Employment growth rebounded sharply in November after strike- and hurricane-related disruptions in October. The unemployment rate rose one percentage point to 4.2% after holding at 4.1% for two months in a row. In November, wage growth remained unchanged from the previous month. Wages grew at...
House prices posted modest annual growth for the third quarter of 2024, as elevated mortgage rates kept many potential home buyers away from the housing market. Nonetheless, housing inventory has improved in recent months. Nationally, house price appreciation has decelerated for two straight quarters. According...
The residential construction industry plays a crucial role in driving economic growth and local community development. It has a lasting impact on local communities by creating jobs, improving infrastructure, boosting local businesses, and enhancing property values. The residential construction industry is more reliant on labor...
After a period of slowing associated with declines for some elements of the residential construction industry, the count of open construction sector jobs trended lower in the October data, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The data indicates...
Residential construction has remained in low density suburbs and outlying areas, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ latest release of the Home Building Geography Index (HBGI). This trend is driven by persistent factors that continue to affect housing affordability including a limited supply...
Private residential construction spending increased by 1.5% in October, according to the latest U.S. Census Construction Spending data. Year-over-year, the October report showed a 6.4% increase. The monthly increase in total private construction spending was primarily driven by higher spending on residential improvements. Improvement spending...
The percentage of new apartment units that were absorbed within three months of completion rose from 50% to 55% in the second quarter of 2024, according to the Census Bureau’s latest release of the Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units (SOMA). The survey...
According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts declined during the third quarter of 2024. For the quarter, 94,000 multifamily residences started construction. Of this total, 88,000 were built-for-rent. This was almost 14% lower than the third quarter...
Steadily rising mortgage rates coupled with ongoing affordability challenges kept many potential home buyers on the sidelines in October. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in October declined 17.3% to a 610,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department...
Home price growth continued to slow in September, growing at a rate just below 4% year-over-year. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index (seasonally adjusted – SA) posted a 3.89% annual gain, down from a 4.28% increase in August. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller HPI year-over-year...
The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. The multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2- to 4-unit properties) has generally disappointed since the Great Recession. However, there was a noticeable uptick for this...
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...
Existing home sales in October rebounded from a 14-year low and posted the first annual increase in more than three years, as buyers took advantage when mortgage rates briefly reached a 2-year low in late September, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). While...
In another sign of America’s ongoing housing affordability crisis, the National Association of Home Builders /Wells Fargo Cost of Housing Index (CHI) found that in the third quarter of 2024, a family earning the nation’s median income of $97,800 needed 38% of their income to...
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates relatively flat conditions for custom home builders after a period slight softening of market share due to declining mortgage interest rates. However, post-election stock market gains should support...
Reflecting the sharp increase in net immigration of recent years, the number of new immigrants joining the construction industry rose substantially in 2022. According to the latest American Community Survey (ACS), the industry managed to attract close to 130,000 new workers coming from outside the...
Single-family built-for-rent construction posted year-over-year gains for the third quarter of 2024, as builders sought to add additional rental housing in a market facing ongoing, elevated mortgage interest rates. According to NAHB’s analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose...
Clouded by hurricanes in the southeast part of the country and strike activity in the manufacturing sector, October nonfarm payroll figures were mediocre. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 21 states in October compared to the previous month, while it decreased in 29 states and the...
