NAHB analysis of Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that during the first year after closing on a home sale, home buyers tend to spend considerably more money on furnishings, appliances and remodeling compared to non-moving owners. Buyers of...
Consumer prices accelerated again in May as shelter, energy and food prices continued to surge at the fastest pace in decades. This marked the third straight month for inflation above an 8% rate and was the largest year-over-year gain since December 1981. Both energy and...
The median age of owner-occupied homes is 39 years, according to the latest data from the 2019 American Community Survey. Compared to a median age of 31 years in 2005, the U.S. owner-occupied housing stock is aging gradually. The residential construction continues to fall behind...
Per the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), through the week ending June 3, total mortgage activity decreased, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate increasing to 5.45%, on average. The latest week’s rate increased to 5.4%, after 3 consecutive weeks of declines, each by a few...
Recent developments in the first quarter of 2022 per NAHB’s Home Building Geography Index (HBGI), indicate single-family home building slowing in suburbs, with most other regional geographies following suit. Following the aftermath of COVID-19, home buyer preferences for the suburbs have eased. Supply-chain challenges and...
Using the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), NAHB Economics estimates that a home purchase triggers significant spending on appliances, furnishings, and remodeling. NAHB’s most recent estimates are based on the pre-pandemic 2017-2019 data and show that during the...
In May, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 390,000 and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6%. Solid job gains continued in May, despite surging inflation, persistent supply-chain issues, and fears of a possible recession. Construction industry employment (both residential and non-residential) totaled 7.7 million...
Data from the Survey of Market Absorption of Apartments (SOMA), produced by the Census Bureau, suggest continued improvement for the multifamily sector in the fourth quarter of 2021 due to strong demand and low vacancy rates. However, the decline in the number of apartment and...
NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that total private residential construction spending rose 0.9% in April after an increase of 0.7% in March 2022. Spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $891.5 billion. Total private residential construction spending was 18.4% higher...
The construction labor market remains tight, as the industry sees a rising number of job openings year-over-year. The count of open construction jobs jumped to 449,000 unfilled positions in April. This is the highest measure in the history of the data series (going back to...
National home prices grew at an unsustainable pace in March, reaching an all-time high. This indicates that the imbalanced market with strong demand and record-low inventory continued to put upward pressures on home prices. However, keep in mind this is a backward-looking reading. The S&P...
Over the past 12 months, the cost to multifamily developers of compensating their employees increased by an average of nearly 12 percent, according to results from NAHB’s latest Multifamily Market Survey (MMS). The first quarter 2022 MMS, sent electronically to a panel of multifamily developers...
As National Home Remodeling Month draws to close, Eye on Housing reports on the most common projects undertaken by NAHB Remodelers during the previous calendar year—in this case, 2021. The results come from a special question included in the first quarter 2022 survey for the...
According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-sale housing starts increased during the first quarter of 2022. At 11,000 units started, this was the best quarter for condo construction since the third quarter of 2008. As a result, the market...
An expected impact of the virus crisis is a need for more residential space, as people use homes for more purposes including work. According to first quarter 2022 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, median single-family...
Residential construction loan volume reached a post-Great Recession high during the first quarter of 2022, as home building activity entered a new year with higher interest rates. As the single-family building market slows in 2022, the volume of such loans will likely peak in the...
New single-family home sales posted a significant decline in April as housing demand deteriorated in the face of rising interest rates. After starting at 3.1% in December, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage increased to 5.1% by the end of April, per Freddie Mac. Additionally,...
The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, including townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. While townhouse construction has trended higher in recent quarters, the multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2 to 4 unit properties) has disappointed. For 2021,...
