January Private Residential Construction Spending Dips

Private residential construction spending declined by 0.4% in January, largely driven by a decrease in multifamily construction and home improvement spending. This decline followed three consecutive months of growth, indicating a downward shift in the monthly data.  Despite the monthly drop, spending remains 3.1% higher than a year ago, showing the resilience of the housing…

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Multifamily Unit Size Increases

According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts declined during the fourth quarter of 2024. For the quarter, 91,000 multifamily residences started construction. Of this total, 86,000 were built-for-rent. This was almost 12% lower than the fourth quarter of 2023. The market share of rental units of multifamily…

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Townhouse Construction Expanded in 2024

Townhouse construction expanded 10% during 2024, outpacing the rest of the single-family home building market. According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, during the fourth quarter of 2024, single-family attached starts totaled 44,000. Over the last four quarters (2024 as a whole), townhouse construction starts totaled…

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Single-Family Built-for-Rent Construction Falls Back

Single-family built-for-rent construction posted year-over-year declines for the fourth quarter of 2024, as a higher cost of financing crowded out development activity. This slowdown is similar to the deceleration of multifamily construction in recent quarters. According to NAHB’s analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, there were approximately…

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Housing Starts Retreat at the Start of 2025

Constrained housing affordability conditions due to ongoing, elevated interest rates led to a reduction in single-family production to start the new year. Overall housing starts decreased 9.8% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.37 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S….

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