Eye On Housing
In the recent NAHB study, What Home Buyers Really Want, 2021 Edition, side-by-side double sinks and walk-in pantries ranked as the most popular of 30 listed kitchen features. This result is based on a comprehensive, nationwide survey of 3,247 recent and prospective home buyers conducted in the summer of 2020. Among other things, the survey asked recent and prospective buyers… Read More ›
Housing production was steady in May, although permit issuance weakened as higher costs are deferring and delaying some construction projects. Overall housing starts increased 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.57 million units, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The May reading of 1.57 million starts is… Read More ›
The historic climb for lumber prices, combined with delays and higher costs for other building materials, is a significant limiting factor for home building in 2021. Despite a historically diminished level of overall housing inventory and solid demand due to low mortgage interest rates and demographics, new construction has been limited in its ability to add needed supply to the market,… Read More ›
The count of open construction jobs increased in April to 357,000 unfilled positions, according to data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The housing market remains hot and requires additional labor, lots and lumber and building materials to add inventory. Overall, hiring in the construction sector slowed in April, declining to a 4.5% rate. The recent… Read More ›
A post published last week discussed how record numbers of builders were reporting on broad-based shortages of building materials and products. The source of the information was the May survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The same survey asked the HMI panel of single-family builders how total material costs for the same house have changed over the… Read More ›
Builders and developers responding to NAHB’s Survey on Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) Financing continued to report declining interest rates in the first quarter of 2021. The average effective rate (based on rate of return to the lender over the assumed life of the loan taking both the contract interest rate and initial fee into account) decreased from 7.27 to… Read More ›
A new NAHB study shows that, on average, regulations imposed by government at all levels account for $93,870 of the final price of a new single-family home built for sale. Of the $93,870, $41,330 is due to a higher price for the finished lot, attributable to regulations imposed during the lot’s development. The remaining $52,540 is the result of regulatory… Read More ›
Shortages of materials are now more widespread than at any at any time since NAHB began tracking the issue on a regular basis in the 1990s in is survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). In response to special questions on the May 2021 HMI survey, over 90 percent of builders who buy the product in question reported… Read More ›
The historic climb for lumber prices, combined with delays and higher costs for other building materials, is a significant limiting factor for home building in 2021. Despite a historically low level of overall housing inventory and solid demand due to low mortgage interest rates and demographics, new construction has been unable to add additional needed supply to the market, resulting… Read More ›
After a significant downward revision for the preliminary March data, April recorded a decline of 5.9% for sales of newly-constructed single family homes, according to estimates from the Census Bureau and HUD. The April seasonally adjusted annual rate (863k) was the lowest since June 2020, with the exception of a weather-influenced February report. Residential demand continues to be supported by… Read More ›