Articles
BEA News: Personal Income and Outlays, March 2021
Personal income increased $4.21 trillion, or 21.1 percent at a monthly rate, while consumer spending increased $616.0 billion, or 4.2 percent, in March. Economic impact payments established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which was enacted on March 11, 2021, were distributed. Read More
March 2021 Architectural Billings Index (ABI)
Strengthening to a score not seen since pre-Great Recession, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) logged its second positive mark since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a new report today from The American Institute of Architects (AIA). Read More
New home sales jump in March
Low interest rates and strong consumer demand fueled a solid increase in new home sales in March, despite the ongoing building materials challenges impacting the industry. Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 20.7 percent from an upwardly revised February number, to a 1.02 million 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. This is the highest sales pace since September 2006. Read More
Emerging geography of home improvement activity
Homeownership affordability is fundamental to the health of the remodeling market because younger households are traditionally the most active group for home improvement projects. Households under age 35 often begin with DIY efforts and then increase their spending as they turn to professionally installed projects as both their incomes and families grow. More affordable areas have allowed younger households the ability to purchase a home earlier in their lives and begin making changes. Read More
Builder confidence edges up
"While mortgage interest rates have trended higher since February and home prices continue to outstrip inflation, housing demand appears to be unwavering for now as buyer traffic reached its highest level since November," said NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz. "NAHB's forecast is for ongoing growth in single-family construction in 2021, albeit at a lower growth rate than realized in 2020." Read More
The US housing market weathers the storm
In spite of the struggling economy in 2020 - the pandemic’s impact sent U.S. GDP to a 3.5% decrease from the previous year -, some segments of the economy in the United States remained healthy last year. One of them is the construction industry, which performed very well, bolstered by the strong housing market. U.S. construction spending (which includes both private and public residential and non-residential construction) increased for the ninth consecutive year to its highest level on record. The $1.43 trillion total represented a 4.7% increase from the previous year. Read More
Strong Q1 floor covering growth
Catalina estimates U.S. floor coverings manufacturer sales (shipments minus exports plus imports) could have increased by 8.2 percent in dollars and 6.7 percent in square feet in the first quarter of 2021. The first quarter gain compares to a 1.5 percent decline in dollars sales and a 3.3 percent increase in square foot sales for all of 2020. The rebound has been led by a surge in consumer floor coverings spending, strong builder purchases and strengthening prices. Read More
Remodel industry confidence rises year over year
"The remodeling market has recovered from the pandemic and continues to grow as the economy strengthens," said NAHB Remodelers chair Steve Cunningham, CAPS, CGP, a remodeler from Williamsburg, Va. "Increased household savings during the second half of 2020 have lifted budgets available for home improvement projects. However, demand is stronger than many remodelers can handle, resulting in being forced to turn work away." Read More