The price and availability of building materials again topped the list of problems builders faced last year, while interest rates (along with general inflation and negative media reports) moved considerably up the list.  According to special questions on the January 2023 survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, building material prices were a significant issue for 96% of builders… Read More ›

According to the Federal Reserve Board’s January 2023 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS)—conducted for bank lending activity over the fourth quarter of last year—banks reported weaker demand for residential real estate (RRE) loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), and commercial real estate (CRE) loans. Additionally, credit standards tightened across all categories of mortgage loans. Residential real estate credit… Read More ›

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has proposed new standards to determine if construction materials for federally funded infrastructure projects are made in the USA.  The new guidance, required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)—“sets standards to carry out the statutory requirement that all manufacturing processes for construction material occur in… Read More ›

Mirroring a steep rise in mortgage rates that began in the early part of 2022 and coupled with ongoing building material supply chain bottlenecks that increased construction costs, housing affordability posted three consecutive quarterly declines in 2022 and now stands at its lowest level since the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) began tracking it on a consistent basis in… Read More ›

The balance of consumer credit outstanding grew 6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022 (seasonal adjusted annual rate) after climbing 6.7% (SAAR) in the third quarter according to the Federal Reserve’s latest G.19 Consumer Credit report.  Revolving debt—which consists primarily of credit card debt—increased at a 12.0% rate, as the level of nonrevolving debt (excluding real estate) grew 4.8% (SAAR). Total… Read More ›

Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending February 3rd, total mortgage activity increased 7.4% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate fell one basis point to 6.18%. The FRM rate has fallen around 100 basis points since October of 2022. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume,… Read More ›

According to the latest data from the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS), the median age of owner-occupied homes was 40 years. The age of the housing stock is an important remodeling market indicator. Older houses are less energy-efficient than new construction and ultimately will require remodeling and renovation in the future. Moreover, as people use their homes for more purposes… Read More ›

The median age of owner-occupied homes is 40 years, according to the latest data from the 2021 American Community Survey[1]. The U.S. owner-occupied housing stock is aging rapidly especially after the Great Recession, as the residential construction continues to fall behind in the number of new homes built. With a lack of sufficient supply of new construction, the aging housing… Read More ›

Job growth rebounded in January. After declines for five consecutive months, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 517,000 in the first month of 2023 and the unemployment rate hit a 53-year low at 3.4% as more people entered the labor market. Construction industry employment (both residential and non-residential) totaled 7.9 million and exceeds its February 2020 level. Residential construction gained… Read More ›

The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy increased in December, rising to 11 million, the highest level since July. This was a surprise rise, as noted by many analysts, particularly given a growing chorus of corporate hiring freezes and job cuts. For now, the December data appears to be more noise than signal, although certainly that conclusion… Read More ›