According to NAHB estimates, the total count of second homes was 7.15 million in 2020, accounting for 5.11% of the total housing stock. This represents the most recent data available. As of 2020, the state with the largest stock of second homes was Florida (1.04 million), accounting for 10.8% of all second homes. South Dakota had the smallest stock, approximately… Read More ›
During the first quarter of 2022, credit became tighter on loans for Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) according to NAHB’s Survey on AD&C Financing. The NAHB survey produces a net easing index that summarizes the change in credit conditions, similar to the net easing index constructed from the Federal Reserve’s survey of senior loan officers (SLOOS). In the first quarter… Read More ›
According to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy (not seasonally adjusted) climbed 0.5% in April, following upwardly revised increases of 1.9% and 2.4% in March and February, respectively. This adds up to an 4.9% increase in building materials prices since the start… Read More ›
Housing affordability in the first quarter of 2022 looks starkly different depending on the interest rate assumed in the calculation. The average mortgage interest rate for the quarter was 3.86%. But by the end of April, it was 5.11%. If the former is used, then housing affordability shows a modest gain in the first three months of the year, driven… Read More ›
Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest month’s surveys (the week ending May 6), the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate rapidly grew to 5.53%, marking the steepest interest rate increase on record. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased by 2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, despite a general downward trend. … Read More ›
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 428,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6%. The April’s data indicate that the labor market remained healthy despite surging inflation, tighter financial conditions, and the war in Ukraine. Construction industry employment (both residential and non-residential) totaled 7.6 million and has returned to its February 2020 level. Non-residential construction lost 2,000… Read More ›
