While acknowledging that ongoing uncertainty complicates policymaking, Federal Reserve Chair Powell gave a mostly green light for monetary policy easing in September, following a policy pause that has lasted since the end of last year. Noting that inflation remains elevated, Powell stated that “the balance...
An expected impact of the virus crisis was a need for more residential space, as people used homes for more purposes including work. Home size correspondingly increased in 2021 as interest rates reached historic lows. However, as interest rates increased in 2022 and 2023, and...
Townhouse construction expanded more than 9 percent on a year-over-year basis per data from the second quarter of 2025. According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, during the second quarter of 2025, single-family attached...
Existing home sales rebounded in July as mortgage rates retreated from the recent peak and home price growth slowed, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This rebound was also supported by inventory improvements, with housing supply at its highest level since May 2020....
While new homes remain largely unaffordable, builder efforts to improve housing affordability paid dividends in the second quarter of 2025, according to the latest data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Cost of Housing Index (CHI). The CHI results from the second...
Single-family built-for-rent construction fell back in the second quarter, as a higher cost of financing crowded out development activity. According to NAHB’s analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, there were approximately 12,000 single-family built-for-rent (SFBFR) starts...
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 30 states and the District of Columbia in July compared to the previous month, while decreasing in 20 states. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 73,000 in July, falling short of expectations...
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates year-over year growth for custom home builders amid broader single-family home building weakness. The custom building market is less sensitive to the interest rate cycle than other forms...
Single-family housing starts posted a modest gain in July as builders continue to contend with challenging housing affordability conditions and a host of supply-side headwinds, including labor shortages, elevated construction costs and inefficient regulatory costs. Led by solid multifamily production, overall housing starts increased 5.2%...
Both real and nominal wage growth for residential building workers slowed during the second quarter of 2025, reflecting a broader cooling in the construction labor market, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In nominal terms, average hourly earnings...
Elevated mortgage rates, weak buyer traffic and ongoing supply-side challenges continued to act as a drag on builder confidence in August, as sentiment levels remain in a holding pattern at a low level. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 32...
Single-family housing permits continued a downhill trend for the sixth month in a row. The continuous decline in single-family permits highlights persistently weak housing demand, tied to affordability challenges like high mortgage rates. Builders appear cautious amid economic uncertainty, labor constraints, and rising inventories. The...
For the fourteenth consecutive quarter, builders and developers reported tighter credit conditions on loans for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) in NAHB’s quarterly survey on AD&C Financing. In the second quarter of 2025, the NAHB survey’s net easing index posted a reading...
Prices for residential building materials rose again in July, marking the largest year-over-year increase in over two years. The underlying price growth trend remained the same, with service prices continuing to grow at a faster pace than goods prices. Similar to last month, parts for...
Real GDP growth rebounded in the second quarter, driven by a turnaround in the trade balance and stronger consumer spending. According to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annual rate of 3.0%...
Overall consumer credit continued to rise in 2025, but the pace of growth remains slow. Student loan balances also rose year-over-year as borrowers resumed payments following the end of pandemic-era relief. Meanwhile, credit card and auto loan debt both experienced their slowest annual growth rates...
Inflation held steady at 2.7% in July as food and energy prices remained subdued and offset increases in service prices, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) latest report. Core inflation, which exclude volatile food and energy, picked up to its largest monthly increase...
The total market share of non-site built single-family homes (modular and panelized) was just 3% of single-family homes in 2024, according to completion data from the Census Bureau Survey of Construction data and NAHB analysis. This is the same as the 3% share in 2023....
