Eye On Housing
Single-family starts posted a small increase in February, as lack of resale inventory continues to support housing demand despite higher interest rates. The availability of materials, lumber, labor and lots remain key headwinds, with access to labor in particular likely to become more challenging in 2022. Overall housing starts increased 6.8% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of… Read More ›
Over the first month of 2022, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 83,404. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 0.6% decline over the January 2021 level of 83,921. Year-to-date ending in January, single-family permits declined in three out of the four regions. The South posted a small increase of 0.9% while the Northeast… Read More ›
Data from the Survey of Market Absorption of Apartments (SOMA), produced by the Census Bureau, suggest continued improvement for the multifamily sector in the third quarter of 2021 due to strong demand and low vacancy rates. The absorption rate of unfurnished, unsubsidized apartments (the share rented out in the first three months following completion) surged by 25 percentage points to… Read More ›
The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, including townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. While townhouse construction has trended higher in recent quarters, the multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2 to 4 unit properties) has disappointed. For 2021, there were only 12,000 starts of such residences. This is flat from from 2020, during a period… Read More ›
Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing improved in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the latest results from NAHB’s Multifamily Market Survey (MMS). The MMS produces two main indices. In the fourth quarter, the Multifamily Production Index (MPI) increased one point to 54 from the previous quarter while Multifamily Occupancy Index (MOI) decreased six points to 69…. Read More ›
According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the market share of rental units of multifamily construction starts increased to 94.2% during the fourth quarter of 2021. In contrast, the historical low share of 47% was set during the third quarter of 2005, during the condo building boom. An average share of 80% was registered during the 1980-2002 period. Condo… Read More ›
Single-family starts dipped somewhat in January, as ongoing supply-chain issues are adding cost and construction time to home building. The availability of labor and lots also remain key headwinds, with labor likely to become more challenging in 2022. Overall housing starts decreased 4.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.64 million units, according to a report from the U.S…. Read More ›
For 2021, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 1,111,414. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 13.7% increase over the December 2020 level of 977,863. Year-to-date ending in December, single-family permits increased in all four regions. The Northeast region reported the strongest increase of 15.9%, followed by the South (+15.2%), the Midwest (+11.2%), and… Read More ›
Thanks to a surge in residential investment during 2020 and ongoing strength in 2021, housing’s share of GDP remains elevated compared to most of the post-Great Recession period. Due to the pandemic, market conditions evolved with a renewed focus on the importance of home, a shifting geography of housing demand, and a lack of for-sale inventory. Housing continued to expand… Read More ›
Home building ended 2021 with strong annual gains as demand accelerated in the wake of the pandemic. These annual gains were realized despite supply-chain limitations for materials and ongoing access issues for labor and lots. Single-family starts ended 2021 with a 13.4% increase for a total of 1.123 million starts. Multifamily 5+ unit construction ended the year with a 22.1%… Read More ›