Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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Building Materials Prices Rise Across the Board in March
Prices paid for goods used in residential construction ex-energy rose 2.4% in March (not seasonally adjusted) and have increased 9.8% over the past 12 months, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Building materials (i.e., inputs to residential construction less food and energy) prices have declined just twice since December 2019. The index… Read More ›
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Record Steel Mill Product Price Increases Add to Lumber Woes, Push Building Materials Higher
Prices paid for goods used in residential construction ex-energy rose 1.4% in February (not seasonally adjusted) and have increased 7.7% over the past 12 months, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Building materials (i.e., inputs to residential construction less food and energy) prices have declined just twice since December 2019. The index… Read More ›
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Global Exports of U.S.-Grade Framing Lumber
The United States consumed roughly 47 billion board feet of softwood lumber in 2019, 30.8% of which came from 48 foreign countries. All softwood lumber imports are not created equally, however. The lumber used to frame a home in the United States must meet stringent standards set by the American Lumber Standard Committee and only 16 foreign countries produce lumber… Read More ›
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Lumber Headlines Broad-Based Increases in Building Materials Prices
Prices paid for goods used in residential construction ex-energy rose 2.1% in January (not seasonally adjusted) and have increased 6.8% over the past 12 months, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Building materials (i.e., inputs to residential construction less food and energy) prices have declined just twice since December 2019…. Read More ›
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State and Local Property Tax Revenues Increased Nearly 20 Percent over the Past Four Years
NAHB analysis of the Census Bureau’s quarterly tax data shows that $633.9 billion in taxes were paid by property owners in the four quarters ending Q3 2020.[1] Four-quarter property tax revenues have declined just once over the last eight years and are more than $100 billion (19.2%) higher than they were four years ago. Year-over-year growth of four-quarter property tax… Read More ›
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Increased Share of All-Cash New Home Sales Marks a Busier-Than-Usual Fourth Quarter
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing published by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that conventional loans financed the most new home sales in a fourth quarter since 2006 (see red bars in the chart below). However, the share of sales backed by conventional loans in the fourth quarter was down 2.2 percentage points (quarter-over-quarter)… Read More ›
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Led by Lumber, Building Materials Prices Climb 5.4% in 2020
Prices paid for goods used in residential construction ex-energy rose 0.7% in December (not seasonally adjusted) and ended the year 5.4% higher than they stood in December 2019, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Building materials (i.e., inputs to residential construction less food and energy) prices declined just twice over the… Read More ›
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Building Materials Prices Decline in November Amid High Volatility
Prices paid for goods used in residential construction ex-energy decreased 0.6% in November (not seasonally adjusted) according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index for inputs to residential construction, including food and energy also decreased over the month, albeit by slightly less (-0.5%). Neither measure had fallen since pandemic-driven price… Read More ›
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Building Materials Prices Little Changed in October
Prices paid for goods used in residential construction climbed 0.2% in October (not seasonally adjusted) according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index for inputs to residential construction, goods less food and energy (i.e. the “core”)—a less volatile price measure—increased 0.2% over the month. The core index for building materials… Read More ›
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Buoyed by Low Interest Rates, Conventional Loan Market Share Rises
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing published by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that conventional loans financed the most new home sales in a quarter since 2007. The share of sales backed by conventional loans in the third quarter was 71.8%–the largest share since Q4 2018, but well below the housing boom peak of 91.7% (Q4… Read More ›