Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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Home Prices Continue to Rise in September
National home prices continued to increase in September. Despite rising mortgage rates, limited inventory and solid but weakened demand provided solid support for home prices. Locally, all of 20 metro areas had positive home price appreciation in September. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices, rose at a seasonally adjusted annual growth… Read More ›
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Job Growth Slows in October – Good News for Interest Rates
Job growth decelerated in October. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 150,000 and the unemployment rate edged up to 3.9% in October from 3.8%. The labor market is cooling. The Fed held interest rates steady for the second meeting in a row at the conclusion of its November meeting. This month’s employment data will be one of the key components… Read More ›
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New Homes Built with Private Wells and Individual Septic Systems in 2022
NAHB tabulation of data from the Survey of Construction (SOC) indicates shares of new single-family homes built with private wells and individual septic systems increased in 2022, compared with the previous year. About 10% of new single-family homes started in 2022 were served by individual wells and 18% had private septic systems. These shares, however, vary widely across the nine… Read More ›
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U.S. Economic Growth Accelerates in the Third Quarter
The U.S. economy had remarkable growth in the third quarter of 2023, fueled by consumer spending. The GDP price index rose 3.5% for the third quarter, up from a 1.7% increase in the second quarter. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, capturing inflation (or deflation) across a wide range of consumer expenses and reflecting changes in consumer behavior, rose… Read More ›
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Residential Building Wage Growth Slowing
After more than a year of strong gains, average hourly earnings for residential building workers* increased at a relatively slower pace in the past few months. Wage growth has retreated below 3%, from the peak rate of 8% in 2021. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report, average hourly earnings (AHE) for residential building workers were $29.99 per… Read More ›
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Strong Job Gains in September
Job growth remained solid in September as the Fed fights against inflation. In fact, the recent jobs data has been stronger than most economists expected and is a reminder that GDP growth for the third quarter will be very strong and inflation risks persist. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 336,000 and the unemployment rate remained at 3.8% in September…. Read More ›
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Unemployment Rises to 3.8% in August
The recent employment data indicates that the labor market is cooling gradually due to rising interest rates. Total employment increased by 187,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 3.8% from 3.5%. Wage growth slowed. In August, wages grew at a 4.3% year-over-year growth rate, down 1.1 percentage points from a 5.4% gain in August 2022. The Bureau of Labor Statistics… Read More ›
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2022 Single-Family Starts by Census Division
According to NAHB analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC), new single-family starts decreased in 2022. Nationally, 1,018,495 new single-family units started construction in 2022, 10% fewer than the number of units started in 2021. It marked the first decrease since 2011 but was still the second highest count since the Great Recession. Among all nine Census divisions, the South… Read More ›
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Home Price Appreciation Continues in June
In June, national home prices continued to increase. Limited inventory and solid but weakened demand put upward pressure on home prices, despite rising mortgage rates. Locally, all 20 metro areas, reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices, had positive home price appreciation in June. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices, rose at… Read More ›
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Wood-Framed Home Share Increased for Three Straight Years
Wood framing remains the most dominant construction method for single-family homes in the U.S., according to NAHB analysis of 2022 Census Bureau data. For 2022 completions, 94% of new homes were wood-framed, another 6% were concrete-framed homes, and less than half a percent was steel-framed. On a count basis, there were 956,000 wood-framed homes completed in 2022. This was a… Read More ›