National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

New Home Sales Close 2025 with Modest Gains
New Home Sales Close 2025 with Modest Gains
Posted on
New home sales ended 2025 on a mixed but resilient note, signaling steady underlying demand despite ongoing affordability and supply constraints. The latest data released today (and delayed because of ...
U.S. Economy Ends 2025 on a Slower Note
U.S. Economy Ends 2025 on a Slower Note
Posted on
Real GDP growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter of 2025 as the historic government shutdown weighed on economic activity. While consumer spending continued to drive growth, federal government spending ...
Delinquency Rates Normalize While Credit Card and Student Loan Stress Worsens
Delinquency Rates Normalize While Credit Card and Student Loan Stress Worsens
Posted on
Delinquent consumer loans have steadily increased as pandemic distortions fade, returning broadly to pre-pandemic levels. According to the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit from the Federal Reserve ...
Overall Housing Starts Inch Lower in 2025
Overall Housing Starts Inch Lower in 2025
Posted on
Despite a strong finish in December, single-family home building dipped in 2025 as persistent affordability challenges continued to weigh on the market. Total housing starts for 2025 were 1.36 million, ...
How Housing Affordability Conditions Vary Across States and Metro Areas
How Housing Affordability Conditions Vary Across States and Metro Areas
Posted on
The NAHB 2026 priced-out estimates show that the housing affordability challenge is widespread across the country. In 39 states and the District of Columbia, over 65% of households are priced ...
Builder Sentiment Edges Lower on Affordability Concerns
Builder Sentiment Edges Lower on Affordability Concerns
Posted on
Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell one point to 36 in February, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index ...
How Rising Costs Affect Home Affordability
How Rising Costs Affect Home Affordability
Posted on
Housing affordability remains a critical issue, with 65% of U.S. households unable to afford a median-priced new home in 2026. When mortgage rates are elevated, even a small increase in ...
Cost of Credit for Builders & Developers at Its Lowest Since 2022
Cost of Credit for Builders & Developers at Its Lowest Since 2022
Posted on
The cost of credit for residential construction and development declined in the fourth quarter of 2025,  according to NAHB’s quarterly survey on Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) Financing. In ...
Inflation Eased in January
Inflation Eased in January
Posted on
Inflation eased to an eight-month low in January, confirming a continued downward trend. Though most Consumer Price Index (CPI) components have resolved shutdown-related distortions from last fall, the shelter index ...
Existing Home Sales Retreat Amid Low Inventory
Existing Home Sales Retreat Amid Low Inventory
Posted on
Existing home sales fell in January to a more than two-year low after December’s strong rebound, as tight inventory continued to push home prices higher and winter storms weighed on ...
Previous
Next

Subscribe

Stay updated on housing trends by subscribing to our blog via email.

Indices

View latest releases of NAHB indices such as the Housing Market Index.

Local Data

View our dashboard and blogs featuring metro-level data and more. 

Filter by Category

Consumer credit outstanding growth slowed to 2.5% in July, down from 3.4% in July (SAAR) according to the Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit report. Revolving credit growth reaccelerated to 9.2% in July, potentially reflecting strong consumer sentiment and job security in a tight—albeit cooling—labor...

The second quarter of 2023 release of the Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States indicates that the market value of households’ real estate assets increased over the quarter. Low existing for-sale inventory helped to increase real estate value after falling for three consecutive quarters....

A majority of single-family home building occurs in counties that are in the lowest quintile of homeownership rates, according to NAHB analysis of 2021 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) county-level data and single-family permit numbers. This somewhat counterintuitive result is actually a reflection of the...

The number of women employed in the construction industry increased to over 1.28 million in 2022, as the construction industry recovered all jobs lost during the pandemic. Currently, women make up 10.9% of the construction workforce, up from 9.3% in 2002. As the construction skilled...

Every year since 2008, the NAHB has conducted a member census in order to better understand the composition and characteristics of the people who belong to its organization. Similar to a previous post about builder members, NAHB conducted a related analysis of its associate members....

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

According to the latest Survey of Construction (SOC), 42 percent of new single-family detached homes sold in 2022 were built on lots under 7,000 square feet, that is 0.16 of an acre. This is the highest share on record and reflects stark changes in the...

According to the annual data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), stucco was the most common principal siding material on new single-family homes started in 2022 (28%), followed by vinyl siding (26%), fiber cement siding (such as Hardiplank or Hardiboard (21%) and, brick...

According to the data released by Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), private fixed investment in student dormitories inched up 1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $3.6 billion in the second quarter of 2022, after a 6.4% increase in the first quarter. Private...

NAHB analysis of the 2022 Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC) data shows that, nationwide, the share of non-conventional financing for new home sales accounted for 28.1% of the market, roughly the same as in 2021, at 28.8%. As in previous years, conventional financing dominated...

Rising mortgage rates and elevated construction costs have taken a toll on the pace of single-family construction in markets across the nation, with the slowdown most pronounced in large metro areas. Multifamily market growth also fell in most areas of the country, according to the...

NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that private residential construction spending rose 1.4% in July after an increase of 1.5% in June and 3.5% in May. Spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of $879 billion. However, total private residential construction spending...

The recent employment data indicates that the labor market is cooling gradually due to rising interest rates. Total employment increased by 187,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 3.8% from 3.5%. Wage growth slowed. In August, wages grew at a 4.3% year-over-year growth rate, down...

According to NAHB analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC), new single-family starts decreased in 2022. Nationally, 1,018,495 new single-family units started construction in 2022, 10% fewer than the number of units started in 2021. It marked the first decrease since 2011 but was still...

In June, national home prices continued to increase. Limited inventory and solid but weakened demand put upward pressure on home prices, despite rising mortgage rates. Locally, all 20 metro areas, reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices, had positive home price appreciation in June. The S&P...

The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy continued to moved lower in July, falling to 8.8 million. While certain inflation readings have raised the likelihood of a September Federal Reserve interest rate increase, the JOLTS survey is another data point indicating an...

Wood framing remains the most dominant construction method for single-family homes in the U.S., according to NAHB analysis of 2022 Census Bureau data. For 2022 completions, 94% of new homes were wood-framed, another 6% were concrete-framed homes, and less than half a percent was steel-framed....

Interest rates on loans for Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) continued to climb in the second quarter of 2023, according to NAHB’s quarterly Survey on AD&C Financing. Quarter-over-quarter, the contract interest rate increased on all four categories of loans tracked in the AD&C Survey: from...

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Email Frequency