National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Author: Robert Dietz

Robert D. Dietz, Ph.D., is the chief economist and senior vice president for economics and housing policy for NAHB, where his responsibilities include housing market analysis, economic forecasting and industry surveys, and housing policy research. Dr. Dietz has published academic research on the private and social benefits of homeownership, federal tax expenditure estimation, and other housing and tax issues in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Housing Research, the National Tax Journal and the NBER Working Paper series. He has testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy on housing and economic issues. Prior to joining NAHB in 2005, Dr. Dietz worked as an economist for the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, specializing in revenue estimation of legislative proposals involving housing, urban development, and other business tax issues. He is a native of Dayton, Ohio and holds a doctorate in economics from The Ohio State University.

Slower Growth for AD&C Loans

Despite some negative reporting about private builder access to acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) financing, the volume of total outstanding loans posted a gain during the first quarter of 2023,

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Despite Headwinds, Job Openings Rise

The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy moved higher in April, rising to 10.1 million and complicating the June Federal Reserve decision. The higher job opening count

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Multifamily Missing Middle Flat at Start of 2023

The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. The multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2- to 4-unit properties)

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Custom Home Building Contracts

NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates custom home building gained market share during recent quarters but experienced a notable drop for

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Townhouse Construction Cools

According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, during the first quarter of 2023, single-family attached starts totaled 29,000, which is

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