Both real and nominal wage growth for residential building workers slowed during the second quarter of 2025, reflecting a broader cooling in the construction labor market, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In nominal terms, average hourly earnings...
Elevated mortgage rates, weak buyer traffic and ongoing supply-side challenges continued to act as a drag on builder confidence in August, as sentiment levels remain in a holding pattern at a low level. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 32...
Single-family housing permits continued a downhill trend for the sixth month in a row. The continuous decline in single-family permits highlights persistently weak housing demand, tied to affordability challenges like high mortgage rates. Builders appear cautious amid economic uncertainty, labor constraints, and rising inventories. The...
For the fourteenth consecutive quarter, builders and developers reported tighter credit conditions on loans for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) in NAHB’s quarterly survey on AD&C Financing. In the second quarter of 2025, the NAHB survey’s net easing index posted a reading...
Prices for residential building materials rose again in July, marking the largest year-over-year increase in over two years. The underlying price growth trend remained the same, with service prices continuing to grow at a faster pace than goods prices. Similar to last month, parts for...
Real GDP growth rebounded in the second quarter, driven by a turnaround in the trade balance and stronger consumer spending. According to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annual rate of 3.0%...
Overall consumer credit continued to rise in 2025, but the pace of growth remains slow. Student loan balances also rose year-over-year as borrowers resumed payments following the end of pandemic-era relief. Meanwhile, credit card and auto loan debt both experienced their slowest annual growth rates...
Inflation held steady at 2.7% in July as food and energy prices remained subdued and offset increases in service prices, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) latest report. Core inflation, which exclude volatile food and energy, picked up to its largest monthly increase...
The total market share of non-site built single-family homes (modular and panelized) was just 3% of single-family homes in 2024, according to completion data from the Census Bureau Survey of Construction data and NAHB analysis. This is the same as the 3% share in 2023....
In 2024, 73% of new single-family homes started were built on slab foundations, according to NAHB analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC). Although this was a modest year-over-year increase of 0.6 percentage points, it continues the upward trend in slab adoption,...
In the second quarter of 2025, overall demand for residential mortgages was weaker, while lending standards for most types of residential mortgages were essentially unchanged, according to the recent release of the Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS). For commercial real estate (CRE) loans, lending...
Confidence in the market increased for multifamily developers in the second quarter of 2025, according to the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released today by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The MMS produces two separate indices. The Multifamily Production Index (MPI) was up two...
Mortgage application activity picked up in July as interest rates eased modestly. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, which tracks mortgage application volume, rose 2.4% from June on a seasonally adjusted basis. Compared to July 2024, total applications were up 24.5%. The average...
American housing market is facing a persistent shortage. Home prices have reached historic highs and affordability has declined. Normally, in response to higher prices, housing supply would increase. However, new home construction has not kept pace with population growth and household formation, especially following the...
Average mortgage rates dipped in July, according to Freddie Mac. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.72%, 10 basis points (bps) lower than June. Meanwhile, the 15-year rate declined 9 bps to average at 5.86%. Compared to a year ago, the 30-year rate is down...
Private fixed investment in student dormitories inched up 0.3% in the second quarter of 2025, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $3.9 billion. This gain followed a 1.1% decrease in the previous quarter, as elevated interest rates placed a damper on student housing...
Private residential construction spending fell by 0.7% in June, marking the sixth straight month of decreases. This decline was primarily driven by reduced spending on single-family construction. Compared to a year ago, total spending was down 6.2%, as the housing sector continues to navigate the...
Personal income increased by 0.3% in June, following a 0.4% dip in May, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The gains in personal income were largely driven by higher wages and social benefits. However, the pace of personal income growth...
