National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Inflation Persisted in August
Inflation Persisted in August
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Inflation in August remained sticky as renewed tensions with Iran continued pushing up oil prices, keeping pressure on the Fed to consider a rate hike at its upcoming meeting. Gasoline ...
Existing Home Sales Fall despite Improved Inventory
Existing Home Sales Fall despite Improved Inventory
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Existing home sales fell for the third consecutive month as record-high home prices and elevated mortgage rates weighed on buyers. Mortgage rates resumed an upward trend after the July ceasefire ...
Energy Prices Rise Again in August
Energy Prices Rise Again in August
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Residential building material prices, excluding energy, rose 0.2% in August and were up 5.1% from a year ago. Energy prices rose sharply in August, as prices for energy inputs to ...
Mortgage Applications Decline for Sixth Straight Month in August
Mortgage Applications Decline for Sixth Straight Month in August
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Mortgage application activity continued to decline in August as elevated US treasury yields pushed mortgage rates higher. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, a measure of total mortgage ...
Who Are NAHB’s Builder Members?
Who Are NAHB’s Builder Members?
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The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) conducts an annual census to better understand the composition and characteristics of its members.  In 2025, 35% of NAHB’s membership was comprised of ...
Single-Family Home Construction Time Declines in 2025
Single-Family Home Construction Time Declines in 2025
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Building a new single-family home took less time in 2025 compared to the previous three years. On average, it now takes 8.8 months from start to finish. That time includes ...
Shorter Apartment Construction Time in 2025
Shorter Apartment Construction Time in 2025
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The average time needed to complete construction of a multifamily building after obtaining authorization edged down in 2025, according to the 2025 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau. ...
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The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the third quarter of 2022 posted a reading of 77, declining 10 points from the third quarter of 2021. The RMI is based on a survey that asks remodelers to rate various aspects of the residential remodeling...

The prices of building materials decreased 0.3% in September (not seasonally adjusted) according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report. The PPI for goods inputs to residential construction, including energy, declined for the third consecutive month in September (-0.1%). Prices have fallen 2.3% since...

Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending October 7th, total mortgage activity declined 2.0% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate rose six basis points to 6.81%. The FRM has risen 80 basis points over the...

Average hourly earnings for residential building workers* continue to rise in August but at a slower pace. Wage growth has retreated from the highest rate of 2021. The recent housing slowdown indicates that, while labor demand is still high, employers are cautious about hiring amid...

Job growth slowed in September as the Fed raises interest rates aggressively to fight inflation, but the overall labor market remains tight. The unemployment rate edged down to 3.5% as the number of persons in the labor force decreased by 57,000 in September. Total nonfarm...

Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased in 40 states and the District of Columbia in the second quarter of 2022 while ten states saw modest GDP growth. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the percent change in real GDP ranged from 1.8...

A majority of new homes that completed construction in 2021 included two-car garages (67%), according to NAHB analysis of 2021 Census Bureau Survey of Construction data. There is clear uniformity for parking options in new homes completed across the Census divisions: the 2-car garage was...

NAHB analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC) shows that 67% of all new single-family homes started in 2021 were built on slab foundations, followed by 21% of homes built with a full/partial basement and 11% of homes built with a crawl space. As home...

The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy fell 10% in August, declining from almost 11.2 million to 10.05 million. The decline for open jobs reflects the beginnings of a labor market retreat as the economy slows due to aggressive tightening of monetary...

Private residential construction spending declined 0.9% in August, as single-family construction spending slid amid surging mortgage rates. Private residential construction spending declined for the third consecutive month, standing at an annual pace of $921.9 billion, according to NAHB’s analysis of the Census Construction Spending data....

The business of the typical NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) builder grew significantly between 2020 and 2021, according to results from NAHB’s latest member census. The 2021 NAHB census shows that the median gross revenue of an NAHB builder in 2021 was $3.3 million,...

The Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) provides valuable information on the characteristics of new homes started construction, such as air conditioning and heating system installations. Air Conditioning In 2021, 97 percent of new single-family homes started had a central AC system, higher than 95.4...

According to NAHB Economics analysis of the Survey of Construction (SOC) data, almost 9% of new single-family homes started in 2021 are served by individual wells and 16% have private septic systems. These shares, however, vary widely across the nine Census divisions with the corresponding...

Consumer confidence increased for the second straight month to the highest level since April, as solid job gains, declining gas prices and easing inflation contributed to more optimistic views of economy. However, spending plans were mixed. The purchasing intention to buy cars and major appliances...

A brief decline in mortgage rates helped to boost new home sales in August but sales are expected to move lower in the months ahead as rates have since moved higher and builder sentiment continues to fall due to declining housing affordability and ongoing supply...

The share of homes built with patios hit a record high in 2021. Of the roughly 1.1 million single-family homes started in 2021, 63 percent came with patios. This number comes from NAHB tabulation of data from the Survey of Construction (conducted by the U.S....

While the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered many social and economic disruptions, it has also changed working arrangements and has accelerated the shift to work from home (WFH). During the COVID-19 outbreak in the early of 2020, many businesses across the United States closed and millions...

The latest results from the Federal Reserve’s Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States, i.e., the Flow of Funds, show that in the second quarter of 2022, growth of the market value of all owner-occupied real estate in the United States slowed after showed the...

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