Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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States with Highest and Fastest Rising Construction Wages
As the construction labor market remains tight and skilled labor shortages persist, wages in construction continue to rise, often outpacing and exceeding typical earnings in other industries. According to the latest Current Employment Statistics (CES) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), average hourly earnings (AHE) in construction vary greatly across 43 states that reported these data. Some of… Read More ›
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Building Materials Prices Rise Further
According to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy (not seasonally adjusted) climbed 1.4% in March, following an upwardly revised increase of 2.2% in February and 4.1% in January. This adds up to an 8% jump in building materials prices since the start… Read More ›
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Highest Paid Occupations in Construction in 2021
According to the latest May 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) and analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), half of payroll workers in construction earn more than $49,070 and the top 25% make at least $75,820. In comparison, the U.S. median wage is $45,760, while the top quartile (top 25%) makes… Read More ›
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One in Four New Homes are Infills or Teardowns in Older Neighborhoods
According to the latest Annual Builder Practices Survey (ABPS), one in four new single-family detached homes were built in established neighborhoods in 2020. This includes 19% of new homes that were built on infill lots and 6% that involved tearing down an old building prior to building a brand new single-family detached home. These shares vary significantly across the United… Read More ›
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Lot Values Surge at Record Breaking Pace
Lot values for single-family detached homes started in 2020 surged 18%, according to NAHB’s analysis of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) data. As a result, the median lot price reached a new record high of $53,000. Though an 18% jump in lot values is unprecedented, it is consistent with other significant building material price hikes and undeniable supply… Read More ›
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Highest Paid Occupations in Construction in 2020
According to the 2020 Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Survey data and analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), half of payroll workers in construction earn more than $50,460 and the top 25% make at least $71,000. In comparison, the U.S. median wage is $49,150, while the top quartile (top 25%) makes at least $67,410…. Read More ›
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Lot Size Remains Low in 2020
The median lot size of a new single-family detached home sold in 2020 stands at 8,306 square feet, or just under one-fifth of an acre. This is slightly larger but statistically not different from the lowest on record median of 8,177 square feet set a year ago. The share of smaller lots, under 0.16 acres, is now record high at… Read More ›
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Most Homebuilders are Small Businesses
New NAHB research shows that despite declining self-employment rates and the rising top builder market share, residential construction remains the industry of independent entrepreneurs with close to 80% of homebuilders and specialty trade contractor firms being self-employed independent contractors. Even among firms with paid employees, the industry continues to be dominated by small businesses, with 63% of homebuilders and two… Read More ›
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Construction Self-Employment Rates at Record Low
According to the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS), 22% (2.4 million) of construction workers are self-employed. This is significantly higher than an economy-wide average of 9.7% of the employed labor force. Nevertheless, construction self-employment rates are now lowest on record, down from a record high of over 26% in 2010. One of the factors behind the recently falling construction self-employment… Read More ›
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Home Building Employment across States and Congressional Districts in 2019
According to the latest 2019 ACS, over 11 million people, including self-employed workers, worked in construction in 2019. NAHB Economics estimates that out of this total, 4.4 million people worked in residential construction, accounting for 2.8% of the US employed civilian labor force. Home building in Florida, Vermont and multiple states in the Mountain Division stand out for generating a… Read More ›