At the conclusion of its January policy meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee strongly signaled that it will undertake its first, post-covid increase of the federal funds rate in March. The Fed is tightening monetary policy in response to the highest inflation readings in nearly...
New single-family home sales increased in December as housing demand was lifted by buyers accelerating some contract signings due to anticipated higher mortgage interest rates in 2022. However, for the year as a whole, sales ended 7.3% lower than a supercharged 2020, as builders slowed...
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 44 states and the District of Columbia in December compared to the previous month while five states lost jobs. Employment was unchanged in Utah. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 199,000 in...
Only 15% of buyers were looking for a newly-built home at the start of 2018, but that share shot up to 42% by the final quarter of 2020 (after the start of the pandemic). Since then, however, interest for new construction has fallen steadily, as...
The share of adults planning a home purchase within 12 months has fallen for two consecutive quarters, going from 17% in the second quarter of 2021, to 16% and 15% in the third and fourth quarter of the year, respectively. The downward trend provides evidence...
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the of the United States increased by 393,000 to an estimated 332 million from the previous year. In 2021, the estimated population growth rate of 0.12 percent was the lowest since the Bureau began collecting this data beginning in...
Fueled by low mortgage interest rates and strong demand, annual existing home sales reached 15-year high in 2021, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). However, supply has continued to lag due to ongoing supply-chain disruptions and inventory fell to lowest level since January...
The NAHB/Royal Building Products Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the fourth quarter posted a reading of 83, up four points from the fourth quarter of 2020. The reading is a sign of positive residential remodeler sentiment for projects of all sizes. The RMI is based...
Home building ended 2021 with strong annual gains as demand accelerated in the wake of the pandemic. These annual gains were realized despite supply-chain limitations for materials and ongoing access issues for labor and lots. Single-family starts ended 2021 with a 13.4% increase for a...
Growing inflation concerns and ongoing supply chain disruptions snapped a four-month rise in builder sentiment even as consumer demand remains robust. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes moved one point lower to 83 in January, according to the National Association of...
Over the first eleven months of 2021, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 1,029,208. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 15.9% increase over the November 2020 level of 888,217. Year-to-date ending in November, single-family permits increased in all...
The latest Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly application surveys shows a decline for refinancing and an increase in mortgage purchasing. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate increased, averaging close to 3.4 percent for the month and was 3.52 percent in the latest week, the week ending...
The prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy climbed 1.5% in December (not seasonally adjusted), according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index was driven higher by large price increases for wood products. Building...
Led by higher prices for shelter and used vehicles, consumer prices soared by 7.0% in December from a year ago. It was the largest year-over-year gain since June 1982. However, energy prices fell in December, ending a long series of increases. Supply-chain constraints and strong...
Researchers in the home building industry should be aware that the Census Bureau released experimental estimates from the 1-year ACS data for 2020 instead of the standard 1-year 2020 estimates. This change is due to the disruption of data collection operations by the coronavirus pandemic...
Average hourly earnings for residential building workers have been growing fast recently, driven by the tightening construction labor market. Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the unemployment rate declined to 3.9% in December, the lowest rate since the pandemic. As the...
Job gains slowed sharply for the second straight month in December as the Omicron variant began to spread. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 199,000 in December, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%. Construction industry employment (both residential and non-residential) totaled 7.6 million, with 22,000 construction...
The failure of domestic sawmills to sufficiently boost output in the face of ongoing strong home buyer demand was a primary factor that contributed to record-high lumber prices and price volatility in 2021. Soaring lumber prices, combined with delays and higher costs for other building...
