National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Which Local Markets Track National Trends the Most: 2024 Multifamily MAI
Which Local Markets Track National Trends the Most: 2024 Multifamily MAI
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Following the release of the 2024 single-family MAI last week, the National Association of Home Builders developed the Multifamily Market Association Index (MAI) to measure how closely multifamily building permits ...
Multifamily Developer Confidence Increases in Third Quarter, But Still in Negative Territory
Multifamily Developer Confidence Increases in Third Quarter, But Still in Negative Territory
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Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing increased year-over-year in the third quarter, according to the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released today by the National Association of Home Builders ...
Bedrooms in New Single-Family Homes in 2024
Bedrooms in New Single-Family Homes in 2024
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Three-bedroom single-family homes reached their largest share of starts since 2011 and remained the most prevalent number of bedrooms among new homes. The share of starts for four-bedroom homes declined ...
The International Builders’ Show: The Leading Economic Forecast Event of the Year 
The International Builders’ Show: The Leading Economic Forecast Event of the Year 
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Every year, NAHB and other industry experts and economists bring their latest insights to the NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS). For 2026, IBS offers an unparalleled lineup of IBS Education ...
Laundry Room Locations in New Homes and Apartments, 2024 
Laundry Room Locations in New Homes and Apartments, 2024 
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In 2024, most new single-family homes included laundry connections on the first floor (70%), according to the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction. The first floor is also where most customers ...
Lowest Mortgage Rates in Over a Year in October 
Lowest Mortgage Rates in Over a Year in October 
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Average mortgage rates in October trended downward to the lowest rates in over a year. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.25% in October, 10 basis points ...
Which Local Markets Track National Trends the Most: 2024 Single-Family MAI
Which Local Markets Track National Trends the Most: 2024 Single-Family MAI
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The National Association of Home Builders developed the Single-Family Market Association Index (MAI) to measure how closely single-family building permits in metro areas follow national patterns. By comparing local and ...
The Fed Cuts amid Partly Cloudy Conditions
The Fed Cuts amid Partly Cloudy Conditions
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With the government shutdown limiting the quantity of economic data available to markets and policymakers, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) enacted a widely anticipated 25 basis point ...
Home Price Growth Slows
Home Price Growth Slows
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Home prices in August grew at the lowest annual rate in over two years, according to the recent release of the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index (seasonally adjusted – ...
Two-Story Foyer Trend Stabilizes in 2024
Two-Story Foyer Trend Stabilizes in 2024
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In 2024, nearly a quarter of new homes were built with a two-story foyer, virtually unchanged from 2023, according to data obtained from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) ...
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NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates custom home building gained market share during recent quarters but experienced a drop for construction starts. There were 49,000 total custom building starts during the second quarter of...

Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing was in positive territory for the second quarter, according to results from the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released today by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The MMS produces two separate indices. The Multifamily Production Index...

According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, during the second quarter of 2023, single-family attached starts totaled 38,000, which is flat relative to the second quarter of 2022. Nonetheless, over the last four quarters,...

Single-family built-for-rent construction has cooled as investor interest has pulled back on tighter financial conditions. According to NAHB’s analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, there were approximately 20,000 single-family built-for-rent (SFBFR) starts during the second quarter...

Every year, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) conducts a member census to better understand the composition and characteristics of the people who belong to its organization. In 2022, 35% of NAHB’s members were builders—those whose primary business is single-family home building, multifamily building,...

A lack of existing inventory and solid demand for housing helped offset rising mortgage rates and push single-family production higher in July, even as builders continue to grapple with elevated construction and financing costs as well as a lack of skilled labor. Overall housing starts...

After steadily rising for seven consecutive months, builder confidence retreated in August as rising mortgage rates nearing 7% (per Freddie Mac) and stubbornly high shelter inflation have further eroded housing affordability and put a damper on consumer demand. Builder confidence in the market for newly...

Over the first six months of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 449,226. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 20.9% below the June 2022 level of 567,798. Year-to-date ending in June, single-family permits declined in all four regions....

According to the latest Producer Price Index report, the price level of inputs to residential construction less energy (i.e., building materials) edged up 0.2% in July (not seasonally adjusted). Building materials price growth has slowed considerably in 2023 with an average monthly increase of 0.2%–down...

Rising home prices and interest rates coupled with elevated construction costs, low existing inventory and solid demand resulted in a significant decline in housing affordability during the second quarter of 2023. According to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), 40.5% of new and existing...

Consumer prices showed a slight uptick in July, with core inflation remained sticky, ending a streak of 12 consecutive months of steady declines. Despite a slowdown compared to the previous month, the shelter index (housing inflation) continued to be the largest contributor to both headline...

Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending August 4th, total mortgage activity decreased 3.1% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate rose 16 basis points to 7.09%. The FRM rate has fluctuated between 6.9% and 7.1%...

Consumer credit outstanding growth slowed to 4.0% in the second quarter 2023 (SAAR) according to the Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit report, as revolving and nonrevolving debt grew at 7.1% and 3.0%, respectively. Revolving credit growth has decelerated as of late, a result of...

The average length of time to complete construction of a multifamily building, after obtaining authorization, was 19.8 months, according to the 2022 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau. The permit-to-completion time in 2022 was 2.3 months longer than in 2021, as supply-chain issues...

The past two months’ job gains indicate that the job market is cooling from its peak last year and is growing at a moderate pace. Total employment increased by 187,000 and the unemployment rate inched down to 3.5% in July. Wages grew at a 4.4%...

According to the Federal Reserve Board’s July 2023 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS)—conducted for bank lending activity over the second quarter of 2023—banks reported that lending standards tightened for all residential real estate (RRE) and commercial real estate (CRE) loan categories. Demand for RRE...

NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing report reveals that the share of new home sales backed by FHA loans climbed from 12.1% (revised) to 14.0% in the second quarter of 2023. It is the largest share since Q1 2021...

The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) reported the U.S. homeownership rate at 65.9% in the second quarter of 2023, amid persistently tight housing supply. The homeownership rate remained statistically unchanged from the first quarter reading (66%). Compared to the peak of 69.2% in 2004,...

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