A modest drop in mortgage rates led to a surprisingly large jump in new home sales in August, though the figure may be revised downward in the coming month. Sales of newly built single-family homes jumped 20.5% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate...
The NAHB Land Acquisition, Development and Construction (AD&C) loan survey in the second quarter reported tightening credit conditions for builders. Consequently, FDIC data reporting the outstanding volume of 1-4 family construction loans fell in the second quarter. The total volume of all AD&C loans fell...
In August, the official, or standardly referenced, unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.3%, up from 4.2% in July. This marks the highest level in nearly four years, though it remains historically low. Although the national unemployment rate provides a broader view of labor market conditions,...
Building a new single-family home took less time in 2024 compared to the previous two years. On average, it now takes 9.1 months from start to finish. That includes 1.4 months for authorization to start construction and another 7.6 months to finish construction. Data from...
The latest government state employment report paints a mixed picture of the job market. While a few states saw modest employment gains, most areas showed little to no progress. The pace of hiring appears to be slowing, raising concerns about the strength of the recovery....
Every year since 2008, the NAHB has conducted a member census in order to better understand the composition and characteristics of the people who belong to its organization. Similar to a previous post about builder members, NAHB conducted a related analysis of its associate members....
In 2024, the number of women employed in the construction industry rose to around 1.34 million. Women now represent 11.2% of the construction workforce, the highest share in the past 20 years. This rise aligns with the growing presence of white-collar jobs in the industry....
After a monetary policy pause that began at the start of 2025, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee (FOMC) voted to reduce the short-term federal funds rate by 25 basis points at the conclusion of its September meeting. This move decreased the target federal funds...
Challenging affordability conditions continue to act as headwinds for the housing industry, but the sector could see lower interest rates in the near future with the Federal Reserve expected to cut short-term interest rates this afternoon. Overall housing starts decreased 8.5% in August to a...
Builder sentiment levels remained unchanged in September but lower mortgage rates and expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon cut the federal funds rate led to higher future sale expectations in the coming months. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was...
Inflation accelerated to a seven month high in August as tariff-related costs continued to pass through to consumers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) latest report. Core goods prices, which exclude volatile food and energy, rose by 1.5% in August, the fastest annual...
Single-family housing permits slipped for the seventh month in a row, highlighting affordability headwinds and weak demand. While multifamily permits ticked up, the sector’s volatility leaves the outlook uncertain. The split underscores a housing market still under strain, with single-family softness weighing on broader growth...
The market value of household real estate assets rose to $49.3 trillion in the second quarter of 2025, according to the most recent release of U.S. Federal Reserve Z.1 Financial Accounts. The value rose by 2.7% from the first quarter and is 1.1% higher than...
In 2024, 65% of newly completed single-family homes featured two-car garages, according to NAHB’s analysis of the Census’s Survey of Construction data. The share of new homes with three or more car garages stood at 15%, continuing a downward trend from its peak of 24%...
Price growth for residential building materials rose for the fourth straight month in August, reaching its highest level since January 2023. Across domestic inputs goods and services into residential construction, service prices decreased in August while goods prices slightly advanced. Prices for inputs to...
For the first time in 15 years, the share of new homes with patios finally declined in 2024, according to NAHB tabulation of data from the Survey of Construction (conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau with partial funding from the Department of Housing and Urban...
Twenty-one percent of NAHB builder members listed residential remodeling as their primary business activity, according to the 2024 Member Census. These remodelers tend to be relatively small companies, with a median of five employees, $1.7 million in median revenue, and 15 remodeling jobs completed over...
Mortgage application activity increased again in August, supported by lower interest rates. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, a measure of total mortgage application volume, rose 5.0% from July on a seasonally adjusted basis and was 18.3% higher than a year ago. The...
