Eye On Housing
Strong consumer demand helped push builder confidence higher in October despite growing affordability challenges stemming from rising material prices and shortages. Builder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes moved four points higher to 80 in October, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Despite the increase, builders are getting increasingly concerned… Read More ›
Over the first eight months of 2021, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 775,772. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 25.8% increase over the August 2020 level of 616,856. Year-to-date ending in August, single-family permits increased in all four regions. The Northeast region reported the strongest increase of 29.3%, followed by the South… Read More ›
After a prior cooling trend for the volume of new home sales, sales contracts increased 1.5% in August according to estimates from the Census Bureau and HUD. The August seasonally adjusted annual rate (740,000) was 24% lower than a year ago, when an unsustainable rebound took hold in the market. Higher prices have also affected housing affordability, with new home… Read More ›
A reversal is taking place in the construction pipeline. Since early 2013, there have been consistently more multifamily units (residences within 2+ unit properties) under construction relative to single-family homes. This was due to multifamily construction recovering more quickly in the years after the Great Recession, as well as years of underbuilding in the single-family sector. However, as of July,… Read More ›
Total housing starts increased 3.9% in August, due to strength for multifamily development. According to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, single-family starts were down 2.8% for the month, while overall multifamily starts was up 21% in August. The August total starts reading of 1.62 million starts is the number of… Read More ›
Builder confidence inched up in September on lower lumber prices and strong housing demand, even as the housing sector continues to grapple with building material supply chain issues and labor challenges. Ending a three-month decline, builder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes edged up one point to 76 in September, according to the National Association of Home… Read More ›
Over the first seven months of 2021, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 681,949. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 29.7% increase over the July 2020 level of 525,623. Year-to-date ending in July, single-family permits increased in all four regions. The Northeast region reported the strongest increase of 32.2%, followed by the South… Read More ›
According to data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), the custom home share decreased to 17.8 percent of all single-family homes started in 2020—the lowest the annual custom home share has been since the 2005 re-design of the SOC. The custom home market consists of contractor-built and owner-built houses—homes built one at a time for owner occupancy on… Read More ›
According to data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), 67.1 percent of single-family homes started in 2020 were built within a community or homeowner’s association. This is a record high for the association percentage since the re-design of the SOC in 2009. The Census Bureau defines community or homeowner’s associations as “formal legal entities created to maintain common… Read More ›
Median square foot prices in new custom single-family detached (SFD) homes started in 2020 increased 8%, according to NAHB’s analysis of the latest Survey of Construction data. Increases in square foot prices in new for-sale SFD homes (excluding skyrocketing improved lot values) averaged 4%. Median sale and contract prices per square foot went up across all US regions, except for… Read More ›