Articles

Entering 2021, the country continues to deal with the pandemic and its economic fallout, social unrest sparked by racial injustice, and the devastating impacts of climate change. In all of this upheaval, the nation’s housing challenges have never been so evident — particularly the lack of affordable rental housing, unequal access to good-quality homes as well as homeownership, and the vulnerability of much of the housing stock to natural disasters. Read More

"Though the market remains strong, the pace of sales pulled back in November as inventory remains low and affordability concerns persist as builders grapple with a shortage of lots, labor and building materials," said Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a custom home builder from Tampa, Fla. Read More

Sales of newly built, single-family homes in November fell 11 percent to an 841,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the monthly decline, the November rate is 20.8 percent higher than a year ago. Read More

Personal income decreased 1.1 percent while consumer spending decreased 0.4 percent in November as federal economic recovery payments and pandemic-related assistance programs continued to wind down. Read More

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 33.4 percent in the third quarter of 2020, as efforts continued to reopen businesses and resume activities that were postponed or restricted due to COVID-19. The change was 0.3 percentage point higher than the "second" estimate released in November. In the second quarter of 2020, real GDP decreased 31.4 percent. Read More

Overall, the results unveiled by the Calhoun, Georgia-based multinational reveal a smaller than expected contraction during the first nine months of the year. For the 2020 nine-month period, net sales were $6.9 billion, a decrease of 8% from the $7.5 billion of the same period in 2019 (or -7% on a constant currency and days basis). Net earnings totaled $267 million compared to the $480 million to September 2019. Read More

STATISTICS AND MARKETS USA: tile sales slow while construction booms 17/12/2020 from Ceramic World Web In the first nine months of 2020 US tile consumption dropped… Read More

"The single-family construction sector appears to be leveling off at strong levels, with permits roughly at a flat level from September to October," said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. "Nonetheless, the growth for single-family construction was a true bright spot amid economic challenges in 2020, with single-family starts up 10 percent year-to-date and posting the best year since the Great Recession. However, the backlog continues to grow, with the number of single-family homes permitted but not started construction up 16.3 percent from November 2019 to November 2020 as material delays and higher costs hold back building." Read More

"Housing demand is strong entering 2021, however the coming year will see housing affordability challenges as inventory remains low and construction costs are rising," said NAHB chairman Chuck Fowke, a custom home builder from Tampa, Florida. "Policymakers should take note to avoid increasing regulatory costs associated with land development and residential construction." Read More

Once the pandemic hit and the economy shut down, both new and existing home sales plummeted. But the market for owner-occupied homes then made a surprisingly strong rebound, with total sales well above year-earlier levels by summer. Still, the supply of homes for sale has not kept up with demand, shrinking already tight inventories. With strong competition for the limited stock of homes for sale and mortgage rates at record lows, house prices continued their upward ascent, exceeding the previous peak prior to the Great Recession by more than 20 percent.  Read More