Relatively lower interest rates (compared to fall 2022), slowing growth in home prices, and builder incentives are making an impact on buyers’ affordability expectations. In the first quarter of 2023, 73% of buyers reported being able to afford less than half the homes for-sale in...
Housing’s share of the economy moved lower at the end of the first quarter of 2023. Overall GDP increased at a 1.1% annual rate, following a 2.6% increase in the fourth quarter of 2022 and 3.2% increase in the third quarter of 2022. Despite overall...
In the first quarter of 2023, economic growth slowed to an annual rate of 1.1%, amid rising interest rates and an ongoing banking crisis. This quarter’s growth was dragged down by decreases in private inventory investment and residential fixed investment. Private inventory investment subtracted 2.26...
After souring significantly in the final quarter of 2022, buyers’ expectations of housing availability edged up slightly in the first quarter of 2023, with 26% expecting the home search to get easier in the months ahead, just ahead of the 24% a quarter earlier. Despite...
Despite a housing market slowdown but reflecting persistent long-term labor challenges, wages in construction continue to rise, often outpacing and exceeding typical earnings in other industries. According to the latest Current Employment Statistics (CES) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), average hourly earnings...
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing report published by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that the share of new home sales backed by FHA loans jumped from 8.4% to 11.7% in the first quarter of 2023. It is the...
Interest for new home construction was essentially unchanged between the final quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, as the share of prospective buyers looking to buy a newly built home barely edged from 20% to 21%. Meanwhile, the share interested in existing...
Lower mortgage rates and limited existing inventory helped to push new home sales up in March, even as builders continue to grapple with increased construction costs and material supply disruptions. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated sales...
The retreat in mortgage interest rates during the first quarter of 2023 (from the 20-year peak reached in the fall of 2022) led a record share of adults in the US – 18 percent – to declare having plans to buy a home within a...
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 36 states and the District of Columbia in March compared to the previous month, while 14 states lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 236,000 in March, following a gain of...
In 2022, Florida had the highest population growth rate of any state at 1.9% and the second largest nominal growth in population at 416,754. Florida’s population was at 22,244,823 as of July 1st, 2022, the third largest state population in the U.S. The population of...
After reversing a 12-month slide last month, existing home sales retreated in March as mortgage rates began to increase again in February, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). With inflation continuing to ease and rent growth expected to slow, existing home sales will...
Findings from a recent national poll* that reveal 30% of American adults typically work from home at least two days a week could offer clues to the long-term financial health and value of commercial office space in the United States. How this share evolves over...
According to the latest Employment Situation of Veterans report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the share of employed veterans working in the construction industry increased to 6.5% in 2022–the second consecutive annual increase. The share has climbed 0.6 percentage point since 2020...
Single-family production showed signs of a gradual upturn in March as stabilizing mortgage rates and limited existing inventory helped to offset stubbornly high construction costs, building labor shortages and tightening credit conditions. This is reflected in the slight uptick in builder sentiment in April. Overall...
Builders remained cautiously optimistic in April as limited resale inventory helped to increase demand in the new home market even as the industry continues to grapple with building material issues. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in April rose one point...
Over the first two months of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 112,131. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 34.3% below the February 2022 level of 170,716. Year-to-date ending in February, single-family permits declined in all four regions....
According to the latest Producer Price Index report, the prices of inputs to residential construction less energy (i.e., building materials) climbed 0.3% in March 2023 (not seasonally adjusted). Since declining the last four months of 2022, the index has increased three consecutive months by a...
