National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Comparing New and Resale Prices: 4Q25
Comparing New and Resale Prices: 4Q25
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In the fourth quarter of 2025, the median price for a new single-family home was $405,300, which was $9,600 lower than the median price of an existing home, which stood ...
Demolition Activity Slows Down But Remains Above Pre-Pandemic Levels
Demolition Activity Slows Down But Remains Above Pre-Pandemic Levels
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Residential demolition activity in 2025 declined 0.1% year-over-year but remained above pre-pandemic levels. According to NAHB analysis of data from Construction Monitor, permits pulled for residential demolition have been increasing ...
Value of Household Real Estate Assets Fall for Second Straight Quarter
Value of Household Real Estate Assets Fall for Second Straight Quarter
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The market value of household real estate assets fell for the second consecutive quarter to $47.9 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the most recent release of ...
New Home Sales Decline in January on Weather Disruptions
New Home Sales Decline in January on Weather Disruptions
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New home sales declined in January, reflecting typical monthly volatility as well as weather-related disruptions. On a three-month moving average basis, sales remain broadly in line with a year ago, ...
Fourth Quarter 2025 Multifamily Construction Data
Fourth Quarter 2025 Multifamily Construction Data
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According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts increased year-over-year during the fourth quarter of 2025. For the quarter, 96,000 multifamily residences started ...
Holding Pattern Continues for the Fed
Holding Pattern Continues for the Fed
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The Fed continued its current pause for rate reductions at the conclusion of the March meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank’s monetary policy body. The Fed ...
Building Material Price Growth Remains Entrenched Above 3%
Building Material Price Growth Remains Entrenched Above 3%
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Residential building material price growth accelerated in February after slowing a month prior, according to the latest Producer Price Index release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since the BLS ...
Lumber Imports and Employment Fall
Lumber Imports and Employment Fall
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U.S. sawmill production was unchanged in the third quarter according to the Federal Reserve G.17 Industrial Production report. Utilization rates for sawmills and wood preservation industries remained near 70% despite ...
Best Year for Missing Middle Construction Since 2007
Best Year for Missing Middle Construction Since 2007
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While not a huge jump, 2025 featured the highest construction volume for multifamily missing middle housing starts. The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and ...
Builder Sentiment Inches Higher but Affordability Concerns Persist
Builder Sentiment Inches Higher but Affordability Concerns Persist
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Builder sentiment inched up in March even as builders continue to express affordability concerns stemming from elevated construction costs and shortages of buildable lots and labor. Builder confidence in the ...
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Elevated mortgage rates that averaged 7.62% in October per Freddie Mac, the highest rate since 2000, depressed buyer demand and pushed down new home sales in October. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in October fell 5.6% to a 679,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, following...

According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts remained elevated during the third quarter of 2023. For the quarter, 104,000 multifamily residences started construction. Of this total, 101,000 were built-for-rent. The market share of rental units of multifamily...

An expected impact of the virus crisis was a need for more residential space, as people use homes for more purposes including work. Home size correspondingly increased in 2021 as interest rates reached historic lows. However, as interest rates increased in 2022 and 2023, and...

Existing home sales in October fell to the lowest level since August 2010, as limited inventory and higher mortgage rates continued to weigh on homebuyers, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Low resale inventory and strong demand continued to drive up existing home...

NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates a slowing market for custom home building after a recent gain in market share. There were 50,000 total custom building starts during the third quarter of the year....

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 25 states in September compared to the previous month, while 22 states lost jobs. The District of Columbia, North Dakota, New Mexico, and Virginia reported no change. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased...

Single-family built-for-rent construction has cooled as investor interest has pulled back on tighter financial conditions, leading to flat construction conditions after recent gains. According to NAHB’s analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, there were approximately 17,000...

Despite weakness for single-family construction in 2023, townhouse construction recorded the best quarter for starts in 16 years. According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, during the third quarter of 2023, single-family attached starts...

Single-family construction held steady in October as high mortgage rates depressed demand but more buyers turned to new homes because of a lack of existing inventory. Overall housing starts increased 1.9% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.37 million units, according to...

Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing was in negative territory for the third 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...

High mortgage rates that approached 8% earlier this month continue to hammer builder confidence, but recent economic data suggest housing conditions may improve in the coming months. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in November fell six points to 34 in...

According to the latest Producer Price Index report, the price level of inputs to residential construction less energy (i.e., building materials) declined 0.1% in October (not seasonally adjusted) following a 0.2% increase in September. The index has increased 1.0%, year-to-date, marking the smallest YTD gain...

Over the first nine months of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 693,908. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 13.3% below the September 2022 level of 800,424. Year-to-date ending in September, single-family permits declined in all four regions....

Consumer prices in October remained unchanged, with the increase in shelter index being offset by the decline in the gasoline index. This cooling inflation increases the probability that the Fed is done increasing rates. Despite the slowdown, shelter costs continue to be a key driver...

The Census Bureau’s latest Survey of Construction (SOC) shows minor changes in the number of full and half bathrooms for new single-family homes started in 2022 compared to 2021. The current data shows that 4.4% of new single-family homes started had one full bathroom or...

During the third quarter of 2023, availability of loans for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) continued to tighten, according to both NAHB’s survey on AD&C Financing and the Federal Reserve’s survey of senior loan officers. Each of the surveys produces a net easing...

According to the Federal Reserve Board’s November 2023 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS), lending standards tightened for all commercial real estate (CRE) loan categories and most residential real estate (RRE) categories in the third quarter of 2023. Moreover, demand for RRE and CRE loans...

Rising mortgage rates, elevated construction costs and limited existing inventory helped push housing affordability in the third quarter of 2023 to its lowest level in more than a decade. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), just 37.4%...

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