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.

Federal Reserve Rate Cuts in View

The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee once again held constant the federal funds rate at a top target of 5.5% at the conclusion of its July meeting. In its statement,

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Downshift for Construction Job Openings

Due to slowing home construction and elevated interest rates, the count of open construction sector jobs shifted lower in June, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover

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Single-Family Starts Weaken in June

Elevated interest rates for home mortgages and construction and development loans kept single-family production and demand in check during June. Overall housing starts increased 3.0% in June to a seasonally

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Higher Rates Sideline Home Buyers

Mortgage rates that averaged 7.06% in May per Freddie Mac, the highest monthly average since last November, put a damper on new home sales last month. Sales of newly built,

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Housing Starts Retreat in May

Single-family and multifamily housing starts fell in May as high interest rates for construction and development loans and elevated mortgage rates held back both housing supply and demand. Overall housing

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Custom Home Building Slowdown

NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates a slowing market for custom home building after a recent gain in market share. The

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