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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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...

New manufactured homes saw a decline in shipments in 2023 compared to the previous year. According to the Manufactured Housing Survey (MHS), 89,169 manufactured homes were shipped in 2023, a decrease of 21% from the 112,882 homes shipped in 2022. The Census defines a manufactured...

NAHB published research earlier this year on home buyer preferences called What Home Buyers Really Want. Consumers were asked to rate how 19 technology features would influence their home purchase decision, if at all, using the following four-point scale: Seventy-eight percent of home buyers rated...

The September jobs report indicates that the U.S. labor market remains strong. Job growth accelerated, and the unemployment rate fell to a three-month low of 4.1%. Meanwhile, job growth for the previous two months (July and August) was upwardly revised. In September, wage growth accelerated...

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