Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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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 ›
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States and Construction Trades Most Reliant on Immigrant Workers
Last week, we published a post highlighting a continuing high reliance of construction on immigrant workers that now account for 24% of the construction work force. The share is much higher, reaching 30%, among construction tradesmen. In some states, reliance on foreign-born labor is even more pronounced with immigrants comprising close to 40% of the construction workforce in California and… Read More ›
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Immigrants in Construction: Rising Numbers, Falling Share
According to the most recent American Community Survey (ACS), the number of immigrant workers in construction approached 2.8 million in 2019, the highest level recorded by the ACS. Immigrant workers now account for 24% of the construction workforce, slightly below the 2016 record high share of 24.4%. The share of immigrants is higher in construction trades, reaching 30%. The latest… Read More ›
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How Affordable is the New Home Premium?
Earlier we published a post highlighting lower operating costs per dollar value for new homes. This post takes the analysis a step further and shows that home buyers can afford to pay a 36% premium for a new single-family detached house, compared to the one built before 1960, simply because it is new and has lower operating and maintenance costs…. Read More ›
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Operation Costs per Dollar Value Lower for New Homes
New NAHB research based on the latest 2019 American Housing Survey (AHS) shows that, on average, homeowners spend around $9,240 per year to operate and maintain a single-family detached home. This includes property taxes, insurance, maintenance and utilities, with property taxes being the costliest component. Annual operating costs increase consistently with household income, home size and value. When measured as… Read More ›
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Where are the Largest Homes Built?
We previously reported a declining trend in new single-family home size that is likely to reverse during the post pandemic years. NAHB’s analysis of the 2019 Survey of Construction (SOC) data shows the pre-Covid19 trend of declining home size has been universal across the US regions. Nevertheless, regional differences in new home sizes exist with some of the largest single-family… Read More ›
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Sale and Contract Prices per Square Foot in 2019
According to NAHB’s analysis of the 2019 Survey of Construction data, the highest median square foot sale and contract prices are registered in the West and Northeast. The most economical custom and for-sale homes are started in the South region, where the median contract and sale prices per square foot are consistently below the national medians. Looking at single-family for-sale… Read More ›