Eye On Housing

• New Home Sales Decline
  Sales of new homes fell by 1.5 percent over the month of April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 662,000. According to the report released by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the small monthly decline partly reflected a downward revision to the estimate of new home sales in […]
• Multifamily Unit Size Falls
  The elevated rental share of multifamily construction is holding typical apartment size below levels seen during the pre-recession period. As multifamily developers build more for-sale housing units in the years ahead, the average size of multifamily homes is likely to rise. However, size fell at the start of 2018 according to NAHB analysis of Census data. According to […]
• Standards on AD&C Loans Ease, Interest Rates Expected to Rise
  Builders and developers responding to NAHB’s AD&C Financing Survey continue to report easing credit conditions for acquisition, development, and single-family construction loans, over the first quarter of 2018, but the pace of easing slowed. At the same time, the majority of survey respondents indicated that the typical loan they obtained in the first quarter of […]
• HELOC Win Retains $760 Million in Remodeling Incentives
  Ever since the inception of the U.S. income tax in 1913, home owners have been able to deduct interest paid on home equity loans (HELOCs). The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 limited the mortgage interest and HELOC deductions to interest paid on $1,000,000 and $100,000 of debt, respectively. Then came the Tax Cuts and […]
• Single-Family Built-for-Rent Construction
  The number of single-family homes built-for-rent increased over the last four quarters. During this timer period, construction starts of this type of housing totaled 37,000 homes, compared to 33,000 for the prior four quarters. There were 7,000 single-family built-for-rent starts for the first quarter of 2018. According to data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions […]
• Single-Family Home Size Increases at the Start of 2018
  Counter to the recent prevailing trend, new single-family home size increased at start of 2018. New home size had been falling over the last two years due to an incremental move to additional entry-level home construction. According to first quarter 2018 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, median single-family square […]
• Small Gain for Custom Home Building at Start of 2018
  NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates a small gain for custom home building construction starts. There were 31,000 total custom starts for the first quarter of the year. Over the last four quarters, there were 172,000 custom single-family home starts, an increase of approximately 2% over […]
• Townhouse Construction Up 7% Over Last Year
  According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, townhouse construction starts continue to post gains. Over the last four quarters (ending with the first quarter of 2018), townhouse starts totaled 105,000, 7% higher than the prior four quarters. Townhouses, or single-family attached housing, accounted for 21,000 […]
• Single-Family Starts Flat in April
  Total housing starts declined in April due a drop in the volatile multifamily category. Starts decreased 3.7% month-over-month to a 1.29 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. The pace of single-family starts was roughly flat in April, after an upward revision to the March […]
• Builder Confidence Climbs to 70 in May
  Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose two points to a level of 70 in May after a downwardly revised April reading on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the fourth time the HMI has reached 70 or higher this year. The solid May report […]