Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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Laundry Rooms Top the List of Most Wanted Home Features
Nearly all home buyers – 91 percent – want a laundry room included in their home, more than any other home or community feature, according to NAHB’s report What Home Buyers Really Want (2019 Edition). The report is based on a national survey that asks recent and prospective home buyers (people who bought homes in the previous three years or… Read More ›
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Reasons Why Home Buyers Move
Data from the 2017 American Housing Survey (AHS) show that over half of recent home buyers – 55 percent – move ‘for a better home’ (Graph 1). Home buyers also move for ‘a better neighborhood’ (46 percent) and ‘to form a household’ (39 percent). In contrast, smaller shares of home buyers report moving ‘for a job’ (14 percent) and ‘to… Read More ›
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Multifamily Builder and Developer Confidence Weakens Slightly in Fourth Quarter
Builder and developer confidence in the multifamily market weakened slightly in the fourth quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ Multifamily Market Survey. The Multifamily Production Index (MPI) fell one point from the previous quarter to 47, with a number below 50 indicating that more builders report market conditions are getting worse than improving (Figure 1). Meanwhile, the… Read More ›
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Characteristics of Recent Home Buyers
A total of 8.8 million households bought homes in the two years preceding the release of the 2017 American Housing Survey (AHS). For its February Special Study, the National Association of Home Builders used the 2017 AHS to analyze trends among recent home buyers. The AHS is a nationally representative survey of residential structures in the US and of the… Read More ›
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55+ Housing Market Ends Fourth Quarter on a Positive Note
The National Association of Home Builders’ 55+ single-family housing market index rose 6 points to 66 in the fourth quarter of 2018, returning to levels seen in the first half of the year (Figure 1). A reading at or above 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor. The 55+ HMI consists of two indices: one for… Read More ›
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Remodelers’ Confidence Holds Relatively Steady in Fourth Quarter
The Remodeling Market Index (RMI) dropped one point to 57 in the fourth quarter, essentially unchanged from the third quarter (58), according to the National Association of Home Builders (Figure 1). Since the first quarter of 2013, the RMI has been at or above 50, which means that more remodelers report that market activity is higher than report that it… Read More ›
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Apartment Absorption Inches Up in the Second Quarter of 2018
The US Census Bureau’s Survey of Market Absorption (SOMA), which is produced in collaboration with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, recently released data from the second quarter of 2018. The data show that completions of unfurnished, unsubsidized rental apartments in buildings with five or more units totaled to 78,510, which is up by approximately 3 percent from the… Read More ›
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Multifamily Market Confidence Weakens in Third Quarter
Confidence in the multifamily housing market weakened in the third quarter, according to results from 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) and the Multifamily Vacancy Index (MVI). The MPI, which measures builder and developer sentiment about current production conditions in… Read More ›
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Number of Bathrooms in New Homes
Every year, the US Census Bureau publishes data on the characteristics of new single-family homes started in its Survey of Construction, including data on full and half bathrooms. In 2017, 4 percent of new single-family homes started had 1 full bathroom or less, 60 percent had 2 full bathrooms, 27 percent had 3 full bathrooms, and 9 percent had four… Read More ›
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Builder Confidence in the 55+ Housing Market Drops in the Third Quarter
The single-family 55+ Housing Market Index (55+ HMI) dropped seven points to 60 in the third quarter of 2018, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Although the index declined, it is still above the index break even point of 50, which means that more builders view conditions as good than poor (Figure 1). NAHB produces two 55+… Read More ›