NAHB/Wells Fargo Debut New Cost of Housing Index

By Housing
A new quarterly Cost of Housing Index (CHI) highlights the burden that housing costs represent for middle and low-income families. In its inaugural release for the first quarter of 2024, CHI revealed that a typical family in the U.S. must spend 38% of its income to cover the mortgage payment on a median priced new…

First Quarter Multifamily Missing Middle Construction

By Housing
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 first quarter of 2023, there were just 43,000 2- to 4-unit housing unit construction starts. This is…

Custom Home Building Slowdown

By Housing
NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates a slowing market for custom home building after a recent gain in market share. The subsector’s greater reliance on cash buyers has not shielded it from recent market softening, which in turn is putting downward pressure on home builder sentiment….

Construction Self-Employment at 23%

By Housing
Close to 23% (or over 2.5 million) of workers employed in construction are self-employed, according to the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS). As industry payrolls expanded in 2022, the share of self-employed inched down. However, the share remained higher than it was in 2019, before the pandemic rattled the labor market. Even though the COVID-19…

State Level Employment Situation: April 2024

By Housing
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 38 states and the District of Columbia in April compared to the previous month, while 11 states saw a decrease. Alaska reported no change during this time. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 in April, following a gain of 315,000 jobs…

Slowing Multifamily Building Market Holds Elevated Built-for-Rent Share

By Housing
According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts declined significantly during the first quarter of 2024. For the quarter, 80,000 multifamily residences started construction. Of this total, 75,000 were built-for-rent. This marks a notable 39% decline from the first quarter of 2023 for the multifamily built-for-rent category. The…