Employment Loss and Post-COVID Recovery Across U.S. Metro Areas
In April 2020, total payroll employment in the United States fell by an unprecedented 20.5 million, following a loss of 1.4 million in March, as the COVID-19 pandemic brought the economy to a sudden halt. The unemployment rate surged by 10.4 percentage points to 14.8% in April. It was the highest rate effectively since the […]
Credit Card and Auto Loan Balances Continue to Slow
Overall consumer credit continued to rise for the third quarter of 2025, but the pace of growth remains slow. Student loan balances continue to rise as well, slowly returning to pre-COVID growth. Furthermore, credit card and auto loan balances continue to grow but at historically low rates. Although interest rates are still elevated, credit card […]
State-Level Analysis of Canadian Softwood Lumber Trade
International trade remains a source of volatility across the building materials sector, particularly in the softwood lumber market. Recent adjustments to antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) rates, combined with the imposition of Section 232 tariffs, have increased the trade-related cost of Canadian imports. As a result, the average duty rate on Canadian softwood lumber entering […]
Remodelers on the Rise: How Renovation is Reshaping Residential Construction
As the nation’s housing stock continues to age and new homes remain out of reach for many buyers, remodeling is capturing a growing share of the residential construction market, both in terms of the number of firms and employment. With most U.S. households unable to afford new construction, renovation has become a more practical and […]
Which Local Markets Track National Trends the Most: 2024 Multifamily MAI
Following the release of the 2024 single-family MAI last week, the National Association of Home Builders developed the Multifamily Market Association Index (MAI) to measure how closely multifamily building permits in metro areas follow national patterns. By comparing local and national trends, the MAI helps industry leaders and forecasters better understand and predict housing market […]
Multifamily Developer Confidence Increases in Third Quarter, But Still in Negative Territory
Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing increased year-over-year in the third quarter, according to 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 (MPI) had a reading of 46, up six points year-over-year, while the Multifamily Occupancy […]
Bedrooms in New Single-Family Homes in 2024
Three-bedroom single-family homes reached their largest share of starts since 2011 and remained the most prevalent number of bedrooms among new homes. The share of starts for four-bedroom homes declined for the third consecutive year but remained well above the shares for two-bedroom or less and five-bedroom or more homes. The share of single-family homes […]
The International Builders’ Show: The Leading Economic Forecast Event of the Year
Every year, NAHB and other industry experts and economists bring their latest insights to the NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS). For 2026, IBS offers an unparalleled lineup of IBS Education sessions that cover every sector of the housing industry: single-family, multifamily, remodeling, design trends, and building materials. The Builders’ Show in 2026 is in Orlando, […]
Laundry Room Locations in New Homes and Apartments, 2024
In 2024, most new single-family homes included laundry connections on the first floor (70%), according to the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction. The first floor is also where most customers prefer to have the laundry, as shown in Chapter 2 of What Home Buyers Really Want. The second floor was the next most […]
Lowest Mortgage Rates in Over a Year in October
Average mortgage rates in October trended downward to the lowest rates in over a year. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.25% in October, 10 basis points (bps) lower than September. Meanwhile, the 15-year rate declined just 1 bp to 5.49%. Both the 30-year and 15-year rates remain lower than a year […]
Which Local Markets Track National Trends the Most: 2024 Single-Family MAI
The National Association of Home Builders developed the Single-Family Market Association Index (MAI) to measure how closely single-family building permits in metro areas follow national patterns. By comparing local and national trends, the MAI helps industry leaders and forecasters better understand and predict housing market activity. The MAI uses 2015-2024 single permit data to create […]
The Fed Cuts amid Partly Cloudy Conditions
With the government shutdown limiting the quantity of economic data available to markets and policymakers, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) enacted a widely anticipated 25 basis point cut for the short-term federal funds rate. This marks the second consecutive cut this Fall, and the move decreases the policy rate to an upper […]
Home Price Growth Slows
Home prices in August grew at the lowest annual rate in over two years, according to the recent release of the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index (seasonally adjusted – SA). Home prices grew at an annual rate of 1.51%, almost half the rate of inflation. This is well below the recent highs of around […]
Two-Story Foyer Trend Stabilizes in 2024
In 2024, nearly a quarter of new homes were built with a two-story foyer, virtually unchanged from 2023, according to data obtained from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) and tabulated by NAHB. The market share of two-story foyers has been generally trending downward over the past eight years, with most new single-family homes […]
Inflation Picks Up in September
Inflation increased in September to the fastest pace since the start of the year, showing tariff pressure on prices continues to materialize gradually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) latest report. This month’s data collection was completed prior to the government shutdown but was published this week in order to provide next year’s […]
Existing Home Sales Increase in September
Existing home sales rose to a seven-month high in September as mortgage rates eased and inventory improved, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Resale inventory matched to the highest level since May 2020, though it remained below pre-pandemic levels. Mortgage rates hovered between 6.5% and 7% earlier this year due to ongoing economic […]
Where are Porches Most Common for Newly-Built Homes?
Although the share of new homes with porches edged down in 2024, porches continue to rank as the most common outdoor feature on new homes, according to NAHB tabulation of the latest data from the Survey of Construction (SOC, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau with partial funding from HUD). Of the roughly 1.0 million single-family homes […]
How COVID-19 Reshaped the U.S. Labor Market and Housing Demand
Between February 2020 and June 2022, the U.S. labor market experienced the deepest downturn on record followed by the fastest recovery in at least a century. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted every corner of the economy, forcing massive shutdowns and triggering record job losses across all industries. Yet, in just two years, the labor market rebounded […]