National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

New Home Sales Decline in January on Weather Disruptions
New Home Sales Decline in January on Weather Disruptions
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New home sales declined in January, reflecting typical monthly volatility as well as weather-related disruptions. On a three-month moving average basis, sales remain broadly in line with a year ago, ...
Fourth Quarter 2025 Multifamily Construction Data
Fourth Quarter 2025 Multifamily Construction Data
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According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts increased year-over-year during the fourth quarter of 2025. For the quarter, 96,000 multifamily residences started ...
Holding Pattern Continues for the Fed
Holding Pattern Continues for the Fed
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The Fed continued its current pause for rate reductions at the conclusion of the March meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank’s monetary policy body. The Fed ...
Building Material Price Growth Remains Entrenched Above 3%
Building Material Price Growth Remains Entrenched Above 3%
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Residential building material price growth accelerated in February after slowing a month prior, according to the latest Producer Price Index release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since the BLS ...
Lumber Imports and Employment Fall
Lumber Imports and Employment Fall
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U.S. sawmill production was unchanged in the third quarter according to the Federal Reserve G.17 Industrial Production report. Utilization rates for sawmills and wood preservation industries remained near 70% despite ...
Best Year for Missing Middle Construction Since 2007
Best Year for Missing Middle Construction Since 2007
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While not a huge jump, 2025 featured the highest construction volume for multifamily missing middle housing starts. The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and ...
Builder Sentiment Inches Higher but Affordability Concerns Persist
Builder Sentiment Inches Higher but Affordability Concerns Persist
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Builder sentiment inched up in March even as builders continue to express affordability concerns stemming from elevated construction costs and shortages of buildable lots and labor. Builder confidence in the ...
Small Gains for New Single-Family Home Size
Small Gains for New Single-Family Home Size
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New single-family home size had been falling since 2015 in response to declining affordability conditions. An exception occurred in 2021, when new home size increased as interest rates reached historic ...
Flat Conditions for Open Construction Jobs
Flat Conditions for Open Construction Jobs
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The number of open positions in construction in January was flat year-over-year, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The current level of open jobs ...
Custom Home Building Expanded in 2025
Custom Home Building Expanded in 2025
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In a year that saw a more than 6% decline for overall single-family housing starts, custom home building posted a gain. The custom building market is less sensitive to the ...
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Personal income increased by 0.3% in September, following a 0.2% up in August and a 0.3% increase in July, according to the most recent data release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The gains in personal income were largely driven by increases in wages, salaries,...

Approximately 27% of the national housing stock consists of multifamily homes—defined as residential buildings with multiple separate housing units within one structure. According to the 2023 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, these units range from small duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes (2 to 4 units) to...

Housing’s share of the economy fell 0.1 percentage points to 16.2% in the third quarter of 2024 according to the advance estimate of GDP produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The share was revised upwards for both the first and second quarter of 2024...

The U.S. economy grew at a solid pace in the third quarter of 2023, boosted by strong consumer spending and government spending. According to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annual rate...

The homeownership rate for those under the age of 35 dropped to 37% in the third 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...

After a period of slowing associated with declines for some elements of residential construction, the count of open construction sector jobs trended lower in the September data, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The data indicates the demand...

With elevated interest rates and rising home prices, 103.5 million households in the United States cannot afford a $495,750 median-priced new home. The growing affordability crisis makes housing a top issue for voters in the 2024 presidential election. Both presidential candidates have offered housing policy...

As of 2023, nearly 40% of homeowners in the United States are mortgage-free, the highest level seen in the past 13 years. With elections approaching, it is valuable to analyze the share of mortgage-free homeowners across congressional districts, as these patterns often provide insights into...

All-cash purchases accounted for 7.9% of new home sales in the third quarter of 2024, marking the highest level this year but lowest level for the third quarter since 2022, according to NAHB analysis of the latest Census Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing...

With housing affordability at a multidecade low, housing costs have become a major issue in the 2024 presidential election. While NAHB reports the national homeownership rate from the Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey on a quarterly basis, examining characteristics across congressional districts provides valuable insights....

Home buyers moved off the sidelines in September following the Federal Reserve’s recent move to cut interest rates for the first time in four years.  Sales of newly built, single-family homes in September increased 4.1% to a 738,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a downwardly...

In 2023, the total number of second homes was 5.7 million, accounting for 4% of the total housing stock, according to NAHB estimates of the 2023 American Community Survey. Second homes have been in a steady decline over the past few years, from 7.15 million...

Despite recent easing mortgage rates and improved inventory, existing home sales fell to a 14-year low in September as elevated home prices are causing potential buyers to hold out for lower rates, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales remained sluggish as the...

While the lack of affordable housing dominates the headlines across the nation, congressional districts with higher shares of renter households are disproportionately affected by the current affordability crisis. Geographically, the districts with the largest housing cost burdens are heavily concentrated in California, Florida, and the...

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 41 states and the District of Columbia in September compared to the previous month, while eight states saw a decrease. Nevada reported no change. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 254,000 in...

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...

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