The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume by Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey, has been hovering around 200 since October 2022 as higher mortgage rates and low resale inventory continue to hamper potential buyers. On a week-over-week change, total mortgage, purchasing, and refinancing activities decreased 5.2%, 4.4% and 6.8%, respectively,…
Due to tightened monetary policy, the count of open jobs for the economy and construction is declining, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). This is consistent with a somewhat cooler economy, which is a positive sign for future inflation readings. In April, the number of open jobs for…
Fueled by a lack of existing inventory and pent-up demand, single-family permit growth is occurring across all tracked geographic regions of the nation. The opposite holds true for the multifamily sector, according to the latest findings from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) for the first quarter of 2024….
Private residential construction spending rose 0.1% in April, following a 0.4% decline in March. The seasonally adjusted annual pace reached $890.4 billion. Total private residential construction spending is 8% higher compared to a year ago. This monthly increase in total construction spending is attributed to more single-family construction and improvements. Spending on single-family construction inched…
The median age of construction workers is 42, one year older than a typical worker in the national labor force, according to NAHB analysis of the most recent 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) data. However, more younger people are joining the construction industry. Despite some improvements since the peak of the skilled labor shortage in…
The volume of total outstanding acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loans posted an additional decline during the first quarter of 2024 as interest rates remain elevated and financial conditions are tight. However, AD&C loan conditions will ultimately improve when the Fed begins reducing the federal funds rate. The volume of 1-4 unit residential construction loans…
The Census Bureau’s latest release of the Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units (SOMA) estimates that 42% of 91,060 unsubsidized apartments completed in the fourth quarter of 2023 were absorbed (rented) within the first 3 months following completion. For condominiums, 56% of the estimated 4,915 units completed in the fourth quarter of 2023…
