Despite the rising mortgage rates witnessed in February, existing home sales continued to improve and climbed to a 12-month high, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). However, low resale inventory and strong demand continued to drive up existing home prices, marking the eighth...
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee held the federal funds rate constant at a top target of 5.5% at the conclusion of its March meeting. The Fed will continue to reduce its balance sheet holdings of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities as part of quantitative tightening...
Continuing NAHB’s commitment to be at the forefront of research on home buyer preferences, the 2024 edition of What Home Buyers Really Want was recently released at the International Builders’ Show. The primary objective of the study is to provide builders, manufacturers, architects, and the...
As we reported earlier, immigrants make one in four construction workers. The share is significantly higher (31%) among construction tradesmen. In some states, reliance on foreign-born labor is particularly evident, with immigrants comprising 40% of the construction workforce in California and Texas. Supported by a...
Pent-up demand, moderating interest rates, and a lack of existing inventory helped push single-family starts in February to their highest level since April 2022. Overall housing starts increased 10.7% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.52 million units, according to a report...
A lack of existing inventory that continues to drive buyers to new home construction, coupled with strong demand and mortgage rates below last fall’s cycle peak, helped push builder sentiment above a key marker in March. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family...
Over the first month of 2024, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 75,906. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an increase of 43.1% over the January 2023 level of 53,062. Year-to-date ending in January, single-family permits were up in...
Inputs to residential construction, goods less food and energy, increased for the fourth consecutive month to a new high, 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...
According to the Federal Reserve’s G.19 Consumer Credit Report, student loans in the fourth quarter of 2023 totaled $1.73 trillion (non-seasonally adjusted), reflecting a decrease of 2.1% over the year and following an annual decrease of 1.7% in the previous quarter. The third quarter of...
According to the 2023 fourth quarter release of the Federal Reserve Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States , the market value of household real estate assets fell from $45.21 trillion to $44.84 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2023. Over the year, household real...
As examined in a previous post, homeownership plays an integral role in a household’s accumulation of wealth. This article further discusses the role of homeownership and examines the difference between homeowner and renter household balance sheets across assets, debt, and net worth. Households who own...
Consumer prices in February saw another uptick, primarily fueled by the increases in shelter and gasoline prices, which contributed to over 60% of the total increase. Despite a slowdown in the year-over-year increase, shelter costs continue to put upward pressure on inflation, accounting for roughly...
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 42 states and the District of Columbia in January compared to the previous month, while eight states saw a decrease. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 229,000 in January, following a gain...
In February, job gains continued despite elevated interest rates. The unemployment rate increased while the labor force participation rate held steady. February’s jobs report shows that the labor market remains resilient but shows signs of slowing. Additionally, wage growth slowed slightly in February. On a...
The volume of total outstanding acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loans posted a decline during the fourth quarter of 2023 as interest rates increased and financial conditions tightened. However, AD&C loan conditions will improve in 2024 as the Fed begins easing monetary policy. The volume...
Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending March 1st, total mortgage activity increased 9.7% from the previous week, and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate fell two basis points to 7.02%. The 30-year FRM has risen 22 basis points over...
Due to tightened monetary policy, the count of total job openings for the entire economy has trended lower in recent months. This is consistent with a cooling economy that is a positive sign for future inflation readings. The number of open jobs for the aggregate...
Led by larger urban metro markets, single-family growth rates are showing signs of a turnaround as moderating mortgage rates and a lack of existing inventory are contributing to a gradual upward trend, according to the latest findings from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)...
