The most significant challenge builders faced in 2024 was high interest rates, as reported by 91% of builders in the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index survey. A smaller, albeit still significant share of 78% expect interest rates to remain a problem in 2025. The next four most serious issues builders faced in 2024 were rising…
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey, increased by 3.1% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis, primarily driven by purchasing activity. Compared to January last year, the index is higher by 3.4%. The Market Composite Index which includes the Purchase and Refinance…
The homeownership rate for those under the age of 35 dropped to 36.3% in the last quarter of 2024, reaching the lowest level since the third quarter of 2019, according to the Census’s Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS). Amidst elevated mortgage interest rates and tight housing supply, housing affordability is at a multidecade low. The youngest…
After a period of slowing associated with declines for some elements of the residential construction industry, the count of open construction sector jobs remained lower than a year ago, per the December Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The number of open jobs for the overall economy decreased from 8.16 million…
Private fixed investment in student dormitories edged down by 1.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $3.86 billion. This decline follows a 1.9% increase in the prior quarter. However, private fixed investment in dorms was 7.2% lower than a year ago, as the elevated interest rates place…
Private residential construction spending increased by 1.5% in December 2024, according to the latest U.S. Census Construction Spending data. It was the third consecutive monthly increase since September 2024. On a year-over-year basis, the December report showed a 6% increase. The monthly increase in total private construction spending was primarily driven by higher spending on…
In the home building industry, fringe benefits add an additional 18% to employees’ compensation on top of payroll, according to NAHB’s analysis of the latest 2022 Economic Census data. The rates vary across residential construction sub-sectors with single-family and multifamily general contractors contributing an average of 20% on top of payroll. Fringe benefits in residential…
