Eye On Housing
Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes declined for the first time in seven months this April, sliding three notches to 25 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, released today. The decline brings the index back to where it was in January, which was the highest level since 2007. Derived from a… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘home building’
Who Lives in New Housing?
April is New Homes Month, so we thought we would take a look at the demographic data from the most recent edition of the American Housing Survey (AHS) to see who lives in newly constructed homes. The AHS defines new construction as housing units no more than four years of age. Typically, larger households are relatively more likely to live in new homes…. Read More ›
Updated Calculator Shows Highest Priced Home You Can Afford to Buy
If you see a house of a certain price and have a little experience with spreadsheets, it’s fairly easy to calculate the mortgage payment and compare it to your income to see if you can afford the home. But if you want to do the reverse calculation—start with your income and see what price home you can afford—it’s a little… Read More ›
Construction Hiring Slows at the Beginning of 2012
February data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest that while construction hiring continues to add net jobs to the sector, the rate of this increase slowed at the beginning of the year. For the economy as a whole, hiring rates remain near post-recession highs. The hiring rate in February increased… Read More ›
Neighborhoods with New Homes are Preferred
April is new homes month. And while the benefits of new homes are typically thought of in terms of the house itself, neighborhoods of new homes are typically preferred by homeowners. Data from the 2009 American Housing Survey (AHS) offer proof. The AHS classifies new construction as homes no more than four years old. When asked to rank their neighborhood… Read More ›
Montana’s At-Large Congressional District Has More Residential Construction Workers Than Any Other District
A new research paper from NAHB Economics presents the 2010 estimates of residential construction employment by state and Congressional district. Despite significant employment losses that took place in home building during the housing downturn the industry continues to employ a substantial number of workers in most parts of the country. NAHB estimates show that, nationally, close to 3.4 million people… Read More ›
Remodeling Per Home Highest on the Coasts, in Resort Areas
NAHB recently released new county estimates of remodeling in owner-occupied homes to members of NAHB Remodelers. The estimates are based on a model developed by NAHB using the American Housing Survey (HUD/U.S. Census Bureau) with county-level inputs from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. The inputs are based on data collected from 2006 to 2010, so the resulting estimates are for remodeling by home owners during… Read More ›
New Homes are Less Expensive to Maintain
April is new homes month. And one of the virtues of a newly constructed home is the savings that come from reduced energy and maintenance expenses. Data from the 2009 American Housing Survey (AHS) offer proof. The AHS classifies new construction as homes no more than four years old. For example, for routine maintenance expenses, 26% of all homeowners spent… Read More ›
Improving Markets at 101
The number of metropolitan markets on the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) rose to 101 in April from 99 in March. Markets on the list must have improved in the three critical indicators of employment, housing permits and home prices for six months or more. In April, 88 markets remained from the March list, 13 more were added and… Read More ›