Due to slowing home construction and elevated interest rates, the count of open construction sector jobs shifted lower in June, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). However, this shift lower is consistent with a somewhat cooler labor market,...
Private fixed investment in student dormitories declined 5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $3.7 billion in the second quarter of 2024, after a 2.8% decrease in the prior quarter. Private fixed investment in dorms was 0.4% lower than a year ago, as...
Personal income inched up 0.2% in June, down from a 0.4% increase in the prior month, according to the most recent data release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Gains in personal income are largely driven by increases in wages and salaries. As spending...
The number of homes started in 2023 exceeding 5,000 square feet, dropped to 26,000, a decrease from 29,000 in 2022, according to the annual data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC). In 2006, the number of new 5,000+ square foot homes reached a...
All-cash purchases accounted for 6.9% of new home sales in the second quarter of 2024, the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2021, revealed by NAHB analysis of the most recent Census Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing report. Among mortgaged home sales, both...
Housing’s share of the economy stayed level at 16.1% in the second quarter of 2024. The share remained above 16% after staying constant at 15.9% for all of 2023. The more cyclical home building and remodeling component – residential fixed investment (RFI) – was 4.0%...
In the second quarter of 2024, the U.S. economy grew twice as fast as it did in the first quarter, supported by consumer spending and private inventory investment. Furthermore, the data from the GDP report suggests that inflation is cooling. The GDP price index rose...
The production index for sawmills and wood preservation industries fell at the start of 2024 to 91.9 in the first quarter (the index measures real output during 2017 at a level of 100). This is the second straight decline for the quarterly level according to...
New home sales fell to the lowest level since November 2023, as elevated mortgage rates continued to keep buyers on hold. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in June fell 0.6% to a 617,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a slight upwardly revised reading in...
Existing home sales fell for the fourth straight month in June due to lingering high mortgage rates and record-high prices, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Although low resale inventory continued to push prices to another record high, the months’ supply of inventory...
Stucco was the most common principal siding material for new single-family homes started in 2023 at 26.8%, according to the annual data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC). Stucco was followed by vinyl siding at 25.6%, fiber cement siding (such as Hardiplank or...
The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the second quarter of 2024 posted a reading of 65, down one point compared to the previous quarter. The RMI remains solidly in positive territory, and NAHB continues to project that remodeling activity has stabilized at a...
The top ten builders accounted for 42.2% of all new single-family home closings in 2023, down 1.3 percentage points from 2022 (43.5%). This is the second highest share captured by the top ten builders since NAHB began tracking new single-family home closings in 1989. The...
Elevated interest rates for home mortgages and construction and development loans kept single-family production and demand in check during June. Overall housing starts increased 3.0% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.35 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department...
Mortgage rates that averaged 6.92% in June per Freddie Mac, along with elevated rates for construction and development loans, continue to put a damper on builder sentiment. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 42 in July, down one point from...
NAHB analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC) shows that 72.4% of new single-family homes started in 2023 were built on slab foundations, 16.6% were built with full or partial basements, and 9.9% with crawl spaces. The share of new homes built on slabs has...
Inputs to residential construction, goods less food and energy, rose 0.19% in the month of June according to the most recent producer price index (PPI) report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index for inputs to residential construction, goods less food and...
Both overall and core inflation continued to slow in June, as a decline in gasoline prices offset the increase in shelter costs. This is another dovish signal for future monetary policy, following a significant downward revision to the job report. Despite a slowdown in the...
