Minority Homeownership by Congressional District

2024-10-21T10:16:56-05:00

Homeownership is an important voter issue for the upcoming election with both presidential candidates putting forth housing policies to tackle the housing affordability crisis. In a recent NAHB post, the national homeownership rate sat at 65%, but there are large disparities in homeownership when broken down by race. For Black/African American households, the homeownership rate was 45%. Hispanic/Latino households fared slightly better at 51%, while all other minority households 1 had a homeownership rate of 55%. According to the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS), the district with the highest homeownership rate for Black/African American households was Maryland’s 5th District at 80%, although the overall homeownership rate for this district was slightly higher at 82%. In this district, 43% of the households were Black/African American. On the opposite spectrum, California’s 34th District had the lowest Black/African American homeownership rate in the nation at just 5%. This district also had one of the lowest overall homeownership rates in the country at 22%. The table below highlights the top five districts where Black/African American homeownership is the highest. Congressional DistrictBlack/African American Homeownership RateOverall Homeownership RateShare of PopulationMaryland, District 580%82%43%New York, District 475%81%16%California, District 4172%75%5%Virginia, District 1072%79%8%Florida, District 2171%79%11%Source: 2023 American Community Survey and NAHB calculations. The top 3 districts with the highest homeownership of Hispanics/Latino households were in the Midwest. Michigan’s 1st District held the highest homeownership rate for the Hispanics/Latino households (78%), although they constituted for 2% of the district’s population. The overall homeownership rate for the district was slightly higher (80%), however, in Texas’ 23rd District, Hispanics/Latino’s homeownership rate was slightly higher than the overall district rate at 75% compared to 74%. In this district, Hispanics/Latinos formed a significant portion of the population, accounting for nearly 60%. Congressional DistrictHispanic/Latino Homeownership RateOverall Homeownership RateShare of PopulationMichigan, District 178%80%2%Minnesota, District 676%81%3%Illinois, District 1676%80%5%Arizona, District 975%77%22%Texas, District 2375%74%58%Source: 2023 American Community Survey and NAHB calculations. For all other minority households, Minnesota’s 6th District stood out with the highest homeownership rate at 85%. This rate also exceeded the overall homeownership rate for this district of 81%. In fact, the top 10 congressional districts with the highest homeownership rate for this group exceeded the district-wide homeownership rates. Tennessee’s 8th District, which has the second-highest minority homeownership rate at 83%, surpassed the overall district rate by 11 percentage points. Congressional DistrictAll Other Race Homeownership RateOverall Homeownership RateShare of PopulationMinnesota, District 685%81%4%Tennessee, District 883%72%2%Virginia, District 1083%79%19%Texas, District 2281%76%20%Illinois, District 1481%76%12%Source: 2023 American Community Survey and NAHB calculations. There were also significant geographical variations of homeownership rates between each racial group with Black/African American households experiencing the largest variations across the country. Black/African American homeownership was concentrated in southern states while notably lower in the Midwest, Mountain West, and parts of the Northeast. In contrast, Hispanic/Latino homeownership tended to be higher in Southwest districts, while other minority groups maintained stronger rates nationwide. Overall, a consistent geographical pattern of homeownership across minority households can be found. For example, North Dakota and neighboring districts stood out with much lower minority homeownership. On the other hand, Southern states, where median sale prices per square foot for single-family detached homes were below the national average of $150, generally exhibited higher rates of minority homeownership. Additional housing data for your congressional district are provided by the US Census Bureau here. Footnote(s): All other minority households includes American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander and others. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Minority Homeownership by Congressional District2024-10-21T10:16:56-05:00

Residential Clean Energy Credit Usage

2024-10-21T09:18:39-05:00

Nearly 1.3 million tax returns filed for tax year 2023 utilized the Residential Clean Energy Credit (25D tax credit), according to the latest IRS clean energy tax credit statistics. Through May 23rd of the 2024 tax filing season for 2023 returns, almost 138 million tax returns had been filed with the IRS, which indicates that 0.9% of returns filed utilized the 25D credit. Both 25C (Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit) and 25D are claimed on Form 5695, as both are residential energy tax credits. A previous blog discussed the 25C credit, while this one focuses on the 25D credit. The two credits main difference is that 25C relates to improvements that make homes more energy efficient, while 25D is focused on investments associated with renewable energy in the home. The 25D credit is an annual credit that taxpayers may claim for investing in renewable energy for their residence, such as solar, wind, geothermal, fuel cells or battery storage technology. The 25D tax credit allows home owners to claim qualifying residential clean energy expenditures made to their primary or secondary residence. Renters can also claim the credit for certain residential clean energy expenditures made to their residence while landlords cannot. Additionally, 25D can be applied to newly constructed homes as well as existing homes. The 25D credit amount is based on 30% of the clean energy expenditure and, unlike 25C, has no credit limit with one exception— the credit for fuel cell property expenditures is 30% up to $500 for each half kilowatt of capacity for the qualified fuel cell property. The 30% credit amount will fall to 26% in 2033 and 22% in 2034. Taxpayers can also include installation costs in the calculation of their credit amount.  While the credit is non-refundable, taxpayers can carryforward the credit to reduce their tax liability in future years. Clean energy property must meet certain standards to qualify for the credit. For example, geothermal heat pumps must meet Energy Star requirements at the time of purchase. Cost of Energy Property and Usage The recent IRS data indicates that the most expensive clean energy investment claimed in tax year 2023 was the purchase and installation of qualified solar electric property at an average cost of $27,355. Shown below are the average cost and average credit (30% of cost) across each investment, while the average credit amount across all returns that claimed 25D is shown in green at $5,084. While not shown below, the average credit claimed in 2023 that was carryforward from a previous year was $7,019 and the average credit carryforward to next year was $7,464. Both carryforward credits were higher than the average credit amount claimed in 2023. Solar electric property was also by far the most frequently claimed investment at 752,300 returns. The next highest claimed investment was qualified solar water heating property, with 139,130 returns. No other improvement appeared on over 100,000 returns. The qualified improvement that was least claimed on tax returns was fuel cell property, with only 35,850 returns. Fuel cell property is the only expenditure subject to a cap. Income and Geographic Differences The Residential Clean Energy Credit is not subject to income limitations, meaning any taxpayer regardless of income can claim the credit on their tax return. The income level that most frequently claimed the credit was between $500,000 and $1,000,000 at 1.99%. Given the average cost of each improvement, it comes as little surprise that lower incomes claim the credit less frequently. Geographically, the highest claim rate of the 25D tax credit was in Nevada, with 2.0% of returns claiming the credit. Florida had the second highest claim rate at 1.8%. The lowest claim rate was in North Dakota, at just 0.2%. Of note, higher usage rates of the 25D tax credit are found in states in the southwest, with Nevada (2.0%), Arizona (1.6%), Texas (1.6%), California (1.6%), and New Mexico (1.5%) all ranking in the top ten. This may be due to their significantly higher exposure to the sun, leading to higher potential benefits from installing solar electric property. New Hampshire had the highest average credit amount at $7,581. This was $500 more than the second highest state which was Hawaii at $7,055. The lowest average credit amount was in Mississippi, at $2,248. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Residential Clean Energy Credit Usage2024-10-21T09:18:39-05:00

Introducing New Video Series — Eye on Housing Highlights

2024-10-16T16:16:01-05:00

We’re excited to introduce a new way for you to stay informed about the latest trends in housing and construction economics: our Eye on Housing Highlights video series! For each edition, we will highlight top research topics including construction statistics, housing affordability, policy research, NAHB surveys, macroeconomics, financial indicators and more. You can find these videos on eyeonhousing.org in the menu under Highlights—be sure to save the url: eyeonhousing.org/highlights—and check back to see the latest videos. You can also be reminded by subscribing to our Eye on the Economy Newsletter that shares bi-weekly updates from NAHB’s chief economist on housing and economic activity. Please note that you won’t receive further emails like this one—this is a one-time announcement of our new series. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Introducing New Video Series — Eye on Housing Highlights2024-10-16T16:16:01-05:00

Energy Price Declines Lead the Way in September

2024-10-11T11:16:55-05:00

Prices for inputs to new residential construction—excluding capital investment, labor, and imports—decreased 0.6% in September according to the most recent Producer Price Index (PPI) report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compared to a year ago, this index was down 0.1% in September after an increase of 1.0% in August. The inputs to new residential construction price index can be broken into two components­—one for goods and another for services. The goods component decreased 0.7% over the year, while services increased 1.0%. For comparison, the total final demand index increased 1.8% over the year in September, with final demand goods down 1.1% and final demand services up 3.1% over the year. Input Goods The goods component has a larger importance to the total residential construction inputs price index, around 60%. The price of input goods to residential construction was down 0.7% in September from August. The input goods to residential construction index can be further broken down into two separate components, one measuring energy inputs with the other measuring goods less energy inputs. The latter of these two components simply represents building materials used in residential construction, which makes up around 93% of the goods index. Prices for inputs to residential construction, goods less energy, were up 1.5% in September compared to a year ago. This year-over-year growth has continued to slow since April when it was at 2.5% and remains well below growth in September of 2022 when it was at 14.3%. The year-over-year growth in September 2023 was 1.0%, making this year’s growth slightly higher. The index for inputs to residential construction for energy fell 23.5% in September, the largest yearly decrease since 26.1% in July 2023. The graph below focuses on the data since the start of 2023 for residential goods inputs. Energy prices have retreated over the past year, with only two periods of growth in 2024. Input Services Prices of inputs to residential construction, services, fell 0.5% in September from August. The price index for service inputs to residential construction can be broken out into three separate components: the trade services component, the transportation and warehousing services component, and the services less trade, transportation and warehousing component. The most vital component is trade services (around 60%), followed by services less trade, transportation and warehousing (around 29%), and finally transportation and warehousing services (around 11%). The largest component, trade services, compared to last year was up 0.4% in September after increasing 2.1% in August. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Energy Price Declines Lead the Way in September2024-10-11T11:16:55-05:00

2023 Home Improvement Loan Applications: A State- and County-Level Analysis

2024-10-11T09:17:20-05:00

Residential improvement spending softened in 2023 due to elevated interest rates, high inflation, and sluggish home sales. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA), expenditures for residential home improvements rose 2% to $363 billion in 2023, from $356 billion in 2022. The 2% year-over-year (YOY) gain in 2023 marks the smallest YOY gain since 2011. This annual data indicates that the YOY gain in residential improvement spending slowed, but the remodeling market remained solid. In this article, NAHB’s analysis of the 2023 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data provides insight into remodeling activity in 2023 by age group, and by U.S. states and counties. The 2023 HMDA data, published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), covers detailed information on residential mortgage lending in 2023, including the type, purpose, and characteristics of home mortgage applications or purchased loans, and demographic and other information about loan applicants. According to the 2023 HMDA data, the number of home improvement loan applications declined by 17% in 2023, compared to the previous year. Moreover, the total amount of home improvement loans was about 44 billion (24%) less than the total amount in 2022. Age Group Analysis: Figure 1 below presents the number of home improvement loan applications by applicants’ age from 2018 to 2023. Among all age groups, the number of home improvement loan applications surged in 2022 and declined in 2023. Compared to 2022, the number of home improvement loan applications decreased by 23% in 2023 for applicants aged between 25 and 34 and between 35 and 40. Applicants between the ages of 45 and 54 remained the largest age group to apply for home improvement loan applications, even though the number of loan applications for this age group reduced by 18% in 2023. For applicants under 55 years old and above 74 years old, the number of loan applications in 2023 was higher than the pre-pandemic level in 2018 and 2019. Meanwhile, applicants aged between 55 and 74 had a lower number of loan applications in 2023 than in 2018 and 2019. As interest rates reached historically high levels in 2023, homeowners used savings to pay for home improvements, avoiding the extra expense of interest on loans. State-Level Analysis: While remodeling activity changed among different age groups, remodeling has also varied across geographic locations due to the cost of living, local economic conditions, and house prices. With respect to total home improvement loan applications, California had the highest number of home improvement loan applications in 2023, with 118,649 applications. Florida came in second with 102,746 home improvement loan applications. Wyoming and Alaska had the lowest total numbers of home improvement loan applications with 1,312 and 1,358, respectively. When we look at home improvement loan applications per 1,000 population, two states in New England, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, had the highest number of home improvement loan applications, with a rate of 6.4 and 6.0 applications per 1,000 population, respectively. Louisiana had the lowest number of home improvement loan applications, with a rate of 1.6 applications per 1,000 population. In total, there were 3.7 loan applications for home improvements for every 1,000 population in the United States. California, the most populous state of the United States, reported 3.0 applications per 1,000 population, which is lower than the national average rate. County-Level Analysis: The analysis of county-level home improvement loan applications per 1,000 population reveals that the aggregate market population is not significantly related to the number of per capita home improvement loan applications. In 2023, the top 10 most populated counties in the United States had an average rate of 2.6 loan applications per 1,000 population. Los Angeles County in California, one of the most populous counties, reported a rate of 2.8 loan applications per 1,000 population in 2023.  Meanwhile, some counties with a lower population had a higher loan application rate (that is, the number of home improvement loan applications per 1,000 population). For example, Nantucket County in Massachusetts, with a population of about 14,000, had the highest loan application rate of 11.1 among all the counties in the United States. Camas County in Idaho, with roughly one thousand population, had a loan application rate of 8.9, higher than about 99.7% of the counties in the United States. Additionally, the analysis finds that home improvement loan applications are relatively more common in the Mountain and New England Divisions. In total, there were 43 counties that reported 7 or higher home improvement loan applications per 1,000 population, and more than 72% of these counties were in the Mountain and New England Divisions. None of these 43 counties were in the West South Central, East South Central, or West North Central Divisions. The top five counties with the highest home improvement loan application rate were: Nantucket County (MA), Grand Isle County (VT), Dare County (NC), Boise County (ID), and Barnstable County (MA). 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2023 Home Improvement Loan Applications: A State- and County-Level Analysis2024-10-11T09:17:20-05:00

Inflation Slows in September

2024-10-10T11:19:25-05:00

Inflation continued to ease in September and remained at a 3-year low as shelter costs continued to moderate. Shelter costs, the main driver of inflation since early 2023, saw their annual growth rate fall below 5% for the first time since February 2022. With the Fed beginning its easing cycle with a half-point cut last month, lower interest rates could help ease some pressure on the housing market. Though shelter remains the primary driver of inflation, the Fed has limited ability to address rising housing costs, as these increases are driven by a lack of affordable supply and increasing development costs. Additional housing supply is the primary solution to tame housing inflation. However, the Fed’s tools for promoting housing supply are constrained. In fact, tight monetary policy hurts housing supply because it increases the cost of AD&C financing. This can be seen on the graph below, as shelter costs continue to rise at an elevated pace despite Fed policy tightening. Nonetheless, with the Fed shifting to a more dovish stance, along with additional apartment supply supported by real-time private data, NAHB expects to see shelter costs to continue decline in the coming months. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.2% in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, the same increase as in July and August. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the “core” CPI increased by 0.3% in September, the same increase as in August. The price index for a broad set of energy sources fell by 1.9% in September, with declines in gasoline (-4.1%) and fuel oil (-6.0%) offset by increases in electricity (+0.7%) and natural gas (+0.7%). Meanwhile, the food index rose 0.4%, after a 0.1% increase in August. The index for food away from home increased by 0.3% and the index for food at home rose by 0.4%. The index for shelter (+0.2%) and food (+0.4%) were the largest contributors to the monthly increase in all items index, accounting for over 75% of the total increase. Other top contributors that rose in September include indexes for motor vehicle insurance (+1.2%), medical care (+0.4%), apparel (+1.1%) and airline fares (+3.2%). Meanwhile, the top contributors that experienced a decline include indexes for recreation (-0.4%) and communication (-0.6%). The index for shelter makes up more than 40% of the “core” CPI. The index saw a 0.2% rise in September, following an increase of 0.5% in August. Both the indexes for owners’ equivalent rent (OER) and rent of primary residence (RPR) increased by 0.3% over the month. These gains have been the largest contributors to headline inflation in recent months.  During the past twelve months, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI rose by 2.4% in September, following a 2.5% increase in August. This was the slowest annual gain since February 2021. The “core” CPI increased by 3.3% over the past twelve months, following a 3.2% increase in August. The food index rose by 2.3%, while the energy index fell by 6.8%. NAHB constructs a “real” rent index to indicate whether inflation in rents is faster or slower than overall inflation. It provides insight into the supply and demand conditions for rental housing. When inflation in rents is rising faster than overall inflation, the real rent index rises and vice versa. The real rent index is calculated by dividing the price index for rent by the core CPI (to exclude the volatile food and energy components). In September, the Real Rent Index remained unchanged after a 0.1% increase in August. Over the first nine months of 2024, the monthly growth rate of the Real Rent Index averaged 0.1%, slower than the average of 0.2% in 2023. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Inflation Slows in September2024-10-10T11:19:25-05:00

2024 Second Quarter State-Level GDP Data

2024-10-09T09:16:46-05:00

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 49 states and the District of Columbia in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the last quarter of 2023 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Alaska reported an economic contraction during this time. The percent change in real GDP ranged from a 5.9 percent increase at an annual rate in Idaho to a 1.1 percent decline in Alaska. Nationwide, growth in real GDP (measured on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis) increased 3.0 percent in the second quarter of 2024, which is higher than the first quarter level of 1.6 percent. Nondurable-goods manufacturing; finance and insurance; and health care and social assistance were the leading contributors to the increase in real GDP across the country. Regionally, real GDP growth increased in all eight regions between the first and the second quarter. The percent change in real GDP ranged from a 3.7 percent increase in the Rocky Mountain region (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming) to a 2.2 percent increase in the New England region (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont). At the state level, Idaho posted the highest GDP growth rate (5.9 percent) followed by Kansas (5.6 percent) and Nebraska (5.3 percent). On the other hand, Alaska posted an economic contraction in the second quarter of 2024. The agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry was the leading contributor to growth in 11 states including Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, and the states with the highest increases in real GDP, respectively. Mining, which declined in 33 states, was the leading contributor to the decrease in real GDP in Alaska, the only state with a decline in real GDP. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

2024 Second Quarter State-Level GDP Data2024-10-09T09:16:46-05:00

Home Energy Tax Credit Usage

2024-10-09T07:21:33-05:00

Approximately 2.3 million tax returns filed for tax year 2023 utilized the Energy Efficient Home Improvement credit (25C tax credit), according to the latest IRS clean energy tax credit statistics. Through May 23rd of the 2024 tax filing season for 2023 returns, almost 138 million tax returns had been filed with the IRS, which indicates that 1.7% of returns filed utilized the 25C credit. There are various types of improvements that can be claimed under the 25C credit; each improvement varies in its cost and credit amount. Additionally, claim rates of the 25C tax credit varies across taxpayers’ incomes as well as geographies. This post examines these data. The 25C tax credit allows homeowners to claim qualifying energy efficiency improvements to their primary or secondary residence. Renters can also claim the credit for certain energy efficient appliance and product expenditures. The 25C credit amount is based on 30% of the improvement’s cost and is subject to the improvement’s specific credit limit. For improvements such as electric or natural gas heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, or biomass stoves/boilers, the credit limit per year is $2,000. All other home improvements, such as efficient AC units, insulation/air sealing or home energy audits are limited to a combined credit limit of $1,200, with individual limitations for each item. The total annual credit amount that can be claimed is $3,200 per year. The table below from the Department of Energy shows the available tax credit amounts for tax years 2023 through 2032. Cost of Improvement and Usage The credit can cover both the purchase and installation costs for heat pumps, energy efficient AC units, furnaces/ boilers, water heaters, biomass stoves/ boilers, and electric panel/circuit board upgrades. For building envelope components (insulation, doors, windows, skylights), only the purchase can be covered. The recent IRS data indicates that the most expensive improvement claimed in tax year 2023 was the purchase and installation of electric or natural gas heat pumps at an average cost of $11,213. The costliest item that did not cover installation costs was exterior windows and skylights at $9,143. Shown below in orange are the average costs for each 25C improvement item in the IRS data. In blue is the credit amount of each improvement, based on its average cost and applicable credit limits. For almost all items, 30% of the improvement’s cost far surpass the credit limit amounts. The only exceptions are heat pump water heaters and biomass stoves/broilers that on average do not exceed the credit limit. For example, the average cost of installation and purchase of a biomass stove/broiler was $5,221. Taking 30% of this cost, we find a credit amount of $1,566, which is below the credit limit of $2,000 for this improvement. Compared with the costliest improvement, electric or natural gas heat pumps, 30% of the average cost is $3,364. This is above the credit limit, making the largest possible credit amount $2,000 for electric or natural gas heat pumps installation and purchase. The average credit amount, shown below in purple, was $882, well below the maximum possible credit limit of $3,200, shown in light purple. Of the 2.3 million taxpayers that claimed the 25C credit, the most frequent improvement was the purchase of insulation or air sealing materials or system with 699,440 returns (29.9%). This improvement is the only item to the combined cap of $1,200 that also has an individual limit of $1,200. Improvements that have a combined limit of $1,200 are in the green shaded box below. The least claimed improvement was home energy audits, which also had the lowest credit limit of $150. Income and Geographic Differences The highest claim rate of the 25C credit by income was for taxpayers in the $200,000-$500,000 income range, with 4.83% of returns claiming a 25C tax credit. The lowest was for incomes between $1-$10,000, as 0.02% of returns claimed the credit. Geographically, the highest claim rate of the 25C tax credit was in Maine, with 3.03% of tax returns in the state claiming 25C. The lowest rate was in Hawaii, where only 0.50% of returns claimed the credit. Usage was significantly higher in the Midwest and Northeast, as the top 10 usage rates were all located in these regions. While Maine has the highest claim rate, Washington had the highest average credit amount at $1,191. The lowest average credit amount was in Iowa, at $743. Of particular note, Michigan and Wisconsin had low average credit amounts but were among the top ten in terms of claim rates. In Michigan, the average credit amount was $747, ranking 49th (includes DC), while the claim rate was 9th at 2.45%. In Wisconsin, the average credit amount was $761, ranking 48th, and the claim rate was 6th, at 2.51%. The reasoning for this trend could be due to the type of improvements by region but there is no IRS data published yet to clarify this hypothesis. Additionally, usage rates could be relatively lower in the Southern portion of the U.S. because the costliest items, such as heat pumps, are not as critical as regional weather is warmer. Since this credit cannot be applied to new construction, it should also be noted that most new homes are being built with central AC, making it less likely to be claimed as a 25C improvement. Also, most homes in the North are built without heat pumps which allows for more opportunity for the cost to be claimed under 25C if such improvement is made. Nationally, the claim rate was 1.7% with an average credit amount of $882. 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Home Energy Tax Credit Usage2024-10-09T07:21:33-05:00

State Level Employment Situation: August 2024

2024-10-08T09:16:59-05:00

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 32 states in August compared to the previous month, while 17 states and the District of Columbia saw a decrease. Kansas reported no change. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in August, following a gain of 89,000 jobs in July. On a month-over-month basis, employment data was most favorable in Texas, which added 78,000 jobs. Texas accounted for more than half the jobs created nationwide in August. Indiana came in second (+19,800), followed by Minnesota (+14,400). A total of 42,400 jobs were lost across the 17 states and the District of Columbia, with New York reporting the steepest job losses at 7,400. In percentage terms, employment increased the highest in Texas and Indiana at 0.6%, while South Dakota saw the biggest decline at 0.7% between July and August. Year-over-year ending in August, 2.4 million jobs have been added to the labor market across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The range of job gains spanned from 1,500 jobs in South Dakota to 302,400 jobs in Texas. In percentage terms, the range of job growth spanned 3.3% in Missouri to 0.3% in South Dakota. Across the nation, construction sector jobs data1 —which includes both residential and non-residential construction—showed that 27 states and the District of Columbia reported an increase in August compared to July, while 20 states lost construction sector jobs. The three remaining states reported no change on a month-over-month basis. Texas, with the highest increase, added 8,300 construction jobs, while California, on the other end of the spectrum, lost 3,300 jobs. Overall, the construction industry added a net 34,000 jobs in August compared to the previous month. In percentage terms, Wyoming reported the highest increase at 2.3% and Tennessee reported the largest decline at 1.6%. Year-over-year, construction sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 228,000, which is a 2.8% increase compared to the August 2023 level. Texas added 36,600 jobs, which was the largest gain of any state, while Maryland lost 4,800 construction sector jobs. In percentage terms, Alaska had the highest annual growth rate in the construction sector at 17.8%. Over this period, Maine reported the largest decline of 4.7%. For this analysis, BLS combined employment totals for mining, logging, and construction are treated as construction employment for the District of Columbia, Delaware, and Hawaii. ↩︎ Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

State Level Employment Situation: August 20242024-10-08T09:16:59-05:00

Patios Continue to Crowd Out Decks on New Homes

2024-10-08T08:18:35-05:00

While the share of new homes with patios continues to climb, the share with decks has hovered at a historic low of under 18%, according to NAHB tabulation of data from the HUD/Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC). Every year from the re-design of the SOC in 2005 through 2018, over 22% of single-family homes started featured decks. After that, however, the share dropped significantly, reaching a low of 17.5% in 2021. Since then, the percentage has remained near that trough, at 17.7% in 2022 and 17.6% in 2023. Moreover, this has been occurring at the same time the share of new homes with patios was climbing to a record high 67.7%. In fact, the tendency of deck and patio percentages to move in opposite directions is evident throughout the 2005-2023 period. The correlation between the percentages over that span is -0.84, suggesting that patios on new homes have been functioning as a substitute for decks. When more new homes have patios, fewer have decks. New homes with both a deck and patio do occur but are comparatively rare. Among single-family homes started in 2023, fewer than 6% featured both a deck and a patio. Decks have been more common not only when but where patios are less common. For example, among single-family homes started in 2023, patios were least common (featured ion only 17% of the homes) in the New England Census Division, the same division where a high of 76% of the homes featured decks. At the other extreme, in the West South Central a divisional high 81% of new homes featured patios in 2023, and a divisional low of 3% featured decks. Across all nine divisions in 2023, the correlation between the percentages of new homes with decks and patios was -0.82. Nevertheless, decks remain relatively popular on new homes in some parts of the country. Following the 76% in New England at a distance, 42% of new homes featured decks in 2023 in both the Middle Atlantic and West North Central divisions. More detail on new home deck construction is available from the Annual Builder Practices Survey (BPS) conducted by Home Innovation Research Labs. Nationally, the 2024 BPS report (based on homes built in 2023) shows that the average size of a deck on a new single-family home is 284 square feet. Across Census divisions, the average size ranges from a low of 230 square feet in New England to a high of 382 square feet in the adjacent Middle Atlantic. On a square foot basis, the BPS shows an evolving geographic split in the material builders use most often in deck construction. In the West North Central, South Atlantic, East South Central and West South Central divisions, treated wood remains the top choice. In the New England, Middle Atlantic, East North Central and Mountain divisions, composite material has moved ahead of treated wood; while in the Pacific Division, concrete edged out composite for the top spot. The Pacific is also the only division where redwood (a species that can be used outdoors without special pressure treatment) is relatively common in new home deck construction. A previous post covered the characteristics of patios on single-family homes built in 2023. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Patios Continue to Crowd Out Decks on New Homes2024-10-08T08:18:35-05:00
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