In the fourth quarter of 2021, effective interest rates decreased on all four categories of loans tracked in NAHB’s Survey on Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) financing. The average effective rate (based on rate of return to the lender over the assumed life of the loan taking both the contract interest rate and initial fee…
The number of single-family built-for-rent (SFBFR) construction starts increased almost 16% in 2021, after a record-breaking third quarter for production. The SFBFR market is a way to add inventory amid concerns over housing affordability and downpayment requirements in the for-sale market, particularly during a period when a growing number of people want more space and…
Single-family starts dipped somewhat in January, as ongoing supply-chain issues are adding cost and construction time to home building. The availability of labor and lots also remain key headwinds, with labor likely to become more challenging in 2022. Overall housing starts decreased 4.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.64 million units, according to…
Despite strong buyer demand, builder sentiment continued to slip in February as the industry grapples with ongoing building material production bottlenecks that are raising construction costs and delaying projects. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes moved one point lower to 82 in February, marking the second straight month that confidence levels…
The prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy climbed 3.6% in January (not seasonally adjusted), according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index was led higher by a 25.4% jump in softwood lumber prices and 9.0% price increases for indoor and outdoor paint. Building materials prices…
For 2021, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 1,111,414. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 13.7% increase over the December 2020 level of 977,863. Year-to-date ending in December, single-family permits increased in all four regions. The Northeast region reported the strongest increase of 15.9%, followed by the South…
NAHB recently released its 2022 priced out estimates, showing how higher prices and interest rates affect housing affordability. The new estimates show that 87.5 million households (roughly 69 percent of all U.S. households) are not able to afford a new median priced new home in 2022, meaning their incomes are insufficient to qualify for a…
