National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Higher Energy Prices Increase Residential Construction Costs
Higher Energy Prices Increase Residential Construction Costs
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Energy input prices increased in March at their fastest pace since June of 2020 as the conflict in Iran shocked critical global supply chains. Building material prices, excluding energy, rose ...
Single-Family Permits Decline Sharply to Start 2026
Single-Family Permits Decline Sharply to Start 2026
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Residential construction activity began 2026 on a mixed note, with single-family permitting weakening significantly while multifamily activity remained relatively stable. Higher borrowing costs and affordability constraints continue to weigh on ...
Existing Home Sales Fell in March
Existing Home Sales Fell in March
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Existing home sales fell to a nine-month low in March as tight inventory, rising mortgage rates and growing concerns about the job market constrained sales activity. While inventory has improved ...
2025 Regional and State-Level GDP Data
2025 Regional and State-Level GDP Data
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In 2025, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded nationally, with growth recorded across all states and the District of Columbia. The increase ...
State-Level Employment Situation: January 2026
State-Level Employment Situation: January 2026
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The U.S. labor market began the year on firmer footing, with job growth rebounding in January after a subdued performance in 2025. Employment gains were widespread across most states, though ...
Inflation Surged to a Nearly Two-Year High in March
Inflation Surged to a Nearly Two-Year High in March
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Consumer prices surged to a nearly two-year high in March, driven by a spike in energy costs following the onset of the Iran war. This is the first CPI report ...
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 ...
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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....

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...

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