Eye On Housing
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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 ›
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How Home Building Can Lead a Recovery by Generating Jobs
As the U.S. economy struggles under the burden of the coronavirus pandemic, economists are discussing how a recovery might unfold once social distancing and other measures begin to succeed. A recent NAHB article illustrates the role home building can play in a recovery by generating jobs. The article published updated estimates of the national economic impact of home building. The… Read More ›
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Survey: Builders Say Coronavirus Hurting Traffic
In a survey conducted by NAHB online in recent days, 81 percent of respondents said the coronavirus has had an adverse effect on traffic of prospective buyers. The survey, which was publicized in various internal NAHB communications and social media, collected 308 responses between March 18 and March 23. The largest share of responses (51 percent) came from single-family home… Read More ›
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Rates on Construction Loans Continue to Drift Downward
In the fourth-quarter of 2019, builders and developers reported declining interest rates on all types of loans covered in NAHB’s quarterly survey on acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) financing (Exhibit 8). The average interest rate declined from 6.39 to 6.13 percent on loans for land acquisition, from 6.31 to 5.94 percent on loans for land development, from 5.99 to 5.63… Read More ›
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63 Million Households Are Unable to Afford a $250,000 Home
In January, NAHB released its new Priced-Out Estimates for 2020. A previous post discussed the often-cited estimate that a $1,000 increase in the price of a median-priced new home will price 158,857 U.S. households out of the market for the home. A second post discussed the related estimate that a quarter point increase in the mortgage rate will price out… Read More ›
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Interest Rates Can Also Price Households Out of the Market
Last Friday’s Eye on Housing blog post announced the release of NAHB’s “priced out” estimates for 2020, showing that—if the median new home price goes up by $1,000—it prices 158,857 U.S. households out of the market, in the sense that they would qualify for a standard mortgage to purchase the home before the price increase, but not afterward. The same… Read More ›