In the recent NAHB study, What Home Buyers Really Want, 2021 Edition, side-by-side double sinks and walk-in pantries ranked as the most popular of 30 listed kitchen features.  This result is based on a comprehensive, nationwide survey of 3,247 recent and prospective home buyers conducted in the summer of 2020. Among other things, the survey asked recent and prospective buyers… Read More ›

After three straight weeks of declines, mortgage activity in the latest week rebounded, as shown in the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Weekly Application Surveys, increasing over 4 percent last week. Both purchase and refinance applications were up, including a 5.5 percent gain in refinances. The jump in refinances was the result of the 30-year fixed rate falling for the third… Read More ›

Housing production was steady in May, although permit issuance weakened as higher costs are deferring and delaying some construction projects. Overall housing starts increased 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.57 million units, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The May reading of 1.57 million starts is… Read More ›

The average length of time to complete construction of a multifamily building, after obtaining authorization, is 17.4 months, according to the 2020 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau. The authorization-to-completion time in 2020 was relatively unchanged from 2019, slowing down the upward trend since 2013.   The average time to build multifamily homes varies with the number of… Read More ›

Over the four months of 2021, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 384,196. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a 35.6% increase over the April 2020 level of 283,344. Year-to-date ending in April, single-family permits reported increases in all four regions. The relatively more affordable Midwest reported the strongest increase of 49.8%, followed by… Read More ›