NAHB’s latest study on consumer preferences—What Home Buyers Really Want Study*— asked about the features and amenities buyers want in the home, but also about the type of community where they would like to live. The question is important because the home that successfully appeals...
Job growth slowed in April, and the unemployment rate increased to 3.9%, suggesting a cooling labor market after a strong start to the year. Additionally, wage growth continued to slow. In April, wages grew at a 3.9% year-over-year (YOY) growth rate, down 0.7 percentage points...
Reflecting persistent long-term labor challenges, wages in construction continue to rise, often outpacing and exceeding typical earnings in other industries. Not seasonally adjusted (NSA) average hourly earnings (AHE) in construction increased 5% since a year ago and approached the $38 mark in March 2024, according...
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee held constant the federal funds rate constant at a top target of 5.5% at the conclusion of its April-May meeting. In its statement, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) noted: Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to...
NAHB analysis of Census data shows that private residential construction spending was down 0.7% in March, after increasing 0.7% in February. It stood at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of $884.3 billion. Spending on single-family construction dropped 0.2% in March. This is the first monthly...
Due to tightened monetary policy, the count of total job openings for the entire economy has trended lower over the last year. This is consistent with a somewhat cooler economy that is a positive sign for future inflation readings. However, the number of open jobs...
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index (HPI), reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices, rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98% for February. This was following an adjusted 3.73% rate for January. This marks the fourth consecutive monthly rate increase from...
The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) reported the U.S. homeownership rate declined to 65.6% in the first quarter of 2024. This is 0.1 percentage points lower from the prior quarter reading (65.7%) and is the lowest rate in the last two years. The homeownership...
According to the data released by Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), private fixed investment in student dormitories edged down 0.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $4 billion in the first quarter of 2024, after a 2.3% increase in the prior quarter. Private...
Building upon our exploration of green building trends, major practices, and resilience strategies based on The Building Sustainably: Green & Resilient Single- Family Homes 2024 SmartMarket Brief, this article now shifts focus towards ways to increase green building within the housing market. Top Incentives to...
The most recent data release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) showed that personal income increased 0.5% in March, up from a 0.3% increase in the prior month. Gains in personal income are largely driven by increases in wages and salaries. As spending outpaced...
NAHB recently updated its 2024 priced out estimates, showing how higher prices and interest rates affect housing affordability. The new estimates show that affordability is a serious problem even before any further price or interest rate increases. Already in 2024, 103.5 million households are not...
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, the U.S. economy grew at a noticeably slower pace in the first quarter of 2024 due to an increase in the trade deficit and weaker inventory investment. But it was still on solid ground supported by consumers, the...
Housing’s share of the economy rose to 16.1% in the first quarter of 2024. The share remained below 16% for all of 2023 at 15.9% in each of the four quarters. This increase to above 16% marks the first-time housing’s share of GDP is above...
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing report reveals that the share of new home sales backed by VA loans climbed substantially in the first quarter of 2024, while all-cash sales share fell by nearly 30%. However, the median purchase...
Despite higher interest rates last month, new home sales rose in March due to limited inventory of existing homes. However, the pace of new home sales will be under pressure in April as mortgage rates moved above 7% this month, which is expected to moderate...
Based on new demographic analysis of 2020 Census population counts, the Census Bureau estimates that children between the ages of 0 to 4 were undercounted by over one million. This age range is historically undercounted in the population surveys but with the addition of conducting...
Green homes go beyond lessening their environmental impact; they also actively mitigate the effects of the environment upon them. All homes can face damage from environmental hazards, prompting builders to implement resiliency practices to reduce such risks. This post will detail the prevalence of resiliency...
