Building Material Price Growth Remains Entrenched Above 3%
The Producer Price Index shows residential construction inputs rising 0.7% in February, pushing the year‑over‑year price index for new‑home inputs to 3.4%. Goods components, which make up roughly 60% of the index, climbed 1.1% month, the strongest gain since August 2023, while services edged up 0.1%. Metal products led the surge, with metal molding and trim up 61.7% YoY, whereas softwood veneer and plywood fell. The BLS also released experimental data that separates domestic and imported input prices, revealing a 3.2% YoY decline for imported goods.
Small Gains for New Single-Family Home Size
New single‑family home sizes have plateaued after years of decline, with Q4 2025 median square footage holding steady at 2,183 sq ft and the mean nudging up to 2,447 sq ft. The brief size surge in 2021, driven by ultra‑low mortgage rates, receded as rates...
Flat Conditions for Open Construction Jobs
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that construction job openings were essentially flat in January, with 231,000 vacancies, matching the level a year earlier. Overall U.S. job openings rose to 6.20 million, up from December but down from a year ago....
Custom Home Building Expanded in 2025
Despite a 6% decline in overall single‑family housing starts in 2025, custom home building posted growth. NAHB data show 186,000 custom starts for the year, a 3% increase over 2024, even though fourth‑quarter starts slipped 4% year‑over‑year. Custom homes now...
Weaker Conditions for Single-Family Built-for-Rent Housing
Single-family built‑for‑rent (SFBFR) construction slipped in Q4 2025, with starts falling to roughly 15,000 units, a slight decline from the prior year and contributing to a 19% drop in total 2025 starts versus 2024. The slowdown reflects higher financing costs...
Flat Conditions for Townhouse Construction
Townhouse construction in 2025 remained essentially flat, with 173,000 starts versus 174,000 in 2024. The fourth quarter saw a soft 38,000 attached starts, the weakest since early 2023, while townhouses accounted for over 17% of all single‑family starts. A one‑year...
Single-Family Permits End 2025 on a Soft Note
Single-family housing permits slipped to 909,280 units in 2025, a 7.4% year‑over‑year decline, while multifamily permits rose to 516,886 units, up 5.6%. The downturn was most pronounced in the South and West, where single‑family activity fell 8.5% and 10.4% respectively,...
AD&C Loan Volume Falls Despite Declining Financing Costs
Single‑family acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loan stock slipped 1.5% in Q4 2025, reaching $456.3 billion despite two Fed rate cuts. While overall AD&C volume fell, 1‑4‑family residential construction loans rose 1.7% year‑over‑year, marking a second consecutive YoY gain. Nonaccrual and...
Lower Mortgage Rates Boost Refinancing While Purchase Activity Slows
Mortgage applications rose 1.5% month‑over‑month as the 30‑year fixed rate slipped to a three‑year low of 6.14%, driven by a decline in the 10‑year Treasury yield. Refinancing activity surged 11.3%, while purchase applications fell 12.3% amid tight inventory and winter...
U.S. Economy Loses 92,000 Jobs in February
The U.S. labor market contracted in February as nonfarm payrolls dropped by 92,000, marking the second‑largest monthly loss since early 2025. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4% and the labor‑force participation rate fell to 62.0%, the lowest level since...
Builders Identify Key Long-Term Forces Shaping Housing Demand and Industry Health
Home builders surveyed by NAHB/Wells Fargo evaluated 14 long‑term forces that could shape housing demand over the next decade. They identified five risks—government debt, declining fertility, long‑term inflation, falling marriage rates, and energy costs—as likely to weigh on industry health....
Affordability Posts Mild Gains in Second Half of 2025 but Crisis Continues
The NAHB/Wells Fargo Cost of Housing Index shows a modest uptick in affordability in Q4 2025, with a median‑priced new home requiring 34 % of a typical family’s income and an existing home 34 % as well. Low‑income households still face severe strain, needing...
Mortgage Rates Dipped Below 6% in February Amid Treasury Rally
Mortgage rates slipped further in February, with the 30‑year fixed‑rate mortgage averaging 6.05% and briefly dipping below the 6% mark, while the 15‑year rate fell to 5.43%. The 10‑year Treasury yield held near 4.18% for most of the month before...
Multifamily Absorption Rate Remains Below 50%
The Census Bureau’s SOMA report shows the three‑month absorption rate for new apartments stayed below 50% for the fourth consecutive quarter, slipping to 47% in Q2 2026. Despite modest growth in completions—over 90,000 units for the seventh straight quarter—median asking...
Private Residential Construction Spending Edges Higher in December
Private residential construction spending rose 1.5 % in December 2025, driven by gains in single‑family builds and home‑improvement projects. Single‑family construction increased 1.6 % month‑over‑month but remains 3.6 % below a year earlier, while multifamily spending edged up 0.1 % for a seventh straight...
Gains for Student Housing Construction in the Last Quarter of 2025
Private fixed investment in student dormitories rose 1.5% in Q4 2025, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $3.9 billion. The gain follows three quarters of decline but remains 1.3% below the same quarter a year earlier. Pandemic‑induced drops had pushed investment...
Home Improvement Loan Applications Moderate as Borrower Profile Gradually Ages
Home‑improvement loan applications peaked at 1.49 million in 2022 and have moderated to 1.20 million in 2024, remaining above pre‑pandemic levels. The borrower age profile is gradually aging, with the 65‑74 and 75+ cohorts expanding modestly. Meanwhile, the 45‑54 group stays the...
Affordability Pyramid Shows Over Half of U.S. Households Cannot Buy a $300,000 Home
The National Association of Home Builders' 2026 Priced‑Out Analysis reveals that 52 % of U.S. households—about 70 million—cannot afford a $300,000 home, while the median new‑home price is expected to reach $410,000. The affordability pyramid shows 47.5 million households limited to homes under...
Young Adult Headship Rates in 2024: Cyclical Slip or New Equilibrium?
Young adult headship rates slipped to 43.7% in 2024, reversing the post‑pandemic rise that peaked at 44.2% in 2023. While this figure still exceeds the 40.2% level recorded in 2017, it remains below the roughly 46% benchmark of the 1990s‑early...
