Eye On HousingCustom Home Building Share DeclinesAccording 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 […]Mortgage Refinancing Activity Tapers in Latest MonthThe last four weeks’ mortgage purchasing and refinancing activities, as reflected in the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest weekly application surveys, shows a general withdrawal of refinancing and a very slight increase in purchasing from the prior month. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate hovered 3 basis points above 3 percent, consistently, for the last three […]CPI Growth Slows in AugustIn August, consumer prices increased at its slowest pace since February 2021. Prices for several travel-related categories declined in August, as the delta variant spreads. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.3% in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, following an increase of 0.5% in July. […]Number of Bathrooms in New HomesThe Census Bureau’s latest Survey of Construction (SOC) shows changes in the shares of the number of bathrooms and half-bathrooms of single-family homes started in the United States in 2020. The latest data show that 3% of new single-family homes started had one bathroom or fewer, 65% had 2 bathrooms, 25% had 3 bathrooms, and […]Women Make Up 10.9% of the Construction WorkforceThe number of women employed in the construction industry grew slightly in 2020, rising to around 1.17 million, while the construction industry lost 587,000 jobs in 2020 when the pandemic hit the economy. Currently, women make up a growing share of the construction employment, up to 10.9% in 2020 from 10.3% in 2019. As the […]Price Index for Inputs to Residential Construction Declines in AugustPrices paid for goods used in residential construction ex-energy decreased 0.7% in August (not seasonally adjusted), according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The decrease was largely driven by a decline in lumber and wood products prices and was the first monthly decline since the start of […]Tracking the Geography of Home Building: Housing Affordability MetricsHousing affordability has gained increased attention in recent quarters due growing home prices and rents. For the second quarter of 2021, NAHB’s Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) explored a geographic measure of housing affordability using Price-to-Income ratios of all counties in the United States1 to map the geography of single-family and multifamily construction. The principal […]Building Materials Prices: Large Increases Year-To-DateAccording to the most recent release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index (PPI), the prices of goods used as inputs to residential construction including and excluding energy have risen 19.0% and 12.0%, respectively, year-to-date (YTD). In contrast, the index for final demand goods has climbed 7.2% and that for final demand goods […]Two-Thirds of Homes Started in 2020 are in Community AssociationsAccording 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 […]Residential Construction Loan GrowthThe second quarter of 2021 marked the second consecutive quarter of loan growth for residential construction loans. These gains have lifted the year-over-year growth rate, marking an expansion of outstanding loans for home builders. The volume of 1-4 unit residential construction loans made by FDIC-insured institutions increased by 4.9% during the second quarter, even as […]
