National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog
Existing Home Sales Retreat Amid Low Inventory
Posted on
Existing home sales fell in January to a more than two-year low after December’s strong rebound, as tight inventory continued to push home prices higher and winter storms weighed on ...
Residential Building Worker Wages Slow in 2025 Amid Cooling Housing Activity
Posted on
Wage growth for residential building workers moderated notably in 2025, reflecting a broader cooling in housing activity and construction labor demand. According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau ...
Low-Rise Multifamily Shows Strength at End of 2025; Other Segments Weak
Posted on
Even though garden/low-rise continues to be strong, overall confidence in the market for new multifamily housing decreased year-over-year in the fourth quarter, according to the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released ...
Job Growth Starts Year on Strong Note: However, 2025 Revisions Offer Caution
Posted on
The U.S. labor market began 2026 at a surprisingly strong pace, while newly released benchmark revisions show that job growth in 2025 was considerably weaker than previously reported. Nonfarm payrolls ...
Credit Card Balances Rise in Q4 2025
Posted on
Overall consumer credit continued to expand in the fourth quarter of 2025, with growth in both nonrevolving and revolving credit. Nonrevolving credit, primarily student and auto loans, accounts for 74% ...
Weaker Demand, Unchanged Lending Conditions for Residential Mortgages in Fourth Quarter
Posted on
Lending standards for most types of residential mortgages were essentially unchanged but overall demand was weaker in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the recent release of the Senior ...
Lower Rates Lift Mortgage Activity at Start of the Year
Posted on
Mortgage application activity rose sharply in January, driven primarily by a surge in refinancing activity as mortgage rates declined to a new low. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite ...
The Size of the Housing Shortage: 2024 Data
Posted on
Persistently low homeowner and rental vacancy rates indicate that the U.S. housing market remains structurally undersupplied. Comparing 2024 abnormally low vacancy rates with long-run equilibrium levels across U.S. metropolitan markets, ...
Job Openings Fall as Labor Market Weakens
Posted on
Running counter to the data for the full economy, the count of open, unfilled positions in the construction industry increased in December, per the delayed Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings ...
Builders’ Top Challenges for 2026
Posted on
The most significant challenge builders faced in 2025 was high interest rates, as reported by 84% of builders in the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index survey. A smaller, albeit still ...
