The balance of consumer credit outstanding grew 7.1% in November 2022 (seasonal adjusted annual rate) after climbing 7.4% (SAAR) in October according to the Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit report. Revolving debt—which consists primarily of credit card debt—increased at a 16.9% rate, more than...
Mortgage rates have increased rapidly in 2022, as the Federal Reserve continues to fight high inflation. The U.S. weekly 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from a slightly above 3% in early 2022 to more than 7% in late October and leveled off at a rate of...
Average hourly earnings for residential building workers* rose at a slower pace in November. After reaching the highest rate (8%) of 2021 in October, the pace of wage growth has retreated and remained below 4% for the past five consecutive months. The recent slowdown in...
Job growth slowed in recent months, but the overall labor market remains tight. In December, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5%, back to its lowest point before the pandemic. However, in a positive sign for inflation,...
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 47 states and the District of Columbia in the third quarter of 2022 while Indiana, South Dakota, and Mississippi saw modest GDP declines. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the percent change in real GDP...
The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy declined slightly in November, falling from 10.51 million open positions to 10.46 million. This represents a decrease from a year ago (10.92 million), a sign the labor market is slowing in response to tighter monetary...
Private residential construction spending declined 0.5% in November, as spending on single-family construction plunged 2.9%. Private residential construction spending fell for the six consecutive month, standing at an annual pace of $868 billion. However, this total remains 5.3% higher compared to a year ago. The...
Consumer confidence rose to an eight-month high in December as declining gas prices and easing inflation contributed to more optimistic views of economy. However, spending plans were mixed. Vacation intentions improved, while the intention to buy homes and big-ticket appliances cooled further due to elevated...
With the end of 2022 approaching, NAHB’s Eye on Housing is reviewing the posts that attracted the most readers over the last year. In December, David Logan reported the most recent data on building material prices. These monthly building material updates were among the top...
With the end of 2022 approaching, NAHB’s Eye on Housing is reviewing the posts that attracted the most readers over the last year. In April of this year, the NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI confirmed that the market had turned and was headed lower due to higher...
With the end of 2022 approaching, NAHB’s Eye on Housing is reviewing the posts that attracted the most readers over the last year. In April, Natalia Siniavskaia reported on wage data for the construction sector. According to the latest May 2021 Bureau of Labor...
With the end of 2022 approaching, NAHB’s Eye on Housing is reviewing the posts that attracted the most readers over the last year. In May, Na Zhao reported on concerning the size of the second home housing stock. According to NAHB estimates, the total...
With the end of 2022 approaching, NAHB’s Eye on Housing is reviewing the posts that attracted the most readers over the last year. In May, Litic Murali reported on population data in the post-covid environment. The Census Bureau recently released its 2021 Metropolitan Statistical...
While new home sales received a slight bounce in November from moderating mortgage rates, the housing market continues to struggle because of ongoing supply chain disruptions, elevated construction costs, and challenging affordability conditions. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in November increased 5.8% to a...
The most recent Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) shows that multifamily home building has continued to experience strong growth since the start of the pandemic. Due to the low single-family housing inventory and elevated unaffordability of single-family housing caused by high house prices and higher...
In 2021, 9.1 percent of new single-family homes were built in an older neighborhood on a site where a previous structure had to be torn down and rebuilt, according to the latest Builder Practices Survey (BPS) conducted by Home Innovation Research Labs. Another 18.5 percent...
As rapid rising mortgage rates continue to weaken housing demand, the volume of existing home sales has declined for ten consecutive months as of November, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This is the longest run of declines since 1999. While mortgage rates...
Single-family housing starts continued to fall in November, with the pace of construction down 32% since February when mortgage rates began to rise. The housing market continues to weaken because stubbornly high construction costs and elevated interest rates are harming housing affordability. And with the...
