Two consecutive solid monthly gains for builder confidence, spurred in part by easing mortgage rates, signal that the housing market may be turning a corner even as builders continue to contend with high construction costs and building material supply chain logjams. Builder confidence in the...
According to the most recent 2021 American Community Survey (ACS), the number of immigrant workers in construction, including self-employed, remained close to 2.8 million, on a par with the levels recorded by the ACS before the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on labor markets. The share...
Consumer prices in January saw the smallest year-over-year gain since October 2021 with a seventh consecutive month of a deceleration. However, this disinflation pace was much slower than expected, partially because new methodology introduces higher weights for shelter and lower weights for food and energy...
For 2022, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 972,180. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 12.5% below the 2021 level of 1,111,414. Year-to-date ending in December, single-family permits declined in all four regions. The South posted a decline of...
The price and availability of building materials again topped the list of problems builders faced last year, while interest rates (along with general inflation and negative media reports) moved considerably up the list. According to special questions on the January 2023 survey for the NAHB/Wells...
According to the Federal Reserve Board’s January 2023 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS)—conducted for bank lending activity over the fourth quarter of last year—banks reported weaker demand for residential real estate (RRE) loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), and commercial real estate (CRE)...
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has proposed new standards to determine if construction materials for federally funded infrastructure projects are made in the USA. The new guidance, required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)—“sets standards...
Mirroring a steep rise in mortgage rates that began in the early part of 2022 and coupled with ongoing building material supply chain bottlenecks that increased construction costs, housing affordability posted three consecutive quarterly declines in 2022 and now stands at its lowest level since...
The balance of consumer credit outstanding grew 6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022 (seasonal adjusted annual rate) after climbing 6.7% (SAAR) in the third quarter according to the Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit report. Revolving debt—which consists primarily of credit card debt—increased at...
Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending February 3rd, total mortgage activity increased 7.4% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate fell one basis point to 6.18%. The FRM rate has fallen around 100 basis points...
According to the latest data from the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS), the median age of owner-occupied homes was 40 years. The age of the housing stock is an important remodeling market indicator. Older houses are less energy-efficient than new construction and ultimately will require...
The median age of owner-occupied homes is 40 years, according to the latest data from the 2021 American Community Survey[1]. The U.S. owner-occupied housing stock is aging rapidly especially after the Great Recession, as the residential construction continues to fall behind in the number of...
Job growth rebounded in January. After a declining yet positive pace for five consecutive months, total nonfarm payroll employment growth accelerated and increased by 517,000 in the first month of 2023 and the unemployment rate hit a 53-year low at 3.4% as more people entered...
Further downshifting its pace of tightening of monetary policy, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee raised the federal funds target rate by 25 basis points, increasing that target to an upper bound of 4.75%. This marked a smaller increase after four previous 75 basis point...
The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy increased in December, rising to 11 million, the highest level since July. This was a surprise rise, as noted by many analysts, particularly given a growing chorus of corporate hiring freezes and job cuts. For...
Private residential construction spending declined 0.3% in December 2022, as spending on single-family construction dropped 2.3% amid higher mortgage rates. Private residential construction spending fell for the seventh consecutive month, standing at an annual pace of $857 billion. However, this total remains 1.7% higher compared...
An earlier post revealed that 65% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the fourth quarter of 2022 have spent 3+ months searching for a home without success. The inability to find an affordable home (45%) is the...
The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) reported the U.S. homeownership rate at 65.9% in the last quarter of 2022, which is statistically unchanged from the fourth quarter reading (66%). It is 0.4 percentage points higher than the rate in the fourth quarter of 2021....
