The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee raised the federal funds target rate by 25 basis points but indicated that it was moving to a more data dependent mode as markets digest incoming risks for banks. The Fed is balancing two economic risks: ongoing elevated inflation...
A brief drop in mortgage rates and a pullback in home prices boosted existing home sales in February, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The 30-year mortgage rates averaged less than 6.3% in February per Freddie Mac and the median sales price in...
New NAHB 2023 Priced-Out Estimates show that 96.5 million households are not able to afford a median priced new home, and that additional 140,436 households would be priced out of the new home market if the price goes up by $1,000. This post presents details...
NAHB recently released its 2023 priced out estimates, showing how higher prices and interest rates affect housing affordability. The new estimates show that 96.5 million households are already not able to afford a median priced new home in 2023 due to the fact that their...
Single-family production remained at an anemic pace in February as builders continue to wrestle with elevated mortgage rates, high construction costs and tightening credit conditions that threaten to be exacerbated by recent turmoil in the banking system. Led by gains in apartment construction, overall housing...
After four consecutive declines, the producer price index (PPI) for inputs to residential construction less energy (i.e., building materials) rose 0.3% in February 2023 (not seasonally adjusted) follow a 1.1% increase in January (revised), according to the latest PPI report. Price growth of goods inputs...
Although high construction costs and elevated interest rates continue to hamper housing affordability, builders expressed cautious optimism in March as a lack of existing inventory is shifting demand to the new home market. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in March...
Consumer prices in February saw the smallest year-over-year gain since September 2021 with an eighth consecutive month of a deceleration. However, the shelter index (housing inflation) continued to rise at an accelerated pace and was the largest contributor to the total increase, accounting for over...
Over the first month of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 53,062. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 36.4% below the January 2022 level of 83,404. Year-to-date ending in January, single-family permits declined in all four regions. The...
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 48 states and the District of Columbia in January compared to the previous month, while Wyoming and Rhode Island lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 504,000 in January, following a...
Job growth continued in February. After a revised 504,000 job gain in January, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 311,000 in February, and the unemployment rate edged up to 3.6% from 3.4% in January. Wage growth increased to a 4.6% year-over-year gain from 4.4% last...
The most recent release of the Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States shows a decrease in the value of households’ real estate assets over the fourth quarter of 2022. As home prices begin to decrease from pandemic highs, households’ real estate asset value fell...
The NAHB recently published its latest Cost of Construction Survey. Results show that 60.8% of the average home sale price consisted of construction costs, essentially unchanged from the 61.1% posted in 2019. Since the inception of this series in 1998, this was the fourth time...
The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy declined slightly in January, falling to 10.8 million, after an 11.2 million reading in December, which was the highest level since July. The count of total job openings should fall in 2023 as the labor...
Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending March 3rd, total mortgage activity increased 7.4% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate rose eight basis points to 6.79%. The FRM rate has risen 61 basis points over...
While nationwide single-family housing starts have slowed in the past year, the largest drop on a percentage basis is occurring in the densest counties, due to high housing costs. Meanwhile, multifamily growth was robust throughout much of the nation at the end of 2022, with...
Residential remodeling companies, just like any other private enterprise in a capitalist economy, exist to satisfy the demand of consumers for specific products or services in exchange for a rate of profit commensurate with the risk taken. Companies control when they enter or exit the...
In 2005, Congress established several energy-efficiency tax incentives related to housing that benefit new-home buyers and remodeling homeowners. These policies included the tax code section 25C credit for retrofitting/remodeling existing homes, and the 25D credit for the installation of power production property in new and...
