Eye On Housing
Builder sentiment in the market for newly-built single-family homes fell five points to 75 in August, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The index is at its lowest point since July 2020. Higher construction costs and supply shortages have led to significant price growth, which in turn has caused prospective buyers to… Read More ›
According to the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction, the share of new homes started with 5,000 square feet or more of living space stood at 2.50 percent in 2020, down from 2.71 percent in 2019. A total of 25,000 5,000+ square-foot homes were started in 2020, compared to 24,000 in 2019. The declining number and share of 5,000+ square foot… Read More ›
Soaring building material costs, high demand and low inventory have added tens of thousands of dollars to the price of a new home and caused housing affordability to fall to its lowest level in nearly a decade during the second quarter of 2021. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), 56.6 percent of… Read More ›
Of the 17% of American adults considering a future home purchase in the second quarter of 2021, 61% have moved beyond planning and are already actively trying to find one to buy. This share of active buyers has increased for six straight quarters, a trend that began after the final quarter of 2019 when it stood at 43%. In the… Read More ›
In the final quarter of 2019, a series-high of 82% of prospective buyers could afford less than half the homes available in their markets. The share went on to decline throughout 2020 (i.e. affordability perceptions improved), reaching 63% by the final quarter of that year. But affordability expectations have worsened recently. In the first and second quarters of 2021, the… Read More ›
In the first quarter of 2018, the starting point of the Housing Trends Report (HTR), only 16% of buyers expected easier availability for a home in the months ahead. The share soared to 36% by the final quarter of 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic), but then went on to decline to 33% and 28%, respectively, in the first two quarters… Read More ›
The share of prospective home buyers looking to buy a newly-built home peaked at 42% in the fourth quarter of 2020, before falling to 38% and 33%, respectively, in the first two quarters of 2021. The drop is most likely the direct result of strong gains in new home prices in 2021, which have been driven by double-digit growth in… Read More ›
According to the data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), stucco was the most common principal exterior material on new single-family homes started in 2020 (28 percent), followed by Vinyl siding (26 percent), fiber cement siding (such as Hardiplank or Hardiboard (21 percent), brick or brick veneer (19 percent). Far smaller shares of single-family homes started last year had wood… Read More ›
Seventeen percent of American adults are considering the purchase of a home within a year, according to NAHB’s Housing Trends Report (HTR) for the second quarter of 2021. The share (now seasonally-adjusted*) has increased for five consecutive quarters, after hitting a series low of 10% in the first quarter of 2020. The upward trend is clear evidence of Americans’ growing… Read More ›
An earlier post revealed that 64% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the first quarter of 2021 have spent upwards of 3 months searching for a home without success. For the second time in this series history, the most common reason long-time searchers haven’t pulled the trigger is not because they can’t… Read More ›