year-over-year in the third quarter, according to the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released today by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The MMS produces two separate indices. The Multifamily Production Index (MPI) had a reading...
Three-bedroom single-family homes reached their largest share of starts since 2011 and remained the most prevalent number of bedrooms among new homes. The share of starts for four-bedroom homes declined for the third consecutive year but remained well above the shares for two-bedroom or less...
Every year, NAHB and other industry experts and economists bring their latest insights to the NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS). For 2026, IBS offers an unparalleled lineup of IBS Education sessions that cover every sector of the housing industry: single-family, multifamily, remodeling, design trends, and...
In 2024, most new single-family homes included laundry connections on the first floor (70%), according to the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction. The first floor is also where most customers prefer to have the laundry, as shown in Chapter 2 of What Home Buyers Really...
Average mortgage rates in October trended downward to the lowest rates in over a year. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.25% in October, 10 basis points (bps) lower than September. Meanwhile, the 15-year rate declined just 1 bp to 5.49%. Both...
The National Association of Home Builders developed the Single-Family Market Association Index (MAI) to measure how closely single-family building permits in metro areas follow national patterns. By comparing local and national trends, the MAI helps industry leaders and forecasters better understand and predict housing market...
With the government shutdown limiting the quantity of economic data available to markets and policymakers, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) enacted a widely anticipated 25 basis point cut for the short-term federal funds rate. This marks the second consecutive cut this Fall,...
Home prices in August grew at the lowest annual rate in over two years, according to the recent release of the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index (seasonally adjusted – SA). Home prices grew at an annual rate of 1.51%, almost half the rate of...
In 2024, nearly a quarter of new homes were built with a two-story foyer, virtually unchanged from 2023, according to data obtained from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) and tabulated by NAHB. The market share of two-story foyers has been generally trending downward...
Inflation increased in September to the fastest pace since the start of the year, showing tariff pressure on prices continues to materialize gradually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) latest report. This month’s data collection was completed prior to the government shutdown but...
