National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Existing Home Sales Fall in July
Existing Home Sales Fall in July
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Existing home sales continued to slow in July as record-high home prices and elevated mortgage rates weighed on buyers. Mortgage rates resumed an upward trend after the ceasefire ended in ...
Weaker Demand for Residential Mortgages in Second Quarter
Weaker Demand for Residential Mortgages in Second Quarter
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Demand for all types of residential mortgages was weaker, while lending standards for most were essentially unchanged in the second quarter of 2026, according to the recent release of the ...
Wage Growth for Residential Building Workers Continues to Cool
Wage Growth for Residential Building Workers Continues to Cool
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Wage growth for residential building workers continued to lose momentum in the second quarter of 2026, reflecting softer housing construction activity and weaker labor demand. According to the latest data ...
Three States Drive Over 20% of Remodeling Activity
Three States Drive Over 20% of Remodeling Activity
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The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has released its State Projections of Remodeling (SPR) for the first quarter of 2026. As a reminder, the SPR provides on a quarterly ...
U.S. Labor Market Softens in July
U.S. Labor Market Softens in July
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The U.S. labor market weakened in July, with nonfarm payrolls down 23,000 and downward revisions cutting another 103,000 jobs from May and June. Although the unemployment rate edged lower to ...
Multifamily Developer Confidence Weakens in Second Quarter
Multifamily Developer Confidence Weakens in Second Quarter
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Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing weakened year-over-year in the second quarter, according to the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The ...
Mortgage Rates Climb Again as Iran Conflict Re-escalates
Mortgage Rates Climb Again as Iran Conflict Re-escalates
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Re-escalation of the conflict in Iran pushed mortgage rates higher in July. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.54% in July, up 5 basis points (bps) over ...
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An earlier post published last month shows that young adults ages 25-34 continued the post-pandemic trend of moving out of parental homes with the share of those living with parents or parents-in-law dropping to 19.1% in 2022. Geospatial analysis of the 2022 ACS data reveals...

The Census Bureau’s latest release of the Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units (SOMA) estimates that 57% of 85,530 unsubsidized, unfurnished apartments completed in the third quarter of 2023 were absorbed within the first 3 months following construction completion. For condominiums, 68% of...

National home prices continued to increase, hitting a new all-time high in December. Despite high mortgage rates, limited inventory and strong demand continued to push up home prices. Locally, six of 20 metro areas, experienced negative home price appreciation in December. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller...

Stable mortgage rates at the beginning of 2024 helped new home sales to increase in January. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in January increased 1.5% to a 661,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a downwardly revised reading in December, according to newly released data...

With home building volumes lower, labor shortages have eased considerably since record levels set in 2021 but remain relatively widespread in a historic context, according to results from the latest NAHB/Well Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) survey. The February 2024 HMI survey asked builders about...

Following a cycle low in December, existing home sales rose to a 5-month high to start the year, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Low resale inventory and strong demand continued to drive up existing home prices, marking the seventh consecutive month of...

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 fourth quarter of 2023, there...

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

According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts declined somewhat during the fourth quarter of 2023. For the quarter, 102,000 multifamily residences started construction. Of this total, 98,000 were built-for-rent. The market share of rental units of multifamily...

Homeownership provides a wide range of benefits to households. In addition to providing households with a stable place to live, homeownership also offers an opportunity for households to accumulate assets and build wealth over time through equity. As of 2022, 66.1% of U.S. households owned...

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...

During the fourth quarter of 2023, credit for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) remained tight, according to both NAHB’s survey on AD&C Financing and the Federal Reserve’s . However, the tightening was not as widespread as it was in recent quarters. The net...

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 44,000 total custom building starts during the fourth quarter of 2023. This...

Single-family built-for-rent construction accelerated at the end of 2023, as builders sought to add additional rental housing in a market facing elevated mortgage interest rates. According to NAHB’s analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, there were approximately...

The latest Producer Price Index, reported by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, indicated that inputs to residential construction, goods less foods and energy (residential building materials, not seasonally adjusted) increased 1.28% between December 2023 and January 2024. This was the largest monthly change for the...

Despite weakness for single-family construction in 2023, townhouse construction recorded the best quarter for starts in more than 17 years. According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, during the fourth quarter of 2023, single-family...

A sharp decline in multifamily starts pushed overall housing starts down in January even as single-family production showed signs of a gradual improvement later this year as interest rates continue to moderate. Overall housing starts decreased 14.8% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate...

Expectations that mortgage rates will continue to moderate in the coming months, the prospect of future rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year, and a protracted lack of existing inventory helped provide a boost to builder sentiment for the third straight month. Builder...

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