National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Student Housing Construction Investment Holds Steady in the First Quarter of 2026
Student Housing Construction Investment Holds Steady in the First Quarter of 2026
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Private fixed investment in student dormitories edged up 0.1% in the first quarter of 2026, holding at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $3.9 billion. This modest gain marked ...
Housing’s Share of GDP Dips Below 16% for First Time Since 2019
Housing’s Share of GDP Dips Below 16% for First Time Since 2019
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Housing’s share of the economy was 15.9% in the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest estimates of GDP produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This share is ...
U.S. Economy Rebounded in the First Quarter of 2026
U.S. Economy Rebounded in the First Quarter of 2026
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Real GDP growth accelerated in the first quarter of 2026, rebounding from a weak finish at the end of 2025, as government spending recovered following a disruptive shutdown. First-quarter growth ...
Powell’s Chair Ends but He Keeps His Board Seat
Powell’s Chair Ends but He Keeps His Board Seat
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The April meeting of the Fed’s monetary policy committee featured a lot of institutional news for a month in which the Fed kept monetary policy unchanged. The outlook for the ...
Home Building Shows Signs of Stabilization with Monthly Gain in Starts
Home Building Shows Signs of Stabilization with Monthly Gain in Starts
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Housing construction activity strengthened in March, with a notable rebound in both single-family and multifamily starts, signaling improved builder activity despite ongoing headwinds from financing costs and affordability constraints. While ...
Homeownership Rate Edges Down to 65.3% 
Homeownership Rate Edges Down to 65.3% 
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The latest homeownership rate declined to 65.3% in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Census’s Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS). While this was a modest quarterly decrease, the broader ...
The Silver Tsunami Isn’t Landing Where It’s Needed Most
The Silver Tsunami Isn’t Landing Where It’s Needed Most
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The “silver tsunami” refers to the wave of housing inventory expected as older homeowners downsize or transition out of their homes. According to the latest American Community Survey, there are ...
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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...

High mortgage rates, elevated construction costs running well above the inflation rate, and flagging consumer demand due to deteriorating affordability conditions have dragged builder sentiment down every month in 2022. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes posted its 12th straight monthly...

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 43 states and the District of Columbia in November compared to the previous month, while seven states lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 in November, following a gain of...

Over the first ten months of 2022, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 865,815. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 8.7% below the October 2021 level of 948,321. Year-to-date ending in October, single-family permits declined in all four regions....

Reflecting the unprecedented housing shortages across the United States in the post-pandemic market, U.S. vacancy rates hit their lowest readings in decades in 2021. According to NAHB’s analysis of the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS), owner vacancy rates dropped below 0.9% and rental vacancy rates...

According to data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), 65.5 percent of single-family homes started in 2021 were built within a community or homeowner’s association. Since the re-design of the SOC in 2009, this was the second highest percentage for new homes started...

Real estate taxes vary widely across states both in terms of annual taxes paid as well as effective tax rates. In 2021, the difference between average real estate taxes (RETs) paid by New Jersey and Alabama home owners was $8,336. New Jersey continued its perennial...

Downshifting its pace of tightening of monetary policy, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee raised the federal funds target rate by 50 basis points, increasing that target to an upper bound of 4.5%. This marked a relatively smaller increase after four previous 75 basis point...

Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending December 9th, total mortgage activity increased 3.2% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate rose one basis points to 6.42%. The FRM rate has fallen 48 basis points over...

Consumer prices in November saw the smallest year-over-year gain since December 2021.While still elevated, inflation experienced the second month below an 8% annual growth rate since February 2022. However, the shelter index continued to rise at an accelerated pace and was more than offsetting decreases...

The most recent release of the Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States shows a sharp slowdown in the quarter-over-quarter growth of households’ real estate assets. After six consecutive quarters of above 3 percent growth quarter-over-quarter, the third quarter of 2022 saw a 1.74% increase...

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