Eye On Housing
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates custom home building continues to experience flat conditions amidst strong demand and rising material challenges. There were 36,000 total custom building starts during the first quarter of the year. While this marks a 22% gain from the first quarter of 2020, that comparison is affected… Read More ›
Counter to expectations, the number of single-family homes built-for-rent (SFBFR) construction starts posted a year-over-year decline for the first quarter of 2021. 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 when people want more space and a single-family structure. Single-family built-for-rent construction… Read More ›
According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, townhouse construction continued at a strong pace in the first quarter of 2021. This followed the best quarter for townhouse construction in 2.5 years at the end of 2020. As housing demand has shifted to more suburban and exurban areas and housing affordability… Read More ›
Housing production declined in April due to rising prices and limited availability of lumber and other building materials. Overall housing starts decreased 9.5% 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. Nonetheless, the prior March pace (1.73 million annualized) was the… Read More ›
Builder confidence held stable in May, despite growing concerns over the price and availability of most building materials, including lumber. The latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) shows that builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes is 83 in May, unchanged from April. Builder confidence in the market remains strong due… Read More ›
Job openings in construction increased in March to 344,000 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 increased in March, rising to a 6% rate. The peak rate of… Read More ›
Thanks to a surge in residential investment during 2020, housing’s share of GDP has returned and remains near historic norms. Last year’s market conditions involved a renewed focus on the importance of home, an evolving geography of housing demand, and a lack of for-sale inventory. Housing should continue to expand in 2021. For the first quarter of 2021, overall GDP growth continued… Read More ›
According to NAHB’s latest estimates, rising softwood lumber prices over the last 12 months have added $35,872 to the price of an average new single-family home, and $12,966 to the market value of an average new multifamily home. That increase in multifamily value translates to households paying $119 a month more to rent a new apartment. These estimates are based on the softwood lumber used… Read More ›
New single-family home sales surged in March as housing demand was supported by low interest rates and strong consumer demand, despite the ongoing building materials challenges impacting the housing industry. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated sales of newly built, single-family homes in March at a 1.02 million seasonally adjusted annual pace,… Read More ›
As most industry observers know, softwood lumber prices have been extremely high and volatile over the past year. During an unprecedented four-month surge in 2020 prices nearly doubled, reaching an all-time high in September. Since then prices have continued to fluctuate, increasing recently to the point that they are now considerably higher than they were even at last September’s historic… Read More ›