Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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Top Products Used in New Residential Construction
In a recent article, NAHB analysis of government data found that new single-family and multifamily construction used a total of roughly $94.93 billion in building products in 2019. Although the vast majority of the $94.93 billion was produced domestically, supporting jobs in the U.S. manufacturing sector, about 6.4 percent ($6.12 billion) was imported from other countries. It may seem a… Read More ›
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Average New Home Price Now $14,000 Higher Due to Lumber
(Note: lumber pricing continues to rise, so these numbers have been surpassed. See this post for an estimate updated on August 22 with a $16,000 impact.) According to NAHB’s standard estimates of lumber used to build the average home, the recent spike in softwood lumber prices has caused the price of an average new single-family home to increase by $14,116… Read More ›
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Again, Credit for Builders Tightens While Rates Decline
Builders and developers responding to NAHB’s survey on financing for Acquisition, Development and Construction (AD&C) indicated that credit continued to become tighter in the second quarter of 2020. The net tightening index derived from the survey came in at 12.0, after reaching an 8 1/2-year high of 22.7 in the first quarter. The index is constructed so that positive numbers… Read More ›
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Credit for Builders Tightens, Virus Blamed
For the first time since 2012, builders and developers reported tighter credit conditions on loans for land acquisition, development and single-family construction (AD&C) in NAHB’s AD&C financing survey for the first quarter of 2020. The net tightening index derived from the NAHB survey jumped to 22.7, about 40 points higher than the -22.3 reported in the fourth quarter of 2019. … Read More ›
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Virus Affecting Homeowners’ Willingness to Remodel
A recent NAHB survey shows the negative effect the coronavirus pandemic is having on the decision to remodel. Over 90 percent of remodelers in the survey reported a slowdown in both the rate at which inquiries are coming in, and in the general willingness of homeowners to remodel at this time. This information was collected via a question added to… Read More ›
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Some Cities Keep Construction Going via Virtual Inspections
By now, many cities have classified residential construction as an essential business: an activity allowed to continue during the coronavirus-induced shutdown. This in itself may not be sufficient to keep construction going, however, and some jurisdictions have also started to allow virtual inspections as an attempted remedy. Data on these trends were collected recently through questions on the survey for… Read More ›
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Builders Respond to Virus in a Variety of Ways
In a recent NAHB survey, the vast majority of builders said they were allowing non-construction employees to work from home, but they were also implementing several measures to allow them to continue selling homes during the coronavirus pandemic. The most common of these is private showings of model homes, but online and drive-through closings are also being offered. This information… Read More ›
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For Multifamily, Virus Impacting Rent Collection, Plan Reviews
In an online poll conducted by NAHB in recent days, 90 percent of multifamily developers said the coronavirus has had an adverse effect on how long it takes to obtain a plan review for a typical multifamily building, and 88 percent said it has had an adverse effect on timely collection of rent payments. The poll collected 49 responses from… Read More ›
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Virus Now Impacting Traffic for Nearly All Builders
In the third week of NAHB’s online poll, the coronavirus’s impact on traffic of prospective buyers has become almost ubiquitous. A full 96 percent of respondents said the virus was having at least some adverse effect on traffic, and 72 percent characterized it as a major adverse effect. This result is based on 256 responses collected online between March 31… Read More ›
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Week 2 Poll Shows Impacts of Virus on the Rise
The second week of NAHB’s online poll showed that several of the coronavirus’s impacts on the residential construction industry have become more widespread and severe. Once again, traffic ranked as the most widespread problem, with 93 percent of respondents saying the coronavirus has had an adverse impact on traffic of prospective buyers. This result is based on 318 responses collected… Read More ›