Eye On Housing

National Association of Home Builders Discusses Economics and Housing Policy

Paul Emrath

Paul Emrath, Ph.D., is the vice president for survey and housing policy research for NAHB where his responsibilities include conducting statistical and economic research for NAHB and its local affiliates, as well as managing NAHB’s survey and housing policy departments. The survey department conducts the monthly survey that generates the widely cited NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, as well as special surveys such as the one used to break down construction costs in a new home. The housing policy research department conducts a broad range of policy-related research such as estimating the economic impact of home building and analyzing proposed government regulations changes for NAHB committees and councils. Since joining NAHB in 1992, Dr. Emrath has developed many of the statistical methods NAHB uses to analyze housing data, produced over 700 local impact of home building studies, and published more than 150 articles on a wide variety of housing related topics — twice winning National Investment Center awards for articles on 55+ housing. Prior to joining NAHB, he taught economic theory and statistics at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for four years. He holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Credit Conditions for Builders Tighten

Paul Emrath06 mins

For the fourteenth consecutive quarter, builders and developers reported tighter credit conditions on loans for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) in NAHB’s quarterly survey on AD&C Financing.   In the second quarter of 2025, the NAHB survey’s net easing index posted a reading of -12.3 (the negative number indicating that credit tightened since…

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Credit Still Tight, But Builders Finally Get Some Relief from Interest Rates

Paul Emrath04 mins

In the third quarter of 2024, borrowers and lenders agreed, as they have over most of the past three years, that credit for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) tightened. On the borrower’s side, the net easing index from NAHB’s survey on AD&C Financing posted a reading of -12.0 (the negative number indicates credit was…

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Over Two-Thirds of New Homes in 2023 Feature Porches

Paul Emrath03 mins

Porches continue to rank as the most common outdoor feature on new homes, according to NAHB tabulation of the latest data from the Survey of Construction (SOC, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau with partial funding from HUD). Of the roughly 950,000 single-family homes started in 2023, the SOC data show that 67.7% were built with porches. This…

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