New Home Sales Fall in August

By Housing
Expectations of the Federal Reserve beginning the first in a series of rate reductions kept potential home buyers in a holding pattern in August. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in August fell 4.7% after an unusually strong July, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the…

Homeownership Rates of Family Households

By Housing
The homeownership rate for multigenerational households increased by 4.9 percentage points (pp) over the last decade, but there’s another household type that experienced an even larger increase in the homeownership rate over the same period—single parent households. In further analysis of the Census’s American Community Survey (ACS) data, NAHB dives deeper into the homeownership rate…

Home Price Growth Slowing 

By Housing
Home prices remain elevated but price growth continues to decelerate, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index (HPI) recent release. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller HPI (seasonally adjusted) reached its 14th monthly consecutive record high in July 2024. The index increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.15%, down slightly from a revised…

First-Time Buyer Share for New Homes is Slipping

By Housing
On average, 40% of builders’ single-family home sales so far in 2024 have been made to first-time home buyers, according to the most recent NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index survey (HMI).  That share has doubled since 2016, when only 19% of builders’ sales went to first-time buyers. Our limited time-series on this topic in the…

Bedrooms in New Single-Family Homes in 2023

By Housing
In 2023, the most common number of bedrooms in newly-built single-family homes continued to be three at a 45.7% share.  This share is up almost three percentage points from 42.8% in 2022. The second highest share was single-family homes with four bedrooms at 33.1%, followed by homes with two bedrooms or less at 11.5% and…

Impact of Short-Term Rental Regulation in Chicago

By Housing
Housing affordability continues to worsen due to a persistent supply shortage and higher interest rates. While the rising building material costs and higher rates on construction loans are often blamed for the lack of housing supply, government regulations also play a significant role in increasing costs. For instance, rent control policies are introduced with the…