Ambitious goals can't be completed without an organized leader at the top. Effective project management in the home building industry requires attention to detail in order to successfully plan, executive and deliver a successful product.
In the final weeks of 2024, home builders associations across the country are continuing to raise funds for BUILD-PAC.
As the 2025 NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS) approaches, we are hearing from some of our members and exhibitors that they have received emails inquiring about their interest in purchasing the NAHB International Builders’ Show’s attendee list. These solicitations are scams.
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has announced its loan limits for 2025. The FHA floor, which is the lowest the FHA loan limit can be for any area of the country, will increase from $498,257 to $524,225 for single-family home loans.
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%. Apartments The percentage of apartments absorbed within three months has fallen significantly from its peak of 75% in the third quarter of 2021, as shown in the graph above. Currently, the rate stands at 55% which is coupled with an uptick in completions, as the SOMA estimates show a new high of completions at 118,600 units in the second quarter of 2024. This is well above the level of completions a year ago, which stood at 83,140. The pace of multifamily units being completed has picked up, as many units under construction over the past year are reaching the market. Since the first quarter of 2022, completions have been above 75,000 for nine consecutive quarters, as seen in the graph below. The level of completions has also risen for the past three quarters. Along with the three-month absorption rate and completions, SOMA reports absorption rates within six-months, nine-months, and 12-months of completion. The absorption rates for all time periods follow similar downward trends as the number of apartments completed has ticked upwards over the past two years. For apartments completed in the 1st quarter of 2024, the absorption rate within six months of completion was 75%, down from a peak of 88% in the third quarter of 2021 but up from 69% the previous quarter. For the nine-month period, the absorption rate of apartments completed in the fourth quarter of 2023 fell to 83% down for the third consecutive quarter. This rate also peaked at 96% in the same quarter as the other periods, the third quarter of 2021. Finally, apartment units completed in the third quarter of 2023 were 93% absorbed within a year following completion. The trend remains the same for the 12-month period as the other time periods, as it peaked in the third quarter of 2021 at 98%. Condominiums and Cooperative Units The absorption rate for new condominiums and cooperative units fell to 66% for the quarter. The previous quarter’s rate was significantly revised, up from 69% to 80%, which helps to explain the dramatic decline. Total completions of new condominiums and cooperative units, according to the SOMA, rose over the quarter up from 2,829 to 4,366. Quarterly completions of these units peaked in the second quarter of 2018, at 7,996 completions but have steadily fallen since that peak. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts declined during the third quarter of 2024. For the quarter, 94,000 multifamily residences started construction. Of this total, 88,000 were built-for-rent. This was almost 14% lower than the third quarter of 2023. The market share of rental units of multifamily construction starts declined to below 94% for the third quarter, as the built-for-sale, multifamily condo market experienced a gain. The historical low market share of 47% for bult-for-rent multifamily construction was set during the third quarter of 2005, during the condo building boom. An average share of 80% was registered during the 1980-2002 period. For the third quarter, there were 6,000 multifamily condo unit construction starts, up from 3,000 a year ago. While still a small market, this was the highest quarterly count since mid-2022. An elevated rental share of multifamily construction is holding typical apartment size below levels seen during the pre-Great Recession period. According to third quarter 2024 data, the average square footage of multifamily construction starts ticked higher to 1,061 square feet. The median edged up to 1,013 square feet. These estimates are near multidecade lows. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced that the maximum baseline conforming loan limits for mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2025 will rise 5.2% to $806,500.
Giving Tuesday, a global generosity movement, will take place on Dec. 3. NAHB is encouraging home building industry members to donate to the Home Building Industry Disaster Relief Fund (HBIDRF), a charitable organization established to assist in rebuilding communities affected by disaster.
Home price growth continued to slow in September, growing at a rate just below 4% year-over-year. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index (seasonally adjusted – SA) posted a 3.89% annual gain, down from a 4.28% increase in August. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller HPI year-over-year rate has decelerated for the seventh consecutive month, peaking at 6.54% in February 2024. Meanwhile, the Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (SA) grew at a rate of 4.36%, stagnant from the previous month. By Metro Area In addition to tracking national home price changes, the S&P CoreLogic Index (SA) also reports home price indexes across 20 metro areas. Compared to last year, all 20 metro areas reported a home price increase. There were 11 metro areas that grew more than the national rate of 3.89%. The highest annual rate was New York at 7.55%, followed by Cleveland at 7.13% and Chicago at 6.94%. The smallest home price growth over the year was seen by Denver at 0.22%, followed by Tampa at 0.99%, and Portland at 1.07%. By Census Division Monthly, the FHFA Home Price Index (SA) publishes not only national data but also data by census division. The highest year-over-year rate for September was 7.10% in the Middle Atlantic division, while the lowest was 1.16% in the West South Central division. Most divisions saw an increase from last month as shown in the chart below except for the West South Central and East North Central divisions. The FHFA Home Price Index releases their metro and state data on a quarterly basis, which NAHB analyzed in a previous post. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Sales of newly built, single-family homes in October declined 17.3% to a 610,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales in October is down 9.4% compared to a year earlier. October new home sales are up 2.1% on a year-to-date basis.