Elevated mortgage rates and challenging affordability conditions pushed new home sales down to their weakest rate since March. Sales weakened in August with average mortgage rates above 7%. While some builders were able to offset that effect via mortgage rate buydowns, rates moved higher this...
Of the roughly 1,005,000 single-family and 547,000 multifamily homes started in 2022, 59,000 (28,000 single-family and 31,000 multifamily) were built in age-restricted communities, according to NAHB tabulation of data from the Survey of Construction (SOC, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and partially funded by...
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 33 states and the District of Columbia in August compared to the previous month, while 17 states lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 187,000 in August, following a gain of...
The total market share of non-site built single-family homes (modular and panelized) was just 2% of single-family homes in 2022, according to completion data from the Census Bureau Survey of Construction data and NAHB analysis. This share has been steadily declining since the early-2000s despite...
Existing home sales in August remained at the lowest level since January 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 prices,...
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee held the federal funds rate at a top target rate of 5.5% at the conclusion of its September meeting. The Fed will also continue to reduce its balance sheet holdings of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities as part of quantitative...
Higher mortgage rates averaging above 7% put a damper on single-family production in August, as builders also continue to face supply-side challenges in the form of elevated construction costs, a lack of skilled labor and a shortage of buildable lots. Led by a sharp decline...
Persistently high mortgage rates above 7% continue to erode builder confidence, as sentiment levels have dropped below the key break-even measure of 50 for the first time in five months. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in September fell five points...
Over the first seven months of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 527,158. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 18.4% below the July 2022 level of 645,877. Year-to-date ending in July, single-family permits declined in all four regions....
According to the latest Producer Price Index report, the price level of inputs to residential construction less energy (i.e., building materials) ticked up 0.1% in August (not seasonally adjusted). Prices have also increased 0.2% over the past 12 months as year-over-year price growth has slowed...
Consumer prices in August saw the largest monthly gain since June 2022, primarily driven by a surge in gasoline costs. Core service inflation excluding housing was little changed in August, suggesting that the path toward disinflation ahead still has some fluctuations. Meanwhile, shelter costs continued...
Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending September 8th, total mortgage activity decreased 0.8% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate rose six basis points to 7.27%. The FRM rate has remained above 7% since the...
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%...
