Author Archives

  • 2020 ACS Experimental Data: A Note for Home Building Researchers

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    Researchers in the home building industry should be aware that the Census Bureau released experimental estimates from the 1-year ACS data for 2020 instead of the standard 1-year 2020 estimates. This change is due to the disruption of data collection operations by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, affecting the quality of these estimates. The Census Bureau developed a  new weighting… Read More ›

  • Private Residential Spending Rises in November 2021

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    NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total private residential construction spending rose 0.9% in November after a decrease of 0.2% in October 2021. It stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $796.3 billion. Total private residential construction spending was 16.3% higher than a year ago. These monthly gains are attributed to the strong growth of spending… Read More ›

  • Private Residential Spending Dips for Second Month

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    NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total private residential construction spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $774.9 billion, down 0.5% from the upwardly revised September estimates. Total private residential construction spending was 16.7% higher than a year ago. Spending on single-family, multifamily constructions and improvements all declined in October, as homebuilding is still facing… Read More ›

  • Third Quarter of 2021 Homeownership Rate at 65.4%

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    The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) reported the U.S. homeownership rate was flat at 65.4% in the third quarter of 2021. Compared to prior reports, the data was affected less significantly by the pandemic, since in-person interviews were back in 99.5% of the sample. The national homeowner vacancy rate stayed at a record low of 0.9%, while the rental… Read More ›

  • Private Residential Spending Dips in September

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    NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total private residential construction spending decreased 0.4% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $773.5 billion. Total private residential construction spending was 19.3% higher than a year ago. Spending on single-family, multifamily constructions and improvements all declined in September, as homebuilding is still facing the supply chain issues, the… Read More ›

  • Personal Income Declined 1% in September

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    The most recent data release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) showed that personal income slumped 1% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $20,490 billion. This decrease in personal income was largely due to declines in the government social benefits, including economic impact payments and the pandemic unemployment compensation. It largely offset the increase in… Read More ›

  • Private Residential Spending Keeps Rising in August

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    NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total private residential construction spending rose 0.4% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $786.6 billion. Total private residential construction spending was 24.3% higher than a year ago. The monthly gains are attributed to the strong growth of spending on improvements, while spending on single-family and multifamily constructions slipped…. Read More ›

  • Women Make Up 10.9% of the Construction Workforce

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    The number of women employed in the construction industry grew slightly in 2020, rising to around 1.17 million, while the construction industry lost 587,000 jobs in 2020 when the pandemic hit the economy. Currently, women make up a growing share of the construction employment, up to 10.9% in 2020 from 10.3% in 2019. As the construction skilled labor shortage remains… Read More ›

  • Private Residential Spending Increased in July

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    NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total private residential construction spending rose 0.5% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $773.0 billion. Total private residential construction spending was 27% higher than a year ago. The monthly gains are attributed to the strong growth of spending on single-family construction and improvements. Single-family construction spending rose to… Read More ›

  • 65% of New Single-family Homes Used Slab Foundation in 2020

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    NAHB analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC) shows that 65% of all new single-family started in 2020 were built on slab foundations, followed by 22% with a full/partial basement and 12% with a crawl space. The gap between slab and full/partial basement foundation adoption rates is growing: the share of new homes built on slabs steadily increased from 46.0%… Read More ›