Eye On Housing
Housing production jumped in March despite rising lumber and other material prices affecting the housing industry. Overall housing starts increased 19.4% percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.74 million units, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. This was the fastest pace for combined single-family and multifamily construction… Read More ›
Strong buyer demand pushed builder confidence up in April even as builders continued to grapple with rising lumber prices and supply chain issues and consumers faced higher home prices due to a lack inventory. The latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) shows that builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes rose… Read More ›
Over the first two months of 2021, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 164,901. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 16.6% increase over the February 2020 level of 141,467. Year-to-date ending in February, single-family permits showed increases in all four regions. The relatively more affordable Midwest reported the strongest increase of 24.0%, followed… Read More ›
Remodeler confidence was up strongly on a year-over-year basis, according to the Remodeling Market Index (RMI) released today by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). In the first quarter of 2021, the RMI posted a reading of 86, up a full 38 points from the first quarter of 2020. The large year-over-year increase signals a very strong recovery in… Read More ›
Job openings in construction declined in February to 266,000 unfilled positions, according to data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). Hiring appeared to gain steam in February, although this was perhaps just statistical noise for the monthly data. However, March payroll employment numbers indicate strength ahead for the JOLTS construction data. Overall, hiring in the construction… Read More ›
After a slight rebound in December and January, the slowing of the pace of new single-family home sales continued in February as a combination of broader affordability challenges – higher rates and more costly materials – and storm effects reduced the volume of purchases. New single-family home sales declined 18% in February to a 775,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according… Read More ›
Last week’s post reported on first-time home buyers from the February survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). According to the same source, second homes (i.e., homes sold to buyers who are not going to occupy the home year-round, but use it as a vacation home, investment property, etc.) account for 15 percent of new single-family home sales. … Read More ›
Housing production continue to slow in February off strong levels as rising lumber and other material prices continue to affect the housing industry. Overall housing starts decreased 10.3% percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.42 million units, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The February reading of… Read More ›
Over the first month of 2021, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 83,921. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 19.2% increase over the January 2020 level of 70,386. Year-to-date ending in January, single-family permits reported increases in all four regions. The relatively more affordable Midwest reported the strongest increase of 21.5%, followed by… Read More ›
Last week, we published a post highlighting a continuing high reliance of construction on immigrant workers that now account for 24% of the construction work force. The share is much higher, reaching 30%, among construction tradesmen. In some states, reliance on foreign-born labor is even more pronounced with immigrants comprising close to 40% of the construction workforce in California and… Read More ›