Eye On Housing
Author Archives
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How Did Homeowners Use the Remodeling Tax Credit?
In a previous Eye on Housing post, NAHB examined the geographic distribution of 2009 claims of the $1,500 remodeling tax credit. We now have data from the IRS on specific kinds of energy-efficient and energy producing equipment that was installed in homes to qualify for the program, as reported on IRS Form 5695 (hat tip to Charlie McCrudden of the Air… Read More ›
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The Importance of Property Taxes for Schools
In federal policy debates, the role of housing as a source of funding for education and other public services is often neglected. According to Census data and NAHB calculations, the average homeowner pays annual property taxes of 1.04% of the value of their home or $1,917. A significant portion of these tax payments goes to finance education. Using data from the… Read More ›
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AD&C Lending Still Contracting
Lending for acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) purposes in home building remains restrictive. Even in areas of the country where growing demand for new construction exists, the lending environment is challenging, which constrains residential construction’s traditional role of leading the economy out of recession. Lending for home building purposes is significantly tighter than loans for commercial construction activities. Data from the FDIC’s… Read More ›
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Household Balance Sheet Repair Stumbles But Continues On
NAHB has been tracking two key economic variables that are critical for a robust and sustainable rebound in housing and the economy as a whole: the ratio of household net worth to disposable income (NW/DPI) and the personal savings rate. The NW/DPI ratio can be thought of a measure of the health of household balance sheets. It tells us how much wealth households have… Read More ›
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Employment Data Show Sluggish Growth
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data for July from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show an economy that is still adding jobs, but at a rate that is too slow to significantly improve the current economic landscape, particularly for housing. On a national basis, the JOLTS data continue to show that job openings are growing. While layoffs ticked up… Read More ›
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NAHB Study Examines Fire Sprinkler Analysis Tool
A new special study from NAHB economist Paul Emrath examines an online tool from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to calculate the costs and benefits of residential fire sprinkler installation. The Sprinkler Use Decisioning (SPUD) tool comes equipped with fire probability and other statistics for the nation as a whole but may provide inconclusive results for some users. The study demonstrates how strongly cost-benefit… Read More ›
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The Good and Bad Impacts for Housing in Obama’s Jobs Proposal
Earlier this week, the White House unveiled specific details of President Obama’s recent jobs proposal (the American Jobs Act). The proposed $447 billion legislation contains a mix of helpful and worrying proposals for the housing sector. From a positive perspective, some of the proposals should provide a short-term boost to economic growth and job creation. Without job creation, new households… Read More ›
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Homebuyer Tax Credit Statistics
The homebuyer tax credit program is in the past for the housing industry. But we can begin to take a look back at the impact of the program using Internal Revenue Service data from 2009 to map where the tax credit was claimed by homebuyers. As with the energy efficiency tax credits, the use of the homebuyer tax credit was used with varying degrees… Read More ›
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Bernanke: Recovery from Crisis Less Robust than Hoped
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke today gave a speech outlining near-term and long-term prospects and policy considerations concerning the nation’s economy. While Bernanke noted some positive developments have occurred in the two years since NBER’s end-date for the Great Recession, he also detailed economic disappointments that are a source of ongoing concern for any small business owner or stakeholder in the housing market. And… Read More ›
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Who Claimed the Energy Efficient Improvement Tax Credit?
In 2009, the rules for the tax code section 25C $1,500 energy-efficient improvement tax credit and the uncapped 25D 30% tax credit for home power production equipment tax credit were significantly expanded. The 25C credit is used to improve existing primary residences by installing energy-efficient windows, doors, roofing, and some home property like water heaters. The 25D credit, which rewards homeowners for installing solar panels,… Read More ›