Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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Residential Building Wage Growth Slowing
Average hourly earnings for residential building workers* continue to rise in August but at a slower pace. Wage growth has retreated from the highest rate of 2021. The recent housing slowdown indicates that, while labor demand is still high, employers are cautious about hiring amid a slowing economy and rising interest rates. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)… Read More ›
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Job Growth Slows in September
Job growth slowed in September as the Fed raises interest rates aggressively to fight inflation, but the overall labor market remains tight. The unemployment rate edged down to 3.5% as the number of persons in the labor force decreased by 57,000 in September. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 in September, following a gain of 315,000 in August, as… Read More ›
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New Homes Built with Private Wells and Individual Septic Systems in 2021
According to NAHB Economics analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC) data, almost 9% of new single-family homes started in 2021 are served by individual wells and 16% have private septic systems. These shares, however, vary widely across the nine Census divisions with the corresponding shares reaching 36% and 44% in New England – the highest occurrence rates in the… Read More ›
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Covid Era Impacts on Working from Home and Housing Market Impacts
While the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered many social and economic disruptions, it has also changed working arrangements and has accelerated the shift to work from home (WFH). During the COVID-19 outbreak in the early of 2020, many businesses across the United States closed and millions of workers experienced the work from home trend out of necessity. This sudden and massive… Read More ›
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Housing Permits Fall Back Again in August
In August, housing starts rebounded but housing permits declined for the second straight month. The August drop in building permits indicates that the housing market is continues to cool as rising construction costs, elevated mortgage rates and supply chain disruptions continue to act as a drag on the market. Overall housing starts rose 12.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate… Read More ›
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Solid Job Gains in August
Job growth remained solid in August, with 315,000 net job growth. However, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 3.7% in August, as the labor market participation rate expanded. “Softer labor market conditions” are expected in the near future as the Fed raises interest rates aggressively into 2023 to bring inflation lower. The headline job number of today’s labor… Read More ›
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Home Price Growth Eased in June
Home price growth decelerated in June and home prices grew at a single-digit annual rate for the first time in the past 23 months. As housing demand is softening, with declines for existing home sales and new home sales and weakened single-family starts, home price growth is expected to slow. In July, all the 20 metro areas experienced significant deceleration…. Read More ›
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Single-Family Homes Started in 2021
According to NAHB analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC), new single-family starts expanded at a fast pace in 2021. Nationally, 1,133,145 new single-family units were started in 2021, 14% higher than the units started in 2020. It marked the fastest growth rate since 2013 and the highest count of starts since the Great Recession. Among all the nine Census… Read More ›
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Job Gains Soar in July Amid Recession Fears
Job growth accelerated in July amid higher inflation and growing economic pressures. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 528,000, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5% in July. Construction industry employment (both residential and non-residential) totaled 7.7 million and has exceeded its February 2020 level. In July, residential construction gained 14,100 jobs, and non-residential construction added 18,300 jobs. Residential… Read More ›
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The Second Quarter of Negative Growth: A Recession?
The U.S. economy definitively slowed in the first half of 2022 as the Federal Reserve tightened financial conditions. Real GDP fell for the second straight quarter, while the Fed raised interest rates by 75 basis points for the second consecutive month to reduce inflation pressure. Despite these negative elements, the job market remained solid amid inflation concerns and growing recession… Read More ›