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High Mortgage Rates Continue to Weaken Builder Confidence Persistently high mortgage rates above 7% continue to erode builder confidence, as sentiment levels have dropped below the key break-even measure of 50 for the first time in five months. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in September fell five points to 45,…

New Home Sales Increase in July Despite Higher Mortgage Rates Low existing inventory and solid demand more than offset rising mortgage rates and elevated construction costs to boost new home sales last month. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in July increased 4.4% to a 714,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a downwardly revised reading…

Single-Family Starts Edge Higher in July but Rising Rate Concerns Persist A lack of existing inventory and solid demand helped offset rising mortgage rates and push single-family production higher in July, even as builders continue to grapple with elevated construction and financing costs as well as a lack of skilled labor. Overall housing starts increased…

Increasing Housing Supply Critical for Fed’s Fight on Inflation With shelter inflation accounting for a staggering 90% of the overall inflation rate last month, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is calling on policymakers at all levels of government to take actions that will help boost the nation’s housing supply in order to ease…

Construction Job Openings Rise, But Long-Run Trend is Declining The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy moved lower in May, falling to 9.8 million. While ongoing tight labor market conditions have likely confirmed one to two more Fed rate hikes through the start of the Fall, the JOLTS survey is another data…

Congress Completes Busy Week on Housing Appropriations The Senate Appropriations Committee today approved its Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies fiscal year 2024 funding bill, and the measure includes $70.06 billion for HUD. Of particular note, the Senate bill includes $1.5 billion to sustain robust funding for the HOME Investment Partnership Program, the…

New HBI Report Shines Spotlight on Labor Shortages The lack of skilled construction labor is a key limiting factor to expanding home construction and improving housing inventory and affordability. The latest Construction Labor Market Report from the Home Builders Institute (HBI), provides an outlook for residential construction employment and includes state-level employment data. Key findings in the report include:…

NAHB Opposes Move by House GOP Appropriators to Eliminate Job Corps In a move strongly opposed by NAHB, House Republican appropriators are proposing to eliminate the Department of Labor’s Job Corps program as part of a 30% reduction to the agency’s fiscal year 2024 budget. In a letter to House Republican and Democratic appropriations leaders,…

NAHB Tells Congress How Excessive Regulations and Codes Harm Housing Affordability The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today told Congress that burdensome government regulations and mandates which support environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies impede the housing industry’s ability to increase the production of quality, affordable housing. Testifying on this topic at a House…