Articles

Driven by strong buyer demand and the expectation of higher mortgage rates, new home sales ended the year on a strong note, reaching their highest level since March 2021. Read More

Privately‐owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,638,000, 4.1% below the revised December estimate of 1,708,000 but 0.8% above the January 2021 rate of 1,625,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced. Read More

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes moved one point lower to 82 in February, marking the second straight month that confidence levels have declined by a single point, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. Despite these monthly declines, the HMI has posted very solid readings at or above the 80-point mark for the past five months. Read More

Construction input prices rose 3.5% in January compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today. Nonresidential construction input prices increased 3.1% for the month. Read More

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes moved one point lower to 82 in February, marking the second straight month that confidence levels have declined by a single point, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Despite strong buyer demand, builder sentiment continued to slip in February as the industry grapples with ongoing building material production bottlenecks that are raising construction costs and delaying projects. Read More

Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for January 2022 were $649.8 billion, an increase of 3.8% from the previous month and 13.0% above January 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  Read More

Home buyer preferences have continued to reverse trends in home building as builders work to respond to new interests in the wake of COVID-19, according to reports from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Read More

Supply-chain bottlenecks that put upward pressure on home prices along with rising interest rates contributed to housing affordability falling to a 10-year low. And ongoing production challenges and the likelihood of higher interest rates in the months ahead as the Federal Reserve moves to tighten interest rates threaten to drive housing affordability even lower in 2022. Read More

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6% in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 7.5% before seasonal adjustment. Read More

FOB ceramic tile pricing in 2021 was up by 22.3% in dollars, reports Grosser Consulting. By meters, ceramic imports rose 14%. This was the best performance for imports in years. Read More