National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Builder Sentiment Falls on Rising Rates
Builder Sentiment Falls on Rising Rates
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Rising mortgage rates, energy and material costs, and worsening labor and lot conditions have pushed builder sentiment to a 14-year low. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family ...
Single-Family Permitting Declines Through August
Single-Family Permitting Declines Through August
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Single-family permitting activity continued to soften through the first eight months of 2026, while multifamily permitting remained stronger compared with the same period last year. Regional and state-level trends show ...
Research Highlights the Broad Benefits of Homeownership
Research Highlights the Broad Benefits of Homeownership
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A rich, peer-reviewed academic literature finds that homeownership produces benefits that extend well beyond house-price appreciation. As detailed in a 2003 Journal of Urban Economics literature review, research across economics, ...
Building Material Price Inflation Nears Four Year High
Building Material Price Inflation Nears Four Year High
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The Producer Price Index for final demand was up 1.3% in September, after rising 0.5% in August. Compared to a year ago, final demand prices were up 6.3%. The price ...
How Old Are Workers in the Construction Trades?
How Old Are Workers in the Construction Trades?
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A previous post examined the median age of the overall construction workforce and how it compares with workers in all industries. This analysis takes a closer look at workers in ...
Labor Shortages a Growing Problem
Labor Shortages a Growing Problem
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Labor shortages in the home building industry are becoming more widespread, according to recent results from the NAHB/Well Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) survey. The September 2026 HMI survey asked ...
Inflation Accelerated in September
Inflation Accelerated in September
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Higher energy prices pushed inflation to a four-month high in September, keeping pressure on the Fed as inflation has remained above its 2% target for more than five years. Gasoline ...
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Single-family homes started in 2024 typically had two full bathrooms, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Construction. Homes with three full bathrooms continued to have the second largest share of starts at around 23%. Meanwhile, both homes with four full bathrooms or...

House prices continued to rise in the third quarter of 2025, though the pace of growth slowed as elevated mortgage rates, affordability challenges, and persistent economic uncertainty weighed on consumer demand. After several years of rapid growth, Hawaii and 38 metro areas saw house price...

Single-family construction lending picked up in the third quarter, amidst the overall cooling lending environment. Loan balances for 1-4 family construction grew to $91.2 billion in the third quarter, registering the first annual increase in over two years. However, across all acquisition, development and construction...

In 2024, 6.9% of new single-family detached homes were teardowns (structures torn down and rebuilt in older neighborhoods), and another 20.1% were built on infill lots in older neighborhoods, according to the latest Builder Practices Survey (BPS) conducted by Home Innovation Research Labs. The BPS places...

Nationally, across the 87 million owner-occupied homes in the U.S., the average amount of annual real estate taxes paid in 2024 was $4,271, according to NAHB analysis of the 2024 American Community Survey. Homeowners in New Jersey continued to pay the highest real estate taxes,...

The share of new homes with decks edged down from 17.6% in 2023 to a new all-time low of 17.4% in 2024, according to NAHB tabulation of data from the HUD/Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC). Over the longer term, the share of new homes...

Aggregate residential building material prices rose at their fastest pace since January 2023 in the latest Producer Price Index release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Input energy prices increased for the first time in over a year, while service price growth remained lower than...

The housing affordability crisis continues to disproportionately affect renters, with more than half of renter households experiencing high-cost burdens — i.e., paying 30% or more of their income on rent and utilities. At the same time, current home owners, buoyed by significant home equity gains...

The long-delayed September jobs report revealed that the U.S. economy added 119,000 jobs while the unemployment rate climbed to its highest level in nearly four years. Combined with downward revisions to previous months, this month’s data indicates a slowing of the U.S. labor market, though...

Existing home sales rose to an eight-month high in October as buyers took advantage of lower mortgage rates, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Resale inventory improved from a year ago but remained below pre-pandemic levels. Relatively tight supply continued to push home...

The share of young adults living with parents increased in 2024, interrupting the post-pandemic trend of moving out of parental homes. Nearly a third (32.5%) of adults ages 18-34 lived with their parents according to the latest 2024 American Community Survey (ACS). This is up...

The value of a single-family home depends not only on its physical features but also on its location and neighborhood context. In this second part of our two-part series, we examine how geography and neighborhood quality further influence single-family detached home values across the United...

Market uncertainty exacerbated by the government shutdown along with economic uncertainty stemming from tariffs and rising construction costs kept builder confidence firmly in negative territory in November. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes rose one point to 38 in November, according...

Private residential construction spending inched up 0.8% in August, continuing steady growth since June 2025. This modest increase was primarily driven by more spending on multifamily construction and home improvements. However, total spending was 2% lower than a year ago, as the housing sector continues...

The value of a single-family home is shaped by many factors, but its physical features remain among one of the most influential. Using the latest 2023 American Housing Survey (AHS), this study focuses on which home features genuinely boost single-family detached home values and by...

Credit conditions on loans for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) were still tightening in the third quarter of 2025, according to NAHB’s quarterly survey on AD&C Financing. The net easing index derived from the survey posted a reading of -11.0 (the negative number...

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 standards for construction & development were modestly tighter, while multifamily was essentially unchanged.  Demand for...

All types of mortgage activity rose on a year-over-year basis in October, supported by recent declines in interest rates. Notably, adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) applications more than doubled from a year ago, and refinancing activity continued to strengthen.  The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index,...

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