National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Remodeling Market Sentiment Edges Down but Remains Positive in First Quarter
Remodeling Market Sentiment Edges Down but Remains Positive in First Quarter
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In the first quarter of 2026, the NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 62, down two points compared to the previous quarter. Despite this decline, the overall reading ...
Remodelers Saw Profit Margin Gains in 2024
Remodelers Saw Profit Margin Gains in 2024
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Profitability for residential remodelers reached its highest level in more than two decades in 2024. Industry-wide profit benchmarks are important because they allow companies to evaluate their financial performance in ...
Rising Rates Weigh on Mortgage Activity
Rising Rates Weigh on Mortgage Activity
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Mortgage application activity decreased month-over-month as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, a measure of total mortgage application volume, declined 4.3% from ...
Which States and Construction Trades Depend the Most on Immigrant Workers?
Which States and Construction Trades Depend the Most on Immigrant Workers?
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Immigrants’ share of the construction workforce reached a record high in 2024, with foreign-born workers accounting for more than a quarter of the industry’s labor force (26.3%). The share is ...
Job Growth Rebounds in March
Job Growth Rebounds in March
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The U.S. labor market showed signs of a modest rebound in March following a weak February, as payroll employment increased and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.3%. Job growth ...
Iran Conflict Reverses Decline in Mortgage Rates
Iran Conflict Reverses Decline in Mortgage Rates
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Mortgage rates, which dipped below 6% in February, climbed back up to end the month just under 6.4%. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.18% in March, ...
Consumer Confidence Climbs Despite Oil Price Surge
Consumer Confidence Climbs Despite Oil Price Surge
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Consumer confidence in March rose to a three-month high as consumers’ improved view of current business and labor market conditions outweighed weaker future expectations. Despite the increase, consumers remained concerned ...
Private Residential Construction Spending Slips in January
Private Residential Construction Spending Slips in January
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Private residential construction spending declined 0.8% in January 2026, following two months of gains. This decline was driven by lower spending across single-family, multifamily construction, and home improvement. Despite the ...
Soft Construction Labor Market Shows Decline for Open Positions
Soft Construction Labor Market Shows Decline for Open Positions
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The number of open positions in construction in February was down year-over-year, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The current level of open jobs ...
NAHB HBGI: Micro Markets Lone Bright Spot for Single-Family Building in Fourth Quarter
NAHB HBGI: Micro Markets Lone Bright Spot for Single-Family Building in Fourth Quarter
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Single-family construction declined further in the fourth quarter in all but sparsely populated micro counties, according to the NAHB Home Building Geography Index (HBGI). Meanwhile, multifamily construction showed growth in ...
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Information obtained from the US Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) and tabulated by NAHB, shows the share of new homes with a two-story foyer slightly increased in 2022. The increase was particularly notable in West South Central and New England. However, most new single-family...

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 44 states and the District of Columbia in the second quarter of 2023. Economic activity contracted in six states. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the percent change in real GDP increased ranged from 8.7...

The bond market appears to be responding to cooling macroeconomic data, including labor market reporting, as long-term rates fall back. Among the risk factors that previously led to higher interest rates (more debt issuance, higher-for-longer monetary policy expectations, long-term fiscal deficit conditions, and strong current...

For the third consecutive quarter, single-family growth rates were negative for all geographic sectors of the nation, as exurban areas posted the largest increase in market share for both single-family and multifamily construction, according to the latest findings from the National Association of Home Builders...

As discussed in Eye on Housing last year, builders have been including decks on fewer and fewer new homes recently. According to NAHB tabulation of data from the HUD/Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC), well over 20% of all single-family homes started had decks from...

NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that private residential construction spending rose 1.2% in October, after a dip in September. It stood at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of $884 billion. Total private residential construction spending is 0.7% higher compared to a year...

Pets can have a significant impact on home buying decisions for many people. According the U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 data shows that there are 63.8 million occupied housing units have at least one pet which represents almost 50% of the 128.5 million occupied housing units....

According to data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), custom homes share increased to 20.4 percent of all single-family homes started in 2022 from the 17.6 percent recorded in 2021. The custom home market consists of contractor-built and owner-built houses—homes built one at...

The report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston discusses the recent trends in consumer price inflation, focusing on the period from 2021 to June 2023. After experiencing elevated readings in 2021 and 2022, inflation has moderated this year. The total consumer price index (CPI)...

The volume of total outstanding acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loans posted a decline during the third quarter of 2023 as interest rates increased and financial conditions tightened. The volume of 1-4 unit residential construction loans made by FDIC-insured institutions declined by 2.8% during the...

National home prices continued to increase in September. Despite rising mortgage rates, limited inventory and solid but weakened demand provided solid support for home prices. Locally, all of 20 metro areas had positive home price appreciation in September. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home...

The most recent release of the Census Bureaus’ Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units (SOMA) reported that of the 99,290 unfurnished, unsubsidized apartments completed in the second quarter of 2023, 65% were absorbed into the market in the first three months following completion....

The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. The multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2- to 4-unit properties) has disappointed since the Great Recession. For the third quarter of 2023, there...

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....

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