Articles

Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 31.4 percent in the second quarter of 2020, according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Read More

"New home sales are now 15 percent higher on a year-to-date basis, with gains in all regions," said NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz. "But with inventory at just a 3.3 months' supply, more construction is needed. The challenge will be whether materials and labor are available." Read More

“Home sales continue to amaze, and there are plenty of buyers in the pipeline ready to enter the market,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Further gains in sales are likely for the remainder of the year, with mortgage rates hovering around 3% and with continued job recovery.” Read More

"Historic traffic numbers have builders seeing positive market conditions, but many in the industry are worried about rising costs and delays for building materials, especially lumber," said NAHB chairman Chuck Fowke, a custom home builder from Tampa, Fla. "More domestic lumber production or tariff relief is needed to avoid a slowdown in the market in the coming months." Read More

Single-family starts showed continued growth in August but overall housing production fell 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.42 million units due to a double-digit percentage decline in multifamily production, according to a report from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department. The pace of single-family starts in August was the highest production rate since February. Read More

"Historic traffic numbers have builders seeing positive market conditions, but many in the industry are worried about rising costs and delays for building materials, especially lumber," said NAHB chairman Chuck Fowke, a custom home builder from Tampa, Fla. "More domestic lumber production or tariff relief is needed to avoid a slowdown in the market in the coming months." Read More

While the broader economy saw a decline of 3.3 percent, spending on nonresidential buildings dropped 10 times that amount, a whopping 32.6 percent decline before the market began to recover well after the national economic recession had ended. Nonresidential building construction tends to expand more than the overall economy during upturns and fall further during downturns. Read More

Personal income increased 0.4 percent while consumer spending increased 1.9 percent in July. Read More

Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 31.7 percent in the second quarter of 2020, according to the "second" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Read More

Consumers are being driven by low interest rates, a growing focus on the importance of housing and a shift in buyers seeking homes in lower density areas," said Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a custom home builder from Tampa, Fla. "Despite these positive conditions, affordability challenges remain especially as builders are dealing with building cost increases, including a dramatic rise in lumber costs in recent months." Read More