Eye On Housing
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates custom home building lagged the overall single-family construction market in the third quarter of 2020. There were 52,000 total custom building starts during the third quarter, a 7% decline compared to the third quarter of 2019. Over the last four quarters, custom housing starts totaled… Read More ›
A majority of new homes that completed construction in 2019 included two-car garages (65%), according to NAHB analysis of 2019 Census Bureau Survey of Construction data. There is clear uniformity for parking options in new homes completed across the Census divisions: the 2-car garage was the most popular parking option for completed homes in all divisions. The option for three or… Read More ›
According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, townhouse construction declined during the third quarter. As housing demand has shifted to more suburban and exurban areas and housing affordability headwinds persist, medium-density construction has lagged. During the third quarter of 2020, single-family attached starts totaled 31,000, which was 3% lower than the… Read More ›
An expected impact of the virus crisis is a need for more space, as people use their homes for more purposes. And while this measure has not increased significantly yet, new home size appears to be leveling off after years of decline. According to third quarter 2020 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and… Read More ›
The number of single-family homes built-for-rent (SFBFR) posted a year-over-year increase for the third quarter of 2020. The SFBFR market is a way to add single-family inventory amid concerns over housing affordability and downpayment requirements in the for-sale market, particularly during a period of when people want more space and single-family structures. Single-family built-for-rent construction does differ with respect to… Read More ›
Single-family starts experienced continued gains in October, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau. Single-family construction is up 8.6% year-to-date, with notable gains in 2020 for the Midwest and other lower-density markets. The pace of single-family starts in October was the highest production rate since the spring of 2007. Single-family building… Read More ›
In another sign that housing continues to lead the economy forward, builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes increased five points to 90 in November, shattering the previous all-time high of 85 recorded in October. Builder confidence levels have hit successive all-time highs over the past three months. Historically low mortgage rates, favorable demographics and an ongoing suburban… Read More ›
Over the first nine months of 2020, total single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 713,286. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an 10.2% increase over the September 2019 level of 647,244. Year-to-date ending in September, single-family permits across the four regions ranged from an increase of 12.4% in the South to an increase of 6.2% in the Northeast…. Read More ›
While lenders continued to report tightening in the third quarter, builders and developers responding to NAHB’s survey on financing for Acquisition, Development and Construction (AD&C) reported a near-neutral change in credit availability. The net tightening index derived from the NAHB survey was -3.3 in the third quarter of 2020, compared to 12.0 in the second quarter. The index is constructed… Read More ›
The construction labor market experienced a reduced level of turnover in the September BLS JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover) data. The construction sector hiring rate slowed somewhat in September, coming in at 5.3%, after 5.5% gains in August and July. The peak rate of hiring in 2020 occurred in May (9.7%). Construction sector layoffs have been low since May… Read More ›