National Association of Home Builders Economic Research Blog

Affordability Challenges Push New Home Sales Lower
Affordability Challenges Push New Home Sales Lower
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High mortgage rates and economic uncertainty continued to keep potential home buyers on the sidelines and constrain new home sales in September. New home sales declined from August and remained ...
Which Construction Occupations Will See the Largest Job Gains Over the Next Decade?
Which Construction Occupations Will See the Largest Job Gains Over the Next Decade?
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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that the economy will add 5.9 million jobs from 2025 to 2035, with total employment increasing from 170.3 million to 176.2 million, ...
Uptick for Non-Conventional Financing in 2025
Uptick for Non-Conventional Financing in 2025
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Nationwide, the share of non-conventional financing for new home sales accounted for 32.4% of the market, according to NAHB analysis of the 2025 Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC) data. ...
A Quarter of Remodelers Started ADUs Over Past Twelve Months
A Quarter of Remodelers Started ADUs Over Past Twelve Months
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When asked if remodelers started a project involving an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) over the past twelve months, 24% indicated that they were building an addition for use as an ...
Slabs Overtake Basements in the East North Central Division
Slabs Overtake Basements in the East North Central Division
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Nearly three-quarters of new single-family homes started in 2025 were built on slab foundations, according to NAHB analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC). The share of ...
Share of New Homes with Decks Inches Upward
Share of New Homes with Decks Inches Upward
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The share of new homes with decks inched upward, from an all-time low of 17.4% in 2024 to 17.8% in 2025, according to NAHB tabulation of data from the HUD/Census ...
State-Level Employment Situation: September 2026
State-Level Employment Situation: September 2026
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State-level employment data for September continued to show a mixed labor market, with job gains and losses split across the county. Although national nonfarm payroll employment increased modestly, year-over-year job ...
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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,...

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 41 states and the District of Columbia in April compared to the previous month while eight states lost jobs. North Dakota remained unchanged. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 428,000 in April,...

NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates custom home building posted a year-over-years gain for the first quarter of 2022. There were 46,000 total custom building starts during the first quarter of the year. This...

As rising mortgage rates and higher home prices continued to price out first-time and young homebuyers and reduce affordability, existing home sales dropped to the lowest level since June 2020, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). However, the trend in home price appreciation...

Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing turned downward in the first quarter of 2022, according to the latest results from NAHB’s Multifamily Market Survey (MMS). The MMS produces two main indices. The survey’s Multifamily Production Index (MPI) decreased six points to 48 in...

According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, during the first quarter of 2022 single-family attached starts totaled 36,000, which is 16% higher than the first quarter of 2021. Over the last four quarters, townhouse...

The single-family built-for-rent sector continues to expand as housing affordability headwinds increase. According to NAHB’s analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, there were approximately 13,000 single-family built-for-rent (SFBFR) starts during the first quarter of 2022. This...

Single-family starts declined in April, as higher interest rates weighed on housing affordability, producing a fifth straight decline for the NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI. Additionally, the cost and availability of materials, lumber, labor and lots remain key supply-side headwinds. Single-family permits decreased 4.6% to a 1.11...

In a sign that the housing market is now slowing, builder confidence took a steep drop in May as growing affordability challenges in the form of rapidly rising interest rates, double-digit price increases for material costs and ongoing home price appreciation are taking a toll...

Over the first three months of 2022, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 278,189. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 0.8% increase over the March 2021 level of 276,110. Year-to-date ending in March, single-family permits declined in three...

According to NAHB estimates, the total count of second homes was 7.15 million in 2020, accounting for 5.11% of the total housing stock. This represents the most recent data available. As of 2020, the state with the largest stock of second homes was Florida (1.04...

During the first quarter of 2022, credit became tighter on loans for Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) according to NAHB’s Survey on AD&C Financing. The NAHB survey produces a net easing index that summarizes the change in credit conditions, similar to the net easing index...

According to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy (not seasonally adjusted) climbed 0.5% in April, following upwardly revised increases of 1.9% and 2.4% in March and February,...

Housing affordability in the first quarter of 2022 looks starkly different depending on the interest rate assumed in the calculation. The average mortgage interest rate for the quarter was 3.86%. But by the end of April, it was 5.11%. If the former is used, then...

Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest month’s surveys (the week ending May 6), the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate rapidly grew to 5.53%, marking the steepest interest rate increase on record. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased by...

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