According to the latest What Home Buyers Really Want Study*, home buyers have rather diverse preferences when it comes to the architectural style of their home. In fact, there is no national consensus on exterior design. At best, a plurality of 34% would prefer to...
The two most wanted features in a home are a laundry room and a patio, according to NAHB’s latest study on buyer preferences—What Home Buyers Really Want Study*. Buyers in the study were given a list of 200+ features of the home and the community...
Due to tightened monetary policy, the count of total job openings for the entire economy has trended lower over the last year. This is consistent with a cooling economy that is a positive sign for future inflation readings. However, the number of open jobs for...
NAHB analysis of Census data shows that private residential construction spending rose 0.7% in February, the third month of gains in a row. It stood at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of $901.1 billion. The monthly increase in total construction spending is attributed to more...
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 49 states and the District of Columbia in 2023 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Delaware is the only state to report an economic contraction last year. The percent change in real GDP ranged from...
The Census Bureau’s Quarterly Summary of State & Local Tax Revenue shows a 1.3% increase in property taxes paid, rising from $769.2 to $778.9 billion (SA, trailing four quarter sum) in the fourth quarter of 2023. Total annual state & local tax revenue was $2.039...
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index (HPI), reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices, rose at a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.36%. Although this rate has been slowing the previous four months, January saw its first uptick from 2.32% in December 2023. On...
As part of the recently published HBGI, new NAHB analysis of residential permit data shows that about a quarter of single-family construction takes place in coastal counties. Coastal counties, as defined by U.S. Census Bureau, are counties that are adjacent to coastal water or a...
Consumer confidence held steady in March, with optimism about current conditions offset by concerns about the future economic outlook. This pessimism was primarily driven by persistent inflation, especially elevated food and gas prices. The Consumer Confidence Index, reported by the Conference Board, stood virtually unchanged...
A small rise in mortgage rates in February led to a flat reading for new home sales. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in February edged 0.3% lower to a 662,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of...
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 43 states and the District of Columbia in February compared to the previous month, while seven states saw a decrease. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 275,000 in February, following a gain...
After examining trends in single-family permits, we now turn our attention to multifamily permits to continue our exploration of correlations in housing permit data. Using multifamily permits from 2012-2022, five-year and ten-year correlations are used to create an association index for each Metropolitan Statistical Area...
Despite the rising mortgage rates witnessed in February, existing home sales continued to improve and climbed to a 12-month high, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). However, low resale inventory and strong demand continued to drive up existing home prices, marking the eighth...
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee held the federal funds rate constant at a top target of 5.5% at the conclusion of its March meeting. The Fed will continue to reduce its balance sheet holdings of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities as part of quantitative tightening...
Continuing NAHB’s commitment to be at the forefront of research on home buyer preferences, the 2024 edition of What Home Buyers Really Want was recently released at the International Builders’ Show. The primary objective of the study is to provide builders, manufacturers, architects, and the...
As we reported earlier, immigrants make one in four construction workers. The share is significantly higher (31%) among construction tradesmen. In some states, reliance on foreign-born labor is particularly evident, with immigrants comprising 40% of the construction workforce in California and Texas. Supported by a...
Pent-up demand, moderating interest rates, and a lack of existing inventory helped push single-family starts in February to their highest level since April 2022. Overall housing starts increased 10.7% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.52 million units, according to a report...
A lack of existing inventory that continues to drive buyers to new home construction, coupled with strong demand and mortgage rates below last fall’s cycle peak, helped push builder sentiment above a key marker in March. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family...
