Eye On Housing
NAHB analysis of the Census Construction Spending data shows total private residential construction spending stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $535.9 billion in May. It was down 4.0% in May, after a 5.1% decline in April, due to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 lockdowns. On a year-over-year basis, however, total private construction spending inched up 0.7%…. Read More ›
A recent NAHB survey shows the negative effect the coronavirus pandemic is having on the decision to remodel. Over 90 percent of remodelers in the survey reported a slowdown in both the rate at which inquiries are coming in, and in the general willingness of homeowners to remodel at this time. This information was collected via a question added to… Read More ›
The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) redesigned the Remodeling Market Index (RMI) in the first quarter of 2020 in order to ease respondent burden and improve its ability to interpret and track industry trends. The first reading for this new RMI series was 48. The RMI survey now asks remodelers to rate five components of the remodeling market as… Read More ›
According to a recent NAHB study, although use of some factory-produced components like trusses has become widespread, the newer and more innovative types of construction technology, such as 3D printing and robots, have so far penetrated the residential market only to a very limited extent. This is true for both single-family builders and residential remodelers. Data on use of technology… Read More ›
Remodelers’ confidence remained solid in the second quarter of 2019 with a Remodeling Market Index (RMI) reading of 55, up one point from the previous quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) (Figure 1). Readings above 50 indicate that more remodelers report market activity as higher than as lower, compared to the previous quarter. The RMI is… Read More ›
According to estimates from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department, single-family starts improved in June, consistent with the recent stabilization of the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Single-family starts increased 3.5% to a 847,000 seasonally adjusted annual pace in June. However, total housing starts were down approximately 1% (1.253 million annual rate) due to a decline… Read More ›
May is National Home Remodeling Month. As has become a tradition, Eye on Housing recognized the occasion with a series of posts related to the topic. As the month draws to a close, we provide a summary of those posts for readers who may have missed them: For Remodelers, Shortages of Skilled Labor Remain Elevated: May 1, 2019. Remodeling to… Read More ›
NAHB recently released its latest estimates of spending on improvements to owner-occupied housing by zip code. The estimates include the number of owner-occupied homes, the number of home owners spending on improvements, the average spending per improvement, and total spending on improvements in each zip code projected to occur over calendar year 2019. Also provided are 2019 estimates of the… Read More ›
Despite some recent improvement, household formations have been lagging since the latest downturn. The accompanying effects have been many—including a lower rate of housing production, a lower rate of replacing older housing units, a consequently aging housing stock, and increased doubling up. Remodeling is also potentially affected, as the tendency to double up may be accommodated in part by modifying… Read More ›
Last week’s post covered general issues related to Aging-In-Place (such as how many professional remodelers do it, and how many of their customers are receptive to it), using data from NAHB’s Remodeling Market Index (RMI) survey for the 4th quarter of 2018. This post covers some of the more detailed questions from the same survey, including specific types of Aging-in-Place projects undertaken… Read More ›