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...
Year-over-year gains for townhouse construction continued during the third quarter of 2024 as demand for medium-density housing continues to be solid despite slowing for other sectors of the building industry. According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by...
Housing starts edged lower last month as average monthly mortgage rates increased a quarter-point from 6.18% to 6.43% between September and October, according to Freddie Mac. Overall housing starts decreased 3.1% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.31 million units, according to...
Lending standards were essentially unchanged for all residential mortgage categories in the third quarter of 2024, except for Subprime loans, according to the Federal Reserve Board’s October 2024 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS). Demand for most residential mortgage loans remained weaker across all categories in the...
Builder sentiment improved for the third straight month, and builders expect market conditions will continue to improve with Republicans winning control of the White House and Congress. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 46 in November, up three points from...
Over the first nine months of 2024, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 763,990. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an increase of 10.1% over the September 2023 level of 693,908. Year-to-date ending in September, single-family permits were up...
Prices for inputs to new residential construction—excluding capital investment, labor, and imports—decreased 0.2% in October according to the most recent Producer Price Index (PPI) report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compared to a year ago, this index is up 0.3% in October...
Inflation picked up again in October, showing the last mile to the 2% target will be the hardest. Shelter costs remained the main driver of inflation, accounting for over 65% of the 12-month increase in the all items less food and energy index. However, the...
Total outstanding U.S. consumer debt stood at $5.10 trillion for the third quarter of 2024, increasing at an annualized rate of 3.28% (seasonally adjusted), according to the Federal Reserve’s G.19 Consumer Credit Report. In general, consumer debt has been slowing over the past two years,...
The production index for sawmills and wood preservation industries rose marginally by 0.2% in the second quarter of 2024. After falling for the previous two quarters, this was the first rise in real output since the third quarter of 2023 according to the G.17 data....
The Fed cut the short-term federal funds rate by an additional 25 basis points at the conclusion of its November meeting, reducing the top target rate to 4.75%. However, while the Fed noted it is making progress to its 2% inflation target, it did not...
