As discussed in Eye on Housing last year, builders have been including decks on fewer and fewer new homes recently.  According to NAHB tabulation of data from the HUD/Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC), well over 20% of all single-family homes started had decks from 2005 through 2018—as many as 27% in 2007 and 2008.  After 2017, however, the share... Read More ..read more

NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending data shows that private residential construction spending rose 1.2% in October, after a dip in September. It stood at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of $884 billion. Total private residential construction spending is 0.7% higher compared to a year ago. This was the first year-over-year increase since December 2022. The total construction monthly increase... Read More ..read more

Pets can have a significant impact on home buying decisions for many people. According the U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 data shows that there are 63.8 million occupied housing units have at least one pet which represents almost 50% of the 128.5 million occupied housing units.  A recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Surveys examines the increase in household... Read More ..read more

According to data from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), custom homes share increased to 20.4 percent of all single-family homes started in 2022 from the 17.6 percent recorded in 2021. The custom home market consists of contractor-built and owner-built houses—homes built one at a time for owner occupancy on the owner’s land, with either the owner or a... Read More ..read more

The volume of total outstanding acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loans posted a decline during the third quarter of 2023 as interest rates increased and financial conditions tightened. The volume of 1-4 unit residential construction loans made by FDIC-insured institutions declined by 2.8% during the third quarter. The volume of loans declined by $2.9 billion for the quarter. This loan... Read More ..read more

National home prices continued to increase in September. Despite rising mortgage rates, limited inventory and solid but weakened demand provided solid support for home prices. Locally, all of 20 metro areas had positive home price appreciation in September. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices, rose at a seasonally adjusted annual growth... Read More ..read more

The most recent release of the Census Bureaus’ Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units (SOMA) reported that of the 99,290 unfurnished, unsubsidized apartments completed in the second quarter of 2023, 65% were absorbed into the market in the first three months following completion. 83% of 3,467 condominiums completed in the second quarter were absorbed within the first three... Read More ..read more

The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. The multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2- to 4-unit properties) has disappointed since the Great Recession. For the third quarter of 2023, there were just 3,000 2- to 4-unit housing unit construction starts. This is down from a year prior.... Read More ..read more

Elevated mortgage rates that averaged 7.62% in October per Freddie Mac, the highest rate since 2000, depressed buyer demand and pushed down new home sales in October. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in October fell 5.6% to a 679,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, following a notable downward revision in September, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department... Read More ..read more

According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts remained elevated during the third quarter of 2023. For the quarter, 104,000 multifamily residences started construction. Of this total, 101,000 were built-for-rent. The market share of rental units of multifamily construction starts was near an all-time high of 98% for the third quarter as the... Read More ..read more