National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Flat Conditions for Custom Home Building
Flat Conditions for Custom Home Building
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With overall single-family construction down almost 7% for the first seven months of 2026, custom home building has been a relative bright spot for the residential construction industry. The custom ...
Housing Starts Retreat on Market Headwinds
Housing Starts Retreat on Market Headwinds
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Housing starts fell in July as economic uncertainty, rising construction costs, labor shortages and elevated financing expenses continued to challenge builders. Overall housing starts decreased 12.4% in July to a ...
Cash Purchases of New Homes Fall to Lowest Share Since 2007
Cash Purchases of New Homes Fall to Lowest Share Since 2007
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New home sales rose in the second quarter but were lower than a year ago, according to the U.S. Census Bureau New Residential Sales release. The share of homes purchased ...
Consumer Credit Slowed in Q2 
Consumer Credit Slowed in Q2 
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In the second quarter of 2026, consumer credit growth slowed over the quarter and was lower than a year ago. According to the Federal Reserve’s G.19 Consumer Credit Report, total outstanding U.S. consumer credit reached $5.17 trillion in the second quarter of ...
Affordability Pressures Keep Builder Confidence Low
Affordability Pressures Keep Builder Confidence Low
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Builder sentiment remains muted from economic and geopolitical uncertainty, elevated mortgage rates and rising construction costs. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes inched up one point ...
Single-Family Permitting Declines Through June in Contrast to Multifamily
Single-Family Permitting Declines Through June in Contrast to Multifamily
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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
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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 ...
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The second quarter of 2023 release of the Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States indicates that the market value of households’ real estate assets increased over the quarter. Low existing for-sale inventory helped to increase real estate value after falling for three consecutive quarters....

A majority of single-family home building occurs in counties that are in the lowest quintile of homeownership rates, according to NAHB analysis of 2021 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) county-level data and single-family permit numbers. This somewhat counterintuitive result is actually a reflection of the...

The number of women employed in the construction industry increased to over 1.28 million in 2022, as the construction industry recovered all jobs lost during the pandemic. Currently, women make up 10.9% of the construction workforce, up from 9.3% in 2002. As the construction skilled...

Every year since 2008, the NAHB has conducted a member census in order to better understand the composition and characteristics of the people who belong to its organization. Similar to a previous post about builder members, NAHB conducted a related analysis of its associate members....

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

According to the latest Survey of Construction (SOC), 42 percent of new single-family detached homes sold in 2022 were built on lots under 7,000 square feet, that is 0.16 of an acre. This is the highest share on record and reflects stark changes in the...

According to the annual data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), stucco was the most common principal siding material on new single-family homes started in 2022 (28%), followed by vinyl siding (26%), fiber cement siding (such as Hardiplank or Hardiboard (21%) and, brick...

According to the data released by Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), private fixed investment in student dormitories inched up 1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $3.6 billion in the second quarter of 2022, after a 6.4% increase in the first quarter. Private...

NAHB analysis of the 2022 Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC) data shows that, nationwide, the share of non-conventional financing for new home sales accounted for 28.1% of the market, roughly the same as in 2021, at 28.8%. As in previous years, conventional financing dominated...

Rising mortgage rates and elevated construction costs have taken a toll on the pace of single-family construction in markets across the nation, with the slowdown most pronounced in large metro areas. Multifamily market growth also fell in most areas of the country, according to the...

NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that private residential construction spending rose 1.4% in July after an increase of 1.5% in June and 3.5% in May. Spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of $879 billion. However, total private residential construction spending...

The recent employment data indicates that the labor market is cooling gradually due to rising interest rates. Total employment increased by 187,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 3.8% from 3.5%. Wage growth slowed. In August, wages grew at a 4.3% year-over-year growth rate, down...

According to NAHB analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC), new single-family starts decreased in 2022. Nationally, 1,018,495 new single-family units started construction in 2022, 10% fewer than the number of units started in 2021. It marked the first decrease since 2011 but was still...

In June, national home prices continued to increase. Limited inventory and solid but weakened demand put upward pressure on home prices, despite rising mortgage rates. Locally, all 20 metro areas, reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices, had positive home price appreciation in June. The S&P...

The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy continued to moved lower in July, falling to 8.8 million. While certain inflation readings have raised the likelihood of a September Federal Reserve interest rate increase, the JOLTS survey is another data point indicating an...

Wood framing remains the most dominant construction method for single-family homes in the U.S., according to NAHB analysis of 2022 Census Bureau data. For 2022 completions, 94% of new homes were wood-framed, another 6% were concrete-framed homes, and less than half a percent was steel-framed....

Interest rates on loans for Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) continued to climb in the second quarter of 2023, according to NAHB’s quarterly Survey on AD&C Financing. Quarter-over-quarter, the contract interest rate increased on all four categories of loans tracked in the AD&C Survey: from...

The residential remodeling market has grown rapidly in the past few years, mainly fueled by changes in housing and lifestyle decisions during the pandemic period. According to National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA), expenditures for residential home improvements soared 13% to $328 billion in 2021,...

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