Tag Archive for ‘economics’

Slight Uptick for Missing Middle?

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, there were only 12,000 starts of such residences. This is flat from from 2020, during a period… Read More ›

New Home Sales Plummet in July

New home sales in July fell to their lowest level since January 2016 as the industry grapples with supply chain disruptions that are delaying new home building projects and raising housing costs as mortgage interest rates increased. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated sales of newly built, single-family homes in July at… Read More ›

Jump for Multifamily Rental Development

According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts surged during the second quarter of 2022. At 142,000 units started, this was the largest quarter for rental multifamily construction since the second quarter of 1986. The market share of rental units of multifamily construction starts bounced back to 96%. In contrast, the historical low… Read More ›

New Home Size Trends Reversing?

An expected impact of the virus crisis is a need for more residential space, as people use homes for more purposes including work. During the housing boom of recent quarters, this led to a rise for new single-family home size. However, as the housing market weakens this trend appears to be reversing. According to second quarter 2022 data from the… Read More ›

Flat Conditions for Custom Home Building

NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates custom home building registered relatively flat conditions for the second quarter of 2022. There were 53,000 total custom building starts during the second quarter of the year. This marks a 2% decline compared to the second quarter of 2021 in terms of year-over-year change. Over… Read More ›

Townhouse Construction Slows

According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, during the second quarter of 2022 single-family attached starts totaled 38,000, which is 9.5% lower than the second quarter of 2021. Nonetheless, over the last four quarters, townhouse construction starts totaled 148,000 units, 7% higher than the prior four quarter total (138,000). However,… Read More ›

Single-Family Built-for-Rent Construction Surging

Single-family built-for-rent sector construction surged during the second quarter of 2022 as homebuying affordability declined on higher mortgage interest rates. According to NAHB’s analysis of data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, there were approximately 21,000 single-family built-for-rent (SFBFR) starts during the second quarter of 2022. This is a 91% gain over the second quarter… Read More ›

Housing Starts Weaken in July

A sharp decline in single-family home construction is another indicator that the housing slowdown is showing no signs of abating, as rising construction costs, elevated mortgage rates and supply chain disruptions continue to act as a drag on the market. Overall housing starts fell 9.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.45 million units in July, according to a… Read More ›

Builder Confidence Falls for Eighth Consecutive Month

Builder confidence fell for the eighth straight month in August as elevated interest rates, ongoing supply chain problems and high home prices continue to exacerbate housing affordability challenges. In another sign that a declining housing market has failed to bottom out, builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell six points in August to 49, marking the… Read More ›