Profitability for single-family home builders reached the highest levels in more than a decade in 2023. Industrywide profit benchmarks are important because they allow companies to compare their financial performance against the entire industry. Doing so can guide resource allocation, budgeting, and target setting for costs and expense lines. More broadly, understanding industry benchmarks can…
In a clear sign illustrating the housing affordability challenges facing Americans, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Cost of Housing Index (CHI) found that in the fourth quarter of 2024, a family earning the nation’s median income of $97,800 needed 38% of its income to cover the mortgage payment on a median-priced new…
With the end of 2024 approaching, NAHB’s Eye on Housing is reviewing the posts that attracted the most readers over the last year. In May, Rose Quint shared key takeaways of NAHB’s study of home buyers. High mortgage rates and double-digit growth in home prices since COVID-19 have brought housing affordability to its lowest level…
In another sign of America’s ongoing housing affordability crisis, the National Association of Home Builders /Wells Fargo Cost of Housing Index (CHI) found that in the third quarter of 2024, a family earning the nation’s median income of $97,800 needed 38% of their income to cover the mortgage payment on a median-priced new home. Low-income…
On average, 40% of builders’ single-family home sales so far in 2024 have been made to first-time home buyers, according to the most recent NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index survey (HMI). That share has doubled since 2016, when only 19% of builders’ sales went to first-time buyers. Our limited time-series on this topic in the…
NAHB’s Cost of Housing Index (CHI) highlights the burden that housing costs represent for middle and low-income families. In the second quarter of 2024, the CHI found that a family earning the nation’s median income of $97,800 must spend 38% of its income to cover the mortgage payment on a median-priced new single-family home. Because…
The desirability of new homes continues to grow. Faced with the alternative of choosing between an existing home and a newly built home, 61% of home buyers in a recent NAHB study* indicated a new home is their first preference. That marks the highest share of buyers leaning toward a new home since 2007, when…
