The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. The multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2- to 4-unit properties) has disappointed since the Great Recession. For the second quarter of 2024, there were just 3,000 2- to 4-unit housing unit construction starts. This is…
The labor market may not be as strong as previously estimated, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ preliminary estimate of the upcoming annual benchmark revision to the establishment survey employment series. Each year, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey employment estimates are benchmarked to full population counts of employment for the month of March….
NAHB’s Cost of Housing Index (CHI) highlights the burden that housing costs represent for middle and low-income families. In the second quarter of 2024, the CHI found that a family earning the nation’s median income of $97,800 must spend 38% of its income to cover the mortgage payment on a median-priced new single-family home. Because…
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates gains for custom home building after some recent slowing. Custom home building typically involves home buyers less sensitive to changes for interest rates. There were 52,000 total custom building starts during the second quarter of 2024. This marks an almost…
Year-over-year gains for townhouse construction continued during the second quarter 2024 as demand for medium-density housing continues to be solid despite slowing for other sectors of the building industry. According to NAHB analysis of the most recent Census data of Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design, during the second quarter of 2024, single-family attached starts totaled…
High interest rates for construction and development loans as well as ongoing challenges regarding labor shortages and higher prices for many building materials continued to slow the building market this summer. Overall housing starts decreased 6.8% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.24 million units, according to a report from the U.S….
