After reaching a five-month high last month, existing home sales pulled back in June as record-high home prices and elevated mortgage rates weighed on buyers. This monthly volatility reflects the sensitivity of home buyer demand to mortgage rate changes. Mortgage rates, though lower than a...
In the second quarter of 2026, the NAHB Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 61, down one point compared to the previous quarter. The RMI has remained in the low 60s consistently over the past year. Even with this slight decline from the...
Mortgage applications stalled in June as higher mortgage rates dampened market activity. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, a measure of total mortgage application volume, stayed relatively unchanged with a marginal decrease of 0.3% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis. The decline was...
In 2025, approximately 47,000 homes were built in age-restricted communities, representing 3.45% of all housing starts. According to the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction, roughly two-thirds of these homes (30,000) were single-family units, while the remaining 17,000 were multifamily units. In 2009, during the depths...
Residential construction employment continued to soften in recent months, reflecting elevated interest rates, ongoing affordability challenges, and slower home building activity. Over the last 12 months, residential construction employment has shed a net of 48,800 jobs, marking the fifteenth consecutive annual decline and the longest...
The top ten builders accounted for 43.6% of all new U.S. single-family home closings in 2025, down 1.2 percentage points from 2024 (44.8%), based on BUILDER magazine data. The 2025 share constitutes 295,959 closings out of 679,083 new single-family houses sold in 2025. However, closings...
Mortgage rates continued to increase in June as markets priced in a rate hike due to high inflation and stronger-than-expected labor market. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.49% in June, up 8 basis points (bps) over May. Since the conflict in...
The U.S. labor market lost momentum in June, with total nonfarm payroll employment rising by just 57,000, the smallest gain since February’s outright decline. Downward revisions to April and May payroll estimates subtracted a combined 74,000 jobs from previously reported totals, reversing the sizable upward...
Private residential construction spending rose modestly in May 2026, marking the third consecutive month of gains, albeit at a slower pace. According to the latest construction spending data from the U.S. Census Bureau, private residential construction spending came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate...
Consumer confidence inched up in June due to improved views of business conditions and recent declines in oil prices easing inflation fears. However, the consumers’ view of the labor market continued to weaken, despite recent strong job reports; The share of respondents saying jobs are...
The number of open positions in the construction sector increased in May, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The current level of open jobs is down measurably from three years ago due to declines in construction activity, particularly...
Property tax revenue collected by state and local governments was higher in the first quarter of 2026 according to the Census Bureau’s quarterly summary of state and local tax revenue. Total tax revenue for state and local governments increased 1.5% over the quarter, with individual...
State economic growth strengthened in the first quarter of 2026, with real GDP increasing in 46 states and the District of Columbia. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), state-level growth rates ranged from a 4.5% annualized increase in Washington to a 1.6% decline...
As the Iran conflict pushed up energy prices, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index—the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge—accelerated to a three-year high in May. While oil and gasoline prices have declined in recent weeks as planned Strait of Hormuz reopening reduced the risk...
Elevated mortgage rates, rising inflation and economic uncertainty kept many buyers out of the market in May as consumers and builders continue to deal with challenging affordability conditions. While monthly sales activity softened, builders continue to operate in a market characterized by cautious buyers and...
U.S. sawmill production fell in the first quarter, the second consecutive quarter of lower output according to the Federal Reserve G.17 Industrial Production report. Sawmill output has remained largely flat since 2023, after increasing in the post-pandemic period. The utilization rate for sawmills and wood...
State labor market conditions remained mixed in May, with payrolls expanding in many states while job losses were concentrated in a smaller group of states and the District of Columbia (D.C.). Construction employment also continued to grow nationwide, although performance varied considerably across states. In...
Strong labor market growth continued to put pressure on the nation’s housing supply in 2024, as home building activity did not fully keep pace with demand driven by job gains. Comparing net new jobs with prior-year permitting activity helps show whether the pace of housing...
