National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Number of Open Construction Sector Positions Rising
Number of Open Construction Sector Positions Rising
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The number of open positions in the construction sector increased in July per the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The current level of open jobs ...
HBGI Q2 2026: Single-Family Construction Contracts Broadly While Multifamily Expands
HBGI Q2 2026: Single-Family Construction Contracts Broadly While Multifamily Expands
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Home building trends diverged across geographies in the second quarter of 2026. According to the Home Building Geography Index (HBGI), single-family construction declined in nearly all geographic categories, although the ...
Serious Delinquencies Edge Lower While Mortgage Transitions Rise
Serious Delinquencies Edge Lower While Mortgage Transitions Rise
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Household debt delinquency rates showed signs of stabilization in the second quarter of 2026 as overall share of delinquency balances edged lower and the transition to seriously delinquent debt declined ...
Single-Family AD&C Lending Falls Back in Q2
Single-Family AD&C Lending Falls Back in Q2
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Single-family construction lending fell slightly in the second quarter, according to data released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The volume of 1-4 family residential construction and land development loans ...
Multifamily Absorption Rate Remains Below 50%
Multifamily Absorption Rate Remains Below 50%
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The percentage of new apartment units that were absorbed within three months after completion was down five percentage points in the first quarter, according to the Census Bureau’s latest release ...
Small Decline for Single-Family Home Size
Small Decline for Single-Family Home Size
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New single-family home size had been falling since 2015 in response to declining affordability conditions. An exception occurred in 2021, when new home size increased as interest rates reached historic ...
PCE Inflation Remains Sticky
PCE Inflation Remains Sticky
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The latest report shows the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge remains sticky in July, complicating the Fed’s path to its long-term 2% target. Meanwhile, consumer spending remains resilient but is ...
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As higher mortgage rates continue to weaken housing demand, the volume of existing home sales has declined for nine consecutive months as of October, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This is the longest run of declines since 1999. The average 30-year fixed...

According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, during the third quarter of 2022 single-family attached starts totaled 38,000, which is 12% higher than the third quarter of 2021. Over the last four quarters, townhouse...

Single-family built-for-rent construction leveled off during the third quarter of 2022 as the overall housing market slowed. This occurred after an exceptionally strong second quarter for rental housing production. According to NAHB’s analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose...

Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing declined significantly in the third quarter of 2022, according to results from the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released today by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The MMS produces two separate indices. The Multifamily Production Index...

Elevated mortgage rates, high construction costs for concrete and other building materials, and weakening demand stemming from deteriorating affordability conditions continue to act as a drag on single-family housing production. Overall housing starts decreased 4.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.43 million units...

During the third quarter of 2022, credit continued to become less available and generally more costly on loans for Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) according to NAHB’s Survey on AD&C Financing. To analyze credit availability, responses from the NAHB survey are used to construct a...

Elevated interest rates, stubbornly high building material costs and declining affordability conditions that are pushing more buyers to the sidelines continue to drag down builder sentiment. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes posted its 11th straight monthly decline in November, dropping...

The prices of building materials decreased 0.2% in October (not seasonally adjusted) following a 0.5% decline in September according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report. The index has decreased four of five months for the first time since 2015. The PPI for goods...

Over the first nine months of 2022, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 800,424. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 7.4% below the September 2021 level of 864,184. Year-to-date ending in September, single-family permits declined in all four regions....

As a previous post has shown, the share of new homes with patios increased for the sixth year in a row in 2021, to a post-2004 high of 63.0 percent At the same time, the share with decks was trending in the opposite direction, declining...

Consumer prices in October saw the smallest year-over-year gain since January 2022, and while still elevated, inflation experienced the first month below an 8% annual growth rate since February 2022. However, the shelter index continued to rise at an accelerated pace and the energy index...

Rising mortgage rates, high inflation, ongoing building material supply chain disruptions, and elevated home prices contributed to housing affordability falling – yet again – to its lowest point since the Great Recession in the third quarter of 2022. According to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity...

Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending November 4th, total mortgage activity declined 0.1% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate rose eight basis points to 7.14%. The FRM rate has risen 33 basis points over...

According to the Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit report, consumer credit (ex-real estate) grew at a seasonal adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 6.8% in the third quarter of 2022. Revolving debt increased at a 12.9% rate, more than double the pace of nonrevolving debt...

NAHB analysis of information published in Builder Magazine’s annual Local Leaders lists shows that large builders gained market share across all tiers on average from 2009 to 2021 in major housing markets; market concentration, as calculated with top four firms in a metropolitan statistical area...

Job growth slowed in October as the Fed continues its tightening of financial conditions to fight inflation, but the overall labor market remains tight. The unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 3.7% in October as the number of persons in the labor force...

Spurred by elevated savings early in the pandemic and encouraged by lower interest rates, rising numbers of young adults left parental homes in 2021. As a result, the share of young adults ages 25-34 living with parents or parents-in-law declined and now stands at 20.2%,...

The Census Bureau’s latest Survey of Construction (SOC) shows slight changes in the number of full and half bathrooms for new single-family homes started in 2021 compared to 2020. The current data shows that 3.1% of new single-family homes started had one full bathroom or...

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