Eye On Housing
Housing’s share of the economy edged higher at the start of 2022 due in part to a surprise drop in growth. For the first quarter of 2022, overall GDP growth declined at a 1.4% annual rate, driven by increased inventories and a jump in imports. Housing’s share of GDP increased to 16.7%, somewhat off a 14-year high of 17.8% during… Read More ›
NAHB analysis of the most recent Census estimates concerning sources of financing for new home sales reveals that conventional loans accounted for 78.5% of new home sales in the first quarter of 2022, the highest share in more than a decade. Conventional loans financed over three-quarters of new home sales in the second quarter of 2008 before steadily falling and bottoming out at 57.3%… Read More ›
New single-family home sales declined in March as mortgage rates jumped to the highest levels since the start of the pandemic. Per Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 3.89 at the end of February and had climbed to 4.67 at the end of March. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated… Read More ›
Single-family starts permits declined in March, as higher interest rates weighed on housing affordability and produced a fourth straight decline for the NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI. Additionally, the cost and availability of materials, lumber, labor and lots remain key supply-side headwinds. Nonetheless, the resale market lacks inventory supporting ongoing demand for new construction. Single-family permits decreased 4.8% to a 1.15 million… Read More ›
Rapidly rising interest rates combined with ongoing home price increases and higher construction costs continue to take a toll on builder confidence and housing affordability. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes moved two points lower to 77 in April, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the… Read More ›
The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the first quarter of 2022 posted a reading of 86, unchanged from the first quarter of 2021. The RMI and all of its components and subcomponents were 80 or higher (on a scale of 0 to 100) indicating broad-based positive remodeler sentiment. The RMI is based on a survey that asks remodelers… Read More ›
Among first-time buyers, both a shower stall and tub in the primary bath ranked as the most popular of the 18 bathroom features listed in the NAHB study, What Home Buyers Really Want, 2021 Edition. The study asked first-time, as well as repeat, home buyers to rate the kitchen features on the following, four-tier scale (which emphasizes how a feature… Read More ›
The construction labor market remains tight, as the industry sees a rising number of job openings year-over-year. The count of open construction jobs remained steady at 381,000 unfilled positions in February. The highest measure in the history of the data series (going back to late 2000) was 416,000 in April 2019. The housing market remains underbuilt and requires additional labor,… Read More ›
Much like other home buyers, those buying their first homes rate double sinks and walk-in pantries as the most popular of 30 kitchen features listed in the recent NAHB study, What Home Buyers Really Want, 2021 Edition. In the study, first-time (and other) home buyers rated over 200 home features—including 30 in the kitchen—on the following, four-tier scale (which emphasizes… Read More ›
New single-family home sales posted a second monthly decline in February as housing demand was affected by a jump in mortgage rates. After starting at 3.1% in December, rates increased to 3.45% in January and 3.76% in February, per Freddie Mac. Additionally, builders continue to grapple with supply-chain issues, limiting inventory in a market for which new construction is an… Read More ›