Material Shortages Ease, With Notable Exceptions

In May of last year, Eye on Housing reported on historically widespread shortages of building materials.  Since then, most of the shortages have eased; the major exceptions being shortages of HVAC equipment and certain categories of ceramic materials (ceramic tiles, clay bricks and cement-based building materials), which have gotten slightly worse. NAHB has been tracking…

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Construction Job Openings Likely Peaked

The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy declined slightly in November, falling from 10.51 million open positions to 10.46 million. This represents a decrease from a year ago (10.92 million), a sign the labor market is slowing in response to tighter monetary policy. The degree of this slowing will be critical for…

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November New Home Sales Up as Interest Rates Fall Back

While new home sales received a slight bounce in November from moderating mortgage rates, the housing market continues to struggle because of ongoing supply chain disruptions, elevated construction costs, and challenging affordability conditions. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in November increased 5.8% to a 640,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data…

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Single-Family Production Continues to Decline, Multifamily Permits Weakening

Single-family housing starts continued to fall in November, with the pace of construction down 32% since February when mortgage rates began to rise. The housing market continues to weaken because stubbornly high construction costs and elevated interest rates are harming housing affordability. And with the count of multifamily units under construction reaching a near 50-year…

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Reflecting a Weakening Housing Market, Builder Confidence Declined Every Month in 2022

High mortgage rates, elevated construction costs running well above the inflation rate, and flagging consumer demand due to deteriorating affordability conditions have dragged builder sentiment down every month in 2022. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes posted its 12th straight monthly decline in December, dropping two points to 31, according to…

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Single-Family Permits Continues On A Downward Trend in October 2022

Over the first ten months of 2022, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 865,815. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is 8.7% below the October 2021 level of 948,321. Year-to-date ending in October, single-family permits declined in all four regions. The South posted a modest decline of 6.8%, while the…

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