National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Affordability Challenges Push New Home Sales Lower
Affordability Challenges Push New Home Sales Lower
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High mortgage rates and economic uncertainty continued to keep potential home buyers on the sidelines and constrain new home sales in September. New home sales declined from August and remained ...
Which Construction Occupations Will See the Largest Job Gains Over the Next Decade?
Which Construction Occupations Will See the Largest Job Gains Over the Next Decade?
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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that the economy will add 5.9 million jobs from 2025 to 2035, with total employment increasing from 170.3 million to 176.2 million, ...
Uptick for Non-Conventional Financing in 2025
Uptick for Non-Conventional Financing in 2025
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Nationwide, the share of non-conventional financing for new home sales accounted for 32.4% of the market, according to NAHB analysis of the 2025 Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC) data. ...
A Quarter of Remodelers Started ADUs Over Past Twelve Months
A Quarter of Remodelers Started ADUs Over Past Twelve Months
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When asked if remodelers started a project involving an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) over the past twelve months, 24% indicated that they were building an addition for use as an ...
Slabs Overtake Basements in the East North Central Division
Slabs Overtake Basements in the East North Central Division
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Nearly three-quarters of new single-family homes started in 2025 were built on slab foundations, according to NAHB analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC). The share of ...
Share of New Homes with Decks Inches Upward
Share of New Homes with Decks Inches Upward
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The share of new homes with decks inched upward, from an all-time low of 17.4% in 2024 to 17.8% in 2025, according to NAHB tabulation of data from the HUD/Census ...
State-Level Employment Situation: September 2026
State-Level Employment Situation: September 2026
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State-level employment data for September continued to show a mixed labor market, with job gains and losses split across the county. Although national nonfarm payroll employment increased modestly, year-over-year job ...
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The report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston discusses the recent trends in consumer price inflation, focusing on the period from 2021 to June 2023. After experiencing elevated readings in 2021 and 2022, inflation has moderated this year. The total consumer price index (CPI)...

The volume of total outstanding acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loans posted a decline during the third quarter of 2023 as interest rates increased and financial conditions tightened. The volume of 1-4 unit residential construction loans made by FDIC-insured institutions declined by 2.8% during the...

National home prices continued to increase in September. Despite rising mortgage rates, limited inventory and solid but weakened demand provided solid support for home prices. Locally, all of 20 metro areas had positive home price appreciation in September. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home...

The most recent release of the Census Bureaus’ Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units (SOMA) reported that of the 99,290 unfurnished, unsubsidized apartments completed in the second quarter of 2023, 65% were absorbed into the market in the first three months following completion....

The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. The multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2- to 4-unit properties) has disappointed since the Great Recession. For the third quarter of 2023, there...

Elevated mortgage rates that averaged 7.62% in October per Freddie Mac, the highest rate since 2000, depressed buyer demand and pushed down new home sales in October. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in October fell 5.6% to a 679,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, following...

According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts remained elevated during the third quarter of 2023. For the quarter, 104,000 multifamily residences started construction. Of this total, 101,000 were built-for-rent. The market share of rental units of multifamily...

An expected impact of the virus crisis was a need for more residential space, as people use homes for more purposes including work. Home size correspondingly increased in 2021 as interest rates reached historic lows. However, as interest rates increased in 2022 and 2023, and...

Existing home sales in October fell to the lowest level since August 2010, 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...

NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates a slowing market for custom home building after a recent gain in market share. There were 50,000 total custom building starts during the third quarter of the year....

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 25 states in September compared to the previous month, while 22 states lost jobs. The District of Columbia, North Dakota, New Mexico, and Virginia reported no change. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased...

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....

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