Articles

More Americans are turning to new home construction as existing inventory remains low and mortgage rates begin to stabilize, reports the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Sales of newly built, single-family homes increased in April, reaching the highest level since March 2022. Read More

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 339,000 in May, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage point to 3.7%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Read More

Personal income increased $80.1 billion (0.4 percent at a monthly rate) in April. Disposable personal income (DPI) increased $79.4 billion (0.4 percent). Personal outlays increased $156.0 billion (0.8 percent) and consumer spending increased $151.7 billion (0.8 percent). Read More

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the first quarter of 2023, according to the “second” estimate. In the fourth quarter of 2022, real GDP increased 2.6 percent. Read More

The construction industry’s labor woes aren’t close to ending. In most areas of the country, construction managers are struggling to fill jobs, and this shortage has only continued since the start of 2023. Read More

Seasonally adjusted construction employment rose from April 2022 to April 2023 in 42 states and the District of Columbia, declined in seven states, and held steady in Hawaii, according to Associated General Contractors’ analysis of data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Read More

Lowe’s Q1 2023 sales were $22.3 billion, a 5.9% decline compared to sales of $23.7 billion in the same period last year. Read More

Vinyl flooring imports saw a sharp decline in units in March, down 48.1% year over year (YOY), compared to only a 4.8% YOY decline in the prior month, according to Truist Securities. Read More

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) redesigned its Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) in Q1 2023 to make it easier to interpret and more similar to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for single-family housing. The MMS produces two separate indices. The Multifamily Production Index (MPI) had a reading of 50 for Q1, while the Multifamily Occupancy Index (MOI) reading was 82. Read More

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in May rose five points to 50, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This marks the fifth straight month that builder confidence has increased and is the first time that sentiment levels have reached the midpoint mark of 50 since July 2022. Read More