National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

New Home Sales Close 2025 with Modest Gains
New Home Sales Close 2025 with Modest Gains
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New home sales ended 2025 on a mixed but resilient note, signaling steady underlying demand despite ongoing affordability and supply constraints. The latest data released today (and delayed because of ...
U.S. Economy Ends 2025 on a Slower Note
U.S. Economy Ends 2025 on a Slower Note
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Real GDP growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter of 2025 as the historic government shutdown weighed on economic activity. While consumer spending continued to drive growth, federal government spending ...
Delinquency Rates Normalize While Credit Card and Student Loan Stress Worsens
Delinquency Rates Normalize While Credit Card and Student Loan Stress Worsens
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Delinquent consumer loans have steadily increased as pandemic distortions fade, returning broadly to pre-pandemic levels. According to the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit from the Federal Reserve ...
Overall Housing Starts Inch Lower in 2025
Overall Housing Starts Inch Lower in 2025
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Despite a strong finish in December, single-family home building dipped in 2025 as persistent affordability challenges continued to weigh on the market. Total housing starts for 2025 were 1.36 million, ...
How Housing Affordability Conditions Vary Across States and Metro Areas
How Housing Affordability Conditions Vary Across States and Metro Areas
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The NAHB 2026 priced-out estimates show that the housing affordability challenge is widespread across the country. In 39 states and the District of Columbia, over 65% of households are priced ...
Builder Sentiment Edges Lower on Affordability Concerns
Builder Sentiment Edges Lower on Affordability Concerns
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Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell one point to 36 in February, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index ...
How Rising Costs Affect Home Affordability
How Rising Costs Affect Home Affordability
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Housing affordability remains a critical issue, with 65% of U.S. households unable to afford a median-priced new home in 2026. When mortgage rates are elevated, even a small increase in ...
Cost of Credit for Builders & Developers at Its Lowest Since 2022
Cost of Credit for Builders & Developers at Its Lowest Since 2022
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The cost of credit for residential construction and development declined in the fourth quarter of 2025,  according to NAHB’s quarterly survey on Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) Financing. In ...
Inflation Eased in January
Inflation Eased in January
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Inflation eased to an eight-month low in January, confirming a continued downward trend. Though most Consumer Price Index (CPI) components have resolved shutdown-related distortions from last fall, the shelter index ...
Existing Home Sales Retreat Amid Low Inventory
Existing Home Sales Retreat Amid Low Inventory
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Existing home sales fell in January to a more than two-year low after December’s strong rebound, as tight inventory continued to push home prices higher and winter storms weighed on ...
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Nationally, nearly 140 million people in the United States routinely commuted to work, according to NAHB analysis of the 2023 American Community Survey data. Among these people, approximately 23.8 million people spent more than 90 minutes each day going to and from their place of...

Homeownership is an important voter issue for the upcoming election with both presidential candidates putting forth housing policies to tackle the housing affordability crisis. In a recent NAHB post, the national homeownership rate sat at 65%, but there are large disparities in homeownership when broken...

Nearly 1.3 million tax returns filed for tax year 2023 utilized the Residential Clean Energy Credit (25D tax credit), according to the latest IRS clean energy tax credit statistics. Through May 23rd of the 2024 tax filing season for 2023 returns, almost 138 million tax...

With the Federal Reserve beginning an easing of monetary policy and builder sentiment improving, single-family starts posted a modest gain in September while multifamily construction continued to weaken because of tight financing and an ongoing rise in completed apartments. Overall housing starts decreased 0.5% in...

With inflation gradually easing and builders anticipating mortgage rates will moderate in coming months, builder sentiment moved higher for a second consecutive month despite challenging affordability conditions. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 43 in October, up two points from...

During the second quarter of 2024, the volume of total outstanding acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loans posted the largest year-over-year percentage decline since 2012, as interest rates remain elevated before the beginning of the Fed cutting short-term interest rates in September. AD&C loan conditions...

We’re excited to introduce a new way for you to stay informed about the latest trends in housing and construction economics: our Eye on Housing Highlights video series! For each edition, we will highlight top research topics including construction statistics, housing affordability, policy research, NAHB...

Over the first eight months of 2024, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 685,923. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an increase of 11.5% over the August 2023 level of 615,453. Year-to-date ending in August, single-family permits were up...

In 2023, 64.8% of all new single-family homes started were built within a community or homeowner’s association. This share increased from the 62.6% recorded in 2022, according to data tabulated from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC). This marks the third highest share since...

Nationally, across the 86 million owner-occupied homes in the U.S., the average annual real estate taxes paid in 2023 was $4,112, according to NAHB analysis of the 2023 American Community Survey. Homeowners in New Jersey continued to pay the highest real estate taxes, paying an...

Prices for inputs to new residential construction—excluding capital investment, labor, and imports—decreased 0.6% in September 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 was down 0.1% in September...

Residential improvement spending softened in 2023 due to elevated interest rates, high inflation, and sluggish home sales. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA), expenditures for residential home improvements rose 2% to $363 billion in 2023, from $356 billion...

Inflation continued to ease in September and remained at a 3-year low as shelter costs continued to moderate. Shelter costs, the main driver of inflation since early 2023, saw their annual growth rate fall below 5% for the first time since February 2022. With the...

The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the third quarter of 2024 posted a reading of 63, down two points compared to the previous quarter. Remodelers remain optimistic about the market even though the overall RMI edged down for the third consecutive quarter. Some...

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 49 states and the District of Columbia in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of 2024 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Alaska reported an economic contraction during this time. The...

Approximately 2.3 million tax returns filed for tax year 2023 utilized the Energy Efficient Home Improvement credit (25C tax credit), according to the latest IRS clean energy tax credit statistics. Through May 23rd of the 2024 tax filing season for 2023 returns, almost 138 million...

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 32 states in August compared to the previous month, while 17 states and the District of Columbia saw a decrease. Kansas reported no change. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in...

While the share of new homes with patios continues to climb, the share with decks has hovered at a historic low of under 18%, according to NAHB tabulation of data from the HUD/Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC). Every year from the re-design of the...

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