Members of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) elected four senior officers to top leadership positions within the federation at the conclusion of the NAHB International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Scott Turner today said he would work to reduce regulatory burdens to ease America’s housing affordability crisis and help builders to construct more attainable, affordable housing the nation sorely needs.
Mortgage rates declined marginally in February, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage falling to 6.84%. After climbing steadily since December and peaking at 7.04% in mid-January, rates have been trending downward. According to Freddie Mac, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased 12 basis points (bps) from January, while the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 13 bps to 6.03%. Although the recent decline in mortgage rates and an increase in the total single-family homes supply are positive signs for buyers, homebuying activity may remain sluggish due to persistent high prices and mortgage rates still exceeding 6%. The 10-year Treasury yield declined 11 bps to an average of 4.52% in February, reversing its recent upward trend. This shift reflects concerns over a weakening U.S. economy due to inflationary pressures and increasing geopolitical risks. In response, the markets anticipate that the Federal Reserve will resume rate cuts later in the year. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) announced the winners of the 2024 Best in American Living™ Awards (BALA) during the NAHB International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas. The awards are sponsored by SMEG.
At this year’s International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) honored top achievements in residential real estate sales, marketing, individual achievement and global excellence at The Nationals Awards Gala (sponsored by Chase).
Home buyers continue to look toward smaller homes, with the median home size dropping from 2,200 square feet in 2023 to 2,150 square feet in 2024 — the lowest in 15 years — after holding strong at 2,300 square feet from 2019-2022. The same thing is happening to median lot sizes, which has dropped about 1,000 square feet in the last 15 years to 8,400 square feet.
Today the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) named the recipients of the 19th annual NAHB/Builders Mutual Safety Award for Excellence (SAFE) for their commitment to exemplary safety and health programs in the residential construction industry. The 2024 SAFE Awards winners were honored at a ceremony held during the 2025 NAHB International Builders’ Show.
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. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in January decreased 10.5% to a 657,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from an upwardly revised December number, 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 January is down 1.1% compared to a year earlier. A new home sale occurs when a sales contract is signed, or a deposit is accepted. The home can be in any stage of construction: not yet started, under construction or completed. In addition to adjusting for seasonal effects, the January reading of 657,000 units is the number of homes that would sell if this pace continued for the next 12 months. New single-family home inventory in January continued to rise to a level of 495,000, up 7.4% compared to a year earlier. This represents a 9 months’ supply at the current building pace. Completed ready-to-occupy inventory was at a level of 118,000, up 39% compared to a year ago. While the monthly supply of new homes is 9 months, there is currently only a 3.4 months’ supply of existing single-family homes on the market. NAHB estimates the combined new and existing total months’ supply rose to a 4.2 months’ supply in January. The market has not been near a 6 months’ supply, which represents a balanced market, since 2012. The median new home sale price in January was $446,300, up 3.7% from a year ago. It is the highest median sale price since October 2022. The Census data reveals a decrease in new home sales priced between $300,000 and $399,999, which made up 24% of new home sales in January, compared to 29% a year ago. Regionally, on a year-to-date basis, new home sales are down 60.0% in the Northeast, and up 7.1% in the West. New home sales remain unchanged in the Midwest and South. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Supply-chain problems and high interest rates are expected to impede the multifamily sector in the first half of 2025 before the market stabilizes later this year as more deals pencil out, according to economists speaking at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas today.
The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. The multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2- to 4-unit properties) has generally disappointed since the Great Recession. However, there was a noticeable uptick for this type of housing construction in recent data. For the fourth quarter of 2024, there were 5,000 2- to 4-unit housing unit construction starts. This is up 25% from the fourth quarter of 2023. As a share of all multifamily production, 2- to 4-unit development was just above 5% of total multifamily development for the fourth quarter. However this is still lower than recent historic trends. From 2000 to 2010, such home construction made up a little less than 11% of total multifamily construction. Construction of the missing middle has clearly lagged during the post-Great Recession period and will continue to do so without zoning reform focused on light-touch density. But recent data offer hope for additional housing supply for these kind of structures. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.