Total housing starts posted a 5.8 percent increase in December (1.67 million units) compared to an upwardly revised November estimate of 1.58 million units according to the joint data release from the Census Bureau and HUD. Relative to December 2019, total starts are 5.2 percent above the annual pace of 1.59 million units. Single-family starts posted a monthly increase of… Read More ›

The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 79 in the fourth quarter of 2020. The reading indicates remodelers’ confidence in their markets, for projects of all sizes, despite the ongoing negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic (Table 1). The RMI is based on a survey asking remodelers to rate five subcomponents of… Read More ›

Rising material costs led by a huge upsurge in lumber prices, along with a resurgence of the coronavirus across much of the nation pushed builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes down three points to 83 in January, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Despite the drop, builder sentiment remains at a strong… Read More ›

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Annual Resident Population of the United States as of July 1, 2020 was estimated at 329.5 million, increasing by 1.2 million from the previous year. In 2020, the Census estimated a growth rate of 0.35% on a national level, making the fifth consecutive year of a decline for the population growth rate. In… Read More ›

Prices paid for goods used in residential construction ex-energy rose 0.7% in December (not seasonally adjusted) and ended the year 5.4% higher than they stood in December 2019, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Building materials (i.e., inputs to residential construction less food and energy) prices declined just twice over the… Read More ›