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1 month ago | 
eyeonhousing.org | Jing Fu |Robert Dietz |Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
New home sales decreased in January to a three-month low, as housing affordability continues to sideline potential home buyers. Mortgage rates are expected to remain above 6% throughout 2025, coupled with elevated home prices, creating a significant affordability challenge for both first-time buyers and those looking to upgrade.
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2 months ago | 
eyeonhousing.org | Robert Dietz |Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
A limited amount of existing inventory along with solid demand helped new home sales end the year on an up note, even as buyers continue to grapple with housing affordability challenges. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in December increased 3.6% to a 698,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from an upwardly revised November number, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Jan 15, 2025 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
Over the first eleven months of 2024, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 912,910. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an increase of 8.2% over the November 2023 level of 843,654. Year-to-date ending in November, single-family permits were up in all four regions. The range of permit increases spanned 11.5% in the Midwest to 6.3% in the South. The West was up by 11.4% and the Northeast was up by 9.4% in single-family permits during this time.
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Jan 13, 2025 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Jing Fu |Robert Dietz |Natalia Siniavskaia |Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
The U.S. labor market finished 2024 with solid job growth and a decrease in the unemployment rate. In December, wage growth slowed. Wages grew at a 3.9% year-over-year (YOY) growth rate, down 0.3 percentage points from a year ago. Wage growth is outpacing inflation, which typically occurs as productivity increases. According to the Employment Situation Summary reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 256,000 in December.
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Dec 24, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
In November 2024, the U.S. housing market experienced a significant boost, with sales of new single-family homes reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 664,000, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. This marks a 5.9% increase from October’s revised figures and an 8.7% rise compared to November 2023. November new home sales are up 2.4% on a year-to-date basis.
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Dec 23, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 38 states and the District of Columbia in November compared to the previous month, while it decreased in 12 states. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 227,000 in November, following a meager gain of 32,000 jobs in October. On a month-over-month basis, employment data was most favorable in Florida, which added 61,500 jobs, rebounding from the hurricanes that hit the sunshine state in October.
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Dec 11, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Natalia Siniavskaia |Jing Fu |Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
As reported in a previous post, immigrants make up one in four workers in the construction industry. The share of immigrants is significantly higher (32.5%) among construction tradesmen. In some states, reliance on foreign-born labor is particularly evident, with immigrants comprising over 40% of the construction workforce in California and New Jersey, and 38% – in Texas and Florida.
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Dec 3, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Jesse Wade |Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
Residential construction has remained in low density suburbs and outlying areas, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ latest release of the Home Building Geography Index (HBGI). This trend is driven by persistent factors that continue to affect housing affordability including a limited supply of buildable lots, rising construction costs, and a shortage of skilled labor.
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Dec 2, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Na Zhao |Jesse Wade |Robert Dietz |Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
Private residential construction spending increased by 1.5% in October, according to the latest U.S. Census Construction Spending data. Year-over-year, the October report showed a 6.4% increase. The monthly increase in total private construction spending was primarily driven by higher spending on residential improvements. Improvement spending surged by 2.7% in October and was 18.5% higher compared to the same period last year. Spending on single-family construction inched up by 0.8% for the month.
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Nov 27, 2024 | 
eyeonhousing.org | Jesse Wade |Robert Dietz |Eric Lynch |Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
The percentage of new apartment units that were absorbed within three months of completion rose from 50% to 55% in the second quarter of 2024, according to the Census Bureau’s latest release of the Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units (SOMA). The survey covers new units in multifamily residential buildings with five or more units. Meanwhile, the absorption rate within three months for condominiums and cooperative units fell over the quarter, from 80% to 66%.
