National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Single-Family Permitting Declines Through June in Contrast to Multifamily
Single-Family Permitting Declines Through June in Contrast to Multifamily
Posted on
Single-family permitting activity continued to weaken through the first half of 2026, while multifamily permitting remained somewhat stronger compared with the same period last year. Over the first six months ...
Cost of Credit for Builders Up Since the End of 2025
Cost of Credit for Builders Up Since the End of 2025
Posted on
Credit conditions on loans for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) were still tightening in the second quarter of 2026, according to NAHB’s quarterly survey on AD&C Financing. The ...
Building Material Prices Show Growth In July
Building Material Prices Show Growth In July
Posted on
Residential building material prices, excluding energy, rose 0.4% in July and were up 5.0% from a year ago. Energy prices fell again in July but remained significantly higher than a ...
Homeownership Rate Edges Down to 65%
Homeownership Rate Edges Down to 65%
Posted on
The latest homeownership rate declined to 65% in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Census’s Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS). The homeownership rate was unchanged from a year ago, and not statistically different than the rate in the ...
Inflation Eased Slightly in July
Inflation Eased Slightly in July
Posted on
Led by declines in gasoline and diesel prices, inflation eased for the second consecutive month after reaching a three-year high in May. As energy prices moderated, shelter resumed its role ...
Mortgage Applications Fall Across Loan Types in July
Mortgage Applications Fall Across Loan Types in July
Posted on
Mortgage application activity slowed in July amid continuation of the war in Iran. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, a measure of total mortgage application volume, declined 6.6% ...
Existing Home Sales Fall in July
Existing Home Sales Fall in July
Posted on
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 ...
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

Single-family built-for-rent construction has cooled as investor interest has pulled back on tighter financial conditions, leading to flat construction conditions after recent gains. According to NAHB’s analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, there were approximately 17,000...

Despite weakness for single-family construction in 2023, townhouse construction recorded the best quarter for starts in 16 years. According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, during the third quarter of 2023, single-family attached starts...

Single-family construction held steady in October as high mortgage rates depressed demand but more buyers turned to new homes because of a lack of existing inventory. Overall housing starts increased 1.9% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.37 million units, according to...

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

High mortgage rates that approached 8% earlier this month continue to hammer builder confidence, but recent economic data suggest housing conditions may improve in the coming months. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in November fell six points to 34 in...

According to the latest Producer Price Index report, the price level of inputs to residential construction less energy (i.e., building materials) declined 0.1% in October (not seasonally adjusted) following a 0.2% increase in September. The index has increased 1.0%, year-to-date, marking the smallest YTD gain...

Over the first nine months of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 693,908. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 13.3% below the September 2022 level of 800,424. Year-to-date ending in September, single-family permits declined in all four regions....

Consumer prices in October remained unchanged, with the increase in shelter index being offset by the decline in the gasoline index. This cooling inflation increases the probability that the Fed is done increasing rates. Despite the slowdown, shelter costs continue to be a key driver...

The Census Bureau’s latest Survey of Construction (SOC) shows minor changes in the number of full and half bathrooms for new single-family homes started in 2022 compared to 2021. The current data shows that 4.4% of new single-family homes started had one full bathroom or...

During the third quarter of 2023, availability of loans for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) continued to tighten, according to both NAHB’s survey on AD&C Financing and the Federal Reserve’s survey of senior loan officers. Each of the surveys produces a net easing...

According to the Federal Reserve Board’s November 2023 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS), lending standards tightened for all commercial real estate (CRE) loan categories and most residential real estate (RRE) categories in the third quarter of 2023. Moreover, demand for RRE and CRE loans...

Rising mortgage rates, elevated construction costs and limited existing inventory helped push housing affordability in the third quarter of 2023 to its lowest level in more than a decade. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), just 37.4%...

Median square foot prices (excluding record-high improved lot values) for new for-sale single-family detached (SFD) homes started in 2022 increased 18%, according to NAHB’s analysis of the latest Survey of Construction data. Increases for square foot prices in new custom SFD homes were similarly high,...

Consumer credit outstanding growth slowed to 0.4% in the third quarter of 2023 (SAAR) according to the Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit report, as revolving debt grew 8.6% and nonrevolving debt declined 2.4%. On a monthly basis, revolving credit outstanding increased just 3.0% in...

Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending November 3rd, total mortgage activity increased 2.5% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate fell 25 basis points to 7.61%. The FRM rate has decreased by 6 basis points...

Porches have been a popular home feature, consistently ranking in the top 10 in the NAHB surveys of recent and prospective home buyers published in What Home Buyers Really Want. And porches remain as popular as ever specifically on new homes, according to NAHB tabulation...

A majority of new homes that completed construction in 2022 included two-car garages (66%), according to NAHB analysis of 2022 Census Bureau Survey of Construction data. There is clear uniformity for parking options in new homes completed across the Census divisions: the 2-car garage was...

Job growth decelerated in October. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 150,000 and the unemployment rate edged up to 3.9% in October from 3.8%. The labor market is cooling. The Fed held interest rates steady for the second meeting in a row at the conclusion...

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Email Frequency