In the third quarter of 2021, the demand for apartment and other multifamily properties surged, contributing to the rise in their price levels, as shown by the Commercial Real Estate Price Index (CREPI) series. This recent development owed to a combination of several related factors: an increase in COVID-19 vaccinations, more lenient lending standards by…
Most analyses of lumber price trends and levels fail to account for inflation because the price data for softwood lumber used in framing applications is generally quoted using the Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price or lumber futures prices–neither of which is inflation-adjusted. Adjusting for inflation shows that, although the historical price differences are smaller…
The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) reported the U.S. homeownership rate at 65.5% in the last quarter of 2021. In contrast to some data reporting in 2020 and earlier 2021, the last quarter of 2021 data collection was not affected by the pandemic, as in-person interview returned in all areas. The national homeowner vacancy…
An earlier post revealed that 67% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the final quarter of 2021 have spent 3+ months searching for a home without success. The inability to find a home they could afford once again became the most common reason (41%) these long-time searchers…
NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total private residential construction spending rose 1.1% in December after an increase of 0.7% in November 2021. Spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $810.3 billion. Total private residential construction spending was 15.0% higher than a year ago. These monthly gains are attributed to…
The construction labor market remains tight, as the industry sees a rising number of job openings year-over-year. The count of open construction jobs declined for the month to 337,000 unfilled positions in December. The highest measure in the history of the data series (going back to late 2000) was 445,000 in October 2021. The housing…
The share of prospective buyers actively trying to find a home fell in both the third (57%) and fourth quarters (52%) of 2021, after reaching a series high of 61% in the second quarter of the year. The downward trend demonstrates how falling levels of housing affordability have discouraged a growing share of potential home…
