The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee held the federal funds rate constant at a top target of 5.5% at the conclusion of its January meeting. The Fed will continue to reduce its balance sheet holdings of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities as part of quantitative tightening...
The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) reported the U.S. homeownership rate declined to 65.7% in the last quarter of 2023, amid persistently tight housing supply and elevated mortgage interest rates. This is 0.3 percentage points lower from the third quarter reading (66%). Compared to...
Due to tightened monetary policy, the count of total job openings for the entire economy has trended lower in recent months. This is consistent with a cooling economy that is a positive sign for future inflation readings. However, the December data showed an uptick due...
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing report reveals that the all-cash purchases accounted for 8.4% of new home sales in 2023—a 1.3 percentage point decline over the year but still the second-highest share since 1991. In contrast, the share...
Housing’s share of the economy rose to 16.0% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023. Overall GDP increased at a 3.3% annual rate, following a 4.9% increase in the third quarter of 2023, and a 2.1% increase in the second quarter of 2023....
The U.S. economy grew at a surprisingly strong pace in the fourth quarter, mainly fueled by resilient consumer spending. However, the fourth quarter data from the GDP report suggests that inflation is cooling. The GDP price index rose 1.5% for the fourth quarter, down from...
Falling interest rates in the closing weeks of 2023 helped to bring buyers off the sidelines and provide a boost for new home sales. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in December increased 8.0% to a 664,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from an upwardly revised...
According to the January 2024 survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, high interest rates were a significant issue for 90% of builders in 2023, and 77% expect them to be a problem in 2024. The second most widespread problem in 2023 was rising...
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 39 states and the District of Columbia in December compared to the previous month, while 11 states saw a decrease. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 216,000 in December, following a gain...
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest estimates, the U.S. resident population grew by 1,643,484 to a total population of 334,914,895. The population growth rate reached its highest level since the pandemic at 0.49%. This is just above the 2019 growth rate (0.46%), while slightly...
Existing home sales slipped in December, ending 2023 at the lowest level since 1995, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In 2023, the decline was largely attributed to worsening housing affordability and persistently low supply, exacerbated by higher interest rates. Low inventory, along...
Despite record high inflation rates, rising interest rates, and worsening housing affordability, young adults continued the post-pandemic trend of moving out of parental homes in 2022. The share of young adults ages 25-34 living with parents or parents-in-law declined and now stands at 19.1%, according...
In a sign that lower mortgage rates continue to boost the housing market, single-family production surpassed the million mark for the second straight month in December. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau overall housing...
The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI), a measure of sentiment among professional remodelers, for the fourth quarter posted a reading of 67, increasing two points compared to the previous quarter. Remodelers’ sentiment was quite positive at the end of 2023, when seasonally adjusted for...
Mortgage rates well under 7% over the past month have led to a sharp increase in builder confidence to begin the new year. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes climbed seven points to 44 in January, according to the National Association...
Over the first eleven months of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 843,654. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 8.5% below the November 2022 level of 921,626. Year-to-date ending in November, single-family permits declined in all four regions....
According to the latest Producer Price Index report, growth in the average price level of inputs to residential construction less energy (i.e., building materials) fell from 15.0% in 2022 to 1.3% in 2023 (not seasonally adjusted). On a monthly basis, building materials prices rose 0.1%...
Consumer prices rose again in December, driven by higher energy prices and sticky housing costs. Despite the increase, overall inflation has moderated by nearly half, declining from 6.5% in 2022 to 3.4% by the end of 2023. However, even after peaking in March 2023, shelter...
