Continuing its tightening of financial conditions to bring the rate of inflation lower, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee raised the federal funds target rate by 75 basis points, increasing that target to an upper bound of 4%. This marks the fourth consecutive meeting with...
The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (CPS/HVS) reported the U.S. homeownership rate at 66% in the third quarter of 2022, which is statistically unchanged from the last quarter reading (65.8%). It is 0.6 percentage points higher than the rate in the third quarter of 2021....
An earlier post revealed that a record 70% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the third quarter of 2022 have spent 3+ months searching for a home without success. Those buyers also have higher incomes and education...
Private residential construction spending was virtually unchanged in September, with spending on single-family construction dropping just 2.6%. The value of September private residential construction put in place was at an annual pace of $918 billion, about 12.7% higher compared to a year ago. The monthly...
The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy increased in September, rising from 10.3 million open positions to 10.71 million. This represents a small increase from a year ago (10.67 million). This increase occurs despite signs of a slowing economy amidst aggressive monetary...
Higher interest rates are pricing out some (not all) buyers, but also transforming remaining prospects into active buyers. In the third quarter of 2022, 59% of prospective buyers had moved beyond the planning phase and become fully engaged in the buying process, up from 46%...
Prospective buyers in the third quarter of 2022 are more likely to have higher levels of income and education than earlier in the year. This helps explain why affordability expectations have improved. In the third quarter of 2022, 69% of buyers could only afford a...
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing published by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that new home sales financed through FHA numbered 11,000 and accounted for 7.5% of the total in Q3 2022–the smallest share since the fourth quarter of...
The most recent data release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) showed that personal income increased 0.4% in September, the eighth consecutive monthly increase of this year. Gains in personal income are largely driven by increases in compensation of employees and personal income on...
For the second straight quarter, more prospective buyers expect housing availability to improve. In the third quarter of 2022, 37% of buyers expect the home search to get easier in the months ahead, up from 17% and 22% in the first and second quarters of...
Real GDP grew in the third quarter, after shrinking for the first two straight quarters of 2022. This quarter’s growth was mostly fueled by a decline in the trade deficit. More important, the data from the GDP report suggests that inflation is cooling. The GDP...
Housing’s share of the economy edged lower at the end of the third quarter of 2022. This is the first quarter where GDP increased for 2022, with overall GDP increasing at a 2.6% annual rate, following a 0.6% decrease in the second quarter and 1.6%...
Rising mortgage rates approaching 7% along with declining builder sentiment stemming from stubbornly high construction costs and weakening consumer demand pushed new-home sales down at a double-digit rate in September. Following a brief uptick in August, sales of newly built, single-family homes in September fell...
After bottoming out at 19% in the first quarter of 2022, the popularity of new homes continues to rebound, as the share of buyers looking for new construction rose to 21% and 27% in the second and third quarters of the year, respectively. A possible...
The share of adults planning a home purchase within a year rose to 15% in the third quarter of 2022, up from 13% in the first half of the year. The marginal increase suggests that the prospect of higher mortgage rates in the near term...
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 44 states and the District of Columbia in September compared to the previous month while six states lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 in September, following a gain of...
Median square foot prices (excluding record-high improved lot values) for new for-sale single-family detached (SFD) homes started in 2021 increased 19%, according to NAHB’s analysis of the latest Survey of Construction data. Increases for square foot prices in new custom SFD homes were more moderate,...
As rising mortgage rates continue to cool the housing market, the volume of existing home sales has declined for eight consecutive months as of September, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate has increased from 3.11% at...
