National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

State-Level Employment Situation: August 2026
State-Level Employment Situation: August 2026
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State labor markets showed mixed results in August, with nonfarm payroll employment increasing in a majority of states. At the same time, construction employment posted a net gain nationally, although ...
Single-Family Starts Rebound but Market Challenges Persist
Single-Family Starts Rebound but Market Challenges Persist
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Single-family housing starts rebounded in August, but production remains down 4.7% year to date as builders contend with rising construction costs, lot and labor shortages, and economic uncertainty. Overall housing ...
With Inflation Uptick, Fed Hikes and Signals More to Come
With Inflation Uptick, Fed Hikes and Signals More to Come
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The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points at the conclusion of its September policy meeting, bringing the target range to 3.75% to 4%. The decision ...
Builder Sentiment Falls on Higher Interest Rates and Costs
Builder Sentiment Falls on Higher Interest Rates and Costs
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Higher mortgage rates, worsening labor shortages and rising material costs are weighing on builder sentiment. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell three points to 32 ...
Single-Family Permitting Declines Through July as Multifamily Activity Remains Stronger
Single-Family Permitting Declines Through July as Multifamily Activity Remains Stronger
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Single-family permitting activity continued to weaken through the first seven months of 2026, while multifamily permitting remained stronger compared with the same period last year. Although single-family permits declined in ...
Women’s Share of Construction Workforce Reaches 20-Year High in 2025
Women’s Share of Construction Workforce Reaches 20-Year High in 2025
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In 2025, the number of women employed in the construction industry rose to around 1.37 million, an increase of about 31,000 from 2024. Women accounted for 11.3% of total construction ...
Value of Household Real Estate Assets Approaches $50 Trillion
Value of Household Real Estate Assets Approaches $50 Trillion
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The market value of households’ real estate assets rose in the second quarter, reaching $49.8 trillion, according to the most recent release of U.S. Federal Reserve Z.1 Financial Accounts. This ...
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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...

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...

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