Tag Archive for ‘housing economics’

Builder Confidence at 13-Month Low on Higher Material Costs, Home Prices

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 ›

Housing Affordability Plunges on Soaring Material Costs, Rising Home Prices

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 ›

Perceptions of Housing Affordability Worsen

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 ›

Most Common Exteriors On New Homes are Stucco and Vinyl in 2020

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 ›

Desire for Homeownership Continues to Increase

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 ›