Year-over-Year Building Material Price Growth Advances  

Price growth for residential building materials rose for the fourth straight month in August, reaching its highest level since January 2023.  Across domestic inputs goods and services into residential construction, service prices decreased in August while goods prices slightly advanced.   Prices for inputs to new residential construction—excluding capital investment, labor, and imports—fell 0.1% in…

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Share of New Homes with Patios Edges Down for First Time in Fifteen Years

For the first time in 15 years, the share of new homes with patios finally declined in 2024, according to NAHB tabulation of data from the Survey of Construction (conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau with partial funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development). Of the roughly 1.0 million single-family homes started during…

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Who Are NAHB Remodelers?

Twenty-one percent of NAHB builder members listed residential remodeling as their primary business activity, according to the 2024 Member Census.  These remodelers tend to be relatively small companies, with a median of five employees, $1.7 million in median revenue, and 15 remodeling jobs completed over $10,000.  Dollar Volume of Business Activity in 2024 Over 80%…

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Purchase Activity Slips Despite Lower Mortgage Rates

Mortgage application activity increased again in August, supported by lower interest rates. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, a measure of total mortgage application volume, rose 5.0% from July on a seasonally adjusted basis and was 18.3% higher than a year ago. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed mortgages fell 13…

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