Inflation slowed to a 4-year low in April while shelter inflation remained elevated. Despite the easing, inflation may pick up in the coming months as possible inflationary pressure from enacted tariffs and other policy uncertainties continues to threaten economic growth and complicate the Fed’s path...
Overall demand for residential mortgages was weaker while lending standards for most types of residential mortgages were essentially unchanged according to the Federal Reserve Board’s April 2025 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS). For commercial real estate (CRE) loans, lending standards for construction & development...
Half of payroll workers in construction earn more than $60,320 and the top 25% make at least $81,510, according to the latest May 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) and analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). In...
Consumer credit continued to rise in early 2025, but the pace of growth has slowed. Student loan balances rose year-over-year as borrowers resumed payments following the end of pandemic-era relief. However, growth remains modest. Credit card and auto loan debt also increased, though both experienced...
Multifamily developers are starting the year in a cautious state, according to Q1 2025 results from the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released today by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The MMS produces two separate indices. The Multifamily Production Index (MPI) decreased three points...
The Federal Reserve remained on pause with respect to rate cuts at the conclusion of its May meeting, maintaining the federal funds rate in the 4.25% to 4.5% range. Characterizing current market conditions, the central bank noted that the “unemployment rate has stabilized at a...
Mortgage loan applications saw little change in April, as refinancing activity decreased. The Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume based on the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) weekly survey, experienced a 0.4% month-over month increase on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis. However, year-over-year,...
The median price for a new single-family home sold in the first quarter of 2025 was $416,900, a mere $14,600 above the existing home sale price of $402,300, according to U.S. Census Bureau and National Association of Realtors data (not seasonally adjusted – NSA). Typically,...
Private fixed investment in student dormitories increased by 2.3% in the first quarter of 2025, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $4.04 billion. This gain followed a 1.0% increase in the previous quarter. However, private fixed investment in dorms was 2% lower than...
Wage growth for residential building workers continued to slow in March 2025, reflecting softening in the construction labor market, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). On a nominal basis, average hourly earnings (AHE) for residential building workers reached...
The U.S. job market slowed slightly in April, with notable downward revisions to February and March figures. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%. The labor market remains resilient despite growing economic uncertainty, though early signs of softening are beginning to emerge. In April, wage...
Personal income increased by 0.5% in March, following a 0.7% rise in February and a 0.6% gain in January, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The gains in personal income were largely driven by higher wages and salaries. However, the...
Private residential construction spending declined by 0.4% in March, largely driven by a decrease in home improvement spending. This decline followed five consecutive months of growth. Despite the monthly drop, spending remained 2.8% higher than a year ago, showing the resilience of the housing market....
Housing’s share of the economy grew to 16.4% in the first quarter of 2025, according to the advance estimate of GDP produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This is the highest reading since the third quarter of 2022 and is up 0.2 percentage points...
The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter of 2025 for the first time in three years, driven by a sharp surge in pre-tariff imports, softening consumer spending, and a decline in government spending. According to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic...
Consistent with soft sentiment data, the count of job openings for the overall economy and construction fell in March as employers slowed hiring plans amid a broader economic slowdown, per the March Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The number...
The homeownership rate declined to 65.1% in the first quarter of 2025, the lowest level since the first quarter of 2020, according to the Census’s Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS). Amid elevated mortgage interest rates and tight housing supply, housing affordability is at a multidecade low....
