Down one point compared to the previous quarter, the NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the first quarter of 2024 posted a reading of 66. According to Eye On Housing, Demand for remodeling remains solid and an RMI of 66 is consistent with NAHB’s forecast for remodeling spending in 2024. Nevertheless, construction costs are still an issue in some places, as rising prices for labor and building materials continue to be major headwinds to faster growth for this sector. The RMI is based on a survey that asks remodelers to rate various aspects of the residential…
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Monthly New Residential Construction
The latest new construction report from the U.S. Census Bureau discusses building permits, housing starts and housing complications. Read More
Read MoreFour Things to Know Before Building a New Home
Homes are incredibly complicated structures with a wide variety of moving parts that require different industry professionals, such as architects, engineers and builders, to put the pieces into place. Four things to know before embarking on new construction are: buying new doesn’t have to mean spending more; always have a home inspection; pay attention to insurance premiums; and expect the unexpected. U.S. New & World Report delves into the specifies of each note in its recent article, beginning with the first of them mentioned above. According to the article, Although…
Read MoreDriving Efficiency in Challenging Times with Structural Building Components
By Jess Lohse Builders and developers continue to face unprecedented challenges as increased interest rates pressure housing affordability. Current rate levels jeopardize many multifamily housing projects and have many builders working to “do more with less” on single family projects. Times like these cause builders to revert to basics and analyze procurement and construction techniques. It may be tempting to apply pressure to subcontractors and suppliers to increase their scope of work while minimizing their price; better value can be found in soliciting their thoughts for efficiency and improvements to…
Read MoreSeven Percent of Builders Now Build Barndominiums
Barndominium: a structure that is, in some sense, a combination barn and condominium A rising term in the industry, barndominiums are becoming increasingly widespread in real estate media outlets. Even more so, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) included the term in a questions in its February 2024 NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The survey yielded a response of a total of 7% of single-family builders are indeed building barndominiums at some point during the past 12 months. According to Eye On Housing, That result, however, leaves open the question…
Read MoreJob Growth Continues to be Strong Across Most States
Compared to the previous month, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 42 states and the District of Columbia in January. Eight states saw a decrease. Nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 229,000 in January, following a gain of 290,000 jobs in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment data was most favorable in New York, which added 59,300 jobs on a month-over-month basis. California followed with a 58,000 increase, and then Florida adding 38,000 more jobs. Across those eight states, a total of 17,000 jobs were lost with…
Read MoreHow to Hire More Women into Construction Roles
With a seemingly never-ending run of labor shortages, contractors may need to turn to a pool left largely untapped, and that is a pool of talented women. Making up 47% of the United States labor force, only 11% of women comprise the construction industry, highlighting a need for hire. Though it may seem simple enough, to hire more women, that is not the case. A compilation of poor recruitment efforts coupled with unfair stereotypes of what women can and can’t do when it comes to the jobsite continues to block…
Read MoreBetter, Not Bigger, Homes Among Top Design Trends for 2024
LAS VEGAS – Following a brief uptick in new home sizes in 2021, the average size of a new home continues to inch smaller — dropping from 2,479 square feet in 2022 to 2,411 square feet in 2023, the smallest average size in 13 years — to match home buyer preferences for less square footage. According to NAHB’s latest What Home Buyers Really Want study, home buyers are looking for homes around 2,070 square feet, compared to 2,260 20 years ago. “It’s related to two factors that are linked,” said Rose Quint,…
Read MoreSingle-Family Starts will Rise in 2024 but Supply-Side Challenges Persist
While higher interest rates pushed single-family starts down in 2022 and 2023, production should move on a gradual upward path in 2024 as the Federal Reserve is on track to cut rates during the second half of the year with inflation slowing, according to economists speaking at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas today. “While the Fed’s fight against inflation is building progress, the lingering inflation challenge is housing inflation,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Shelter inflation—rent and homeownership costs—are still rising…
Read MoreHouse Prices Reach a New Peak, But Not Everywhere
By Mark Fleming In November 2023, the Real House Price Index (RHPI) leaped 11 percent on an annual basis. Affordability improved modestly on a monthly basis, as mortgage rates fell from the previous month. Two factors drove the sharp annual decline in affordability – a 7.7 percent annual increase in nominal house prices, according to our First American Data & Analytics House Price Index, and a 0.6 percentage point increase in the 30-year, fixed mortgage rate compared with one year ago. For home buyers, holding prices constant, the only way to…
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