Latest Posts:
Tag

construction statistics

Browsing
In Research & Trends

Strong Job Market in September

No Comments


The September jobs report indicates that the U.S. labor market remains strong. Job growth accelerated, and the unemployment rate fell to a three-month low of 4.1%.  Meanwhile, job growth for the previous two months (July and August) was upwardly revised.

In September, wage growth accelerated for the second straight month. Wages grew at a 4.0% year-over-year (YOY) growth rate in September, down 0.5 percentage points from a year ago. Wage growth is outpacing inflation, which typically occurs as productivity increases.

National Employment

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 254,000 in September, following an upwardly revised increase of 159,000 jobs in August, as reported in the Employment Situation Summary. It marks the largest monthly job gain in the past six months. The estimates for the previous two months were revised higher. The monthly change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised up by 55,000, from +89,000 to +144,000, while the change for August was revised up by 17,000 from +142,000 to +159,000. Combined, the revisions were 72,000 higher than previously reported.

In the first nine months of 2024, 1,801,000 jobs were created. Additionally, monthly employment growth averaged 200,000 per month, compared with the 251,000 monthly average gain for 2023. The Fed’s easing cycle began on September 18, marking the end of a period of restrictive monetary policy. The U.S. economy has created roughly 8 million jobs since March 2022, when the Fed enacted the first interest rate hike of this cycle.

The unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.1% in September, from 4.2% in August. The September decrease in the unemployment rate reflected the decrease in the number of persons unemployed (-281,000) and the increase in the number of persons employed (+430,000).

Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate—the proportion of the population either looking for a job or already holding a job—was 62.7% for the third consecutive month. However, for people aged between 25 and 54, the participation rate dipped slightly to 83.8%. This rate exceeds the pre-pandemic level of 83.1%. Meanwhile, the overall labor force participation rate is still below its pre-pandemic levels when it stood at 63.3% at the beginning of 2020.

In September, employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking places (+69,000), health care (+45,000), government (+31,000), social assistance (+27,000), and construction (+25,000).

Construction Employment

Job gains in the overall construction sector continued in September, averaging 20,000 per month over the past 12 months. While residential construction gained 7,800 jobs, non-residential construction employment added 17,900 jobs for the month.

Residential construction employment now stands at 3.4 million in September, broken down as 952,000 builders and 2.4 million residential specialty trade contractors. The 6-month moving average of job gains for residential construction was 3,450 a month. Over the last 12 months, home builders and remodelers added 60,500 jobs on a net basis. Since the low point following the Great Recession, residential construction has gained 1,393,800 positions.

In September, the unemployment rate for construction workers rose to 4.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The unemployment rate for construction workers has remained at a relatively lower level, after reaching 15.3% in April 2020 due to the housing demand impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Discover more from Eye On Housing

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.



This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .

Read More
By
In Research & Trends

Parking Garages for New Homes 2023

No Comments


In 2023, 66% of newly completed single-family homes featured two-car garages, according to NAHB’s analysis of the Census’s Survey of Construction data. This was the most common parking option across all Census divisions.

By Census division, South Atlantic had the highest share of two-car garages at 72%. Three or more car garages were most popular in the West North Central division (38%), while one-car garages were most frequent in the Middle Atlantic division (22%).”Other” parking options, including carports and off-street parking, were most common in the East South Central division (17%).

Nationwide, the share of new homes with three or more car garages was 17% in 2023. Three or more car garages have been trending downward since the peak of 24% in 2015, decreasing 2% from 2022.  One-car garages were present in 8% of new homes, another 2% possessed a carport, and 8% did not have any garage or carport.

As home size increased, the share of homes with one-car garages or “other” parking options decreased. For homes under 1,200 square feet, “other” parking options were most common (72%). As home sizes go over 5,000 square feet, this share drops to just 2%. One-car garages were most common in homes between 1,200 and 1,599 square feet (18%), while only 1% of homes over 5,000 square feet had this feature.

Two-car garages were most prevalent in homes between 1,600 and 1,999 square feet (72%), with the largest share at 81% for homes between 2,000 and 2,399 square feet. For homes between 2,400-2,999 square feet, the two-car garage share fell to 77%. Two-car garages were also the most popular options for homes 3,000-4,999 square feet as well with a smaller share at 58%. Three-car garages were rare in smaller homes (3% for those under 1,200 square feet) but became the most common option (65%) for homes over 5,000 square feet.

Discover more from Eye On Housing

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.



This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .

Read More
By
In Research & Trends

Private Residential Construction Spending Falls for Third Straight Month

No Comments


Private residential construction spending fell 0.3% in August, according to the Census Construction Spending data. Nevertheless, it remained 2.7% higher compared to a year ago.

The monthly decline in total private construction spending for August was largely due to reduced spending on single-family and multifamily construction. Spending on single-family construction fell by 1.5% in August. This marks the fifth consecutive monthly decrease. The rising new single-family home inventory and expectations for lower interest rates both weight on new home building. Despite these challenges, spending on single-family construction was still 0.8% higher than it was a year earlier.

Multifamily construction spending inched down 0.4% in August after a dip of 0.3% in July. Year-over-year, spending on multifamily construction declined 7.5%, as an elevated level of apartments under construction is being completed. Private residential improvement spending increased 1% in August and was 9.4% higher than a year ago.

The NAHB construction spending index is shown in the graph below (the base is January 2000). The index illustrates how spending on single-family construction has slowed since early 2024 under the pressure of elevated interest rates. Multifamily construction spending growth has also slowed down after the peak in July 2023. Meanwhile, improvement spending has increased its pace since late 2023.

Spending on private nonresidential construction was up 3.6% over a year ago. The annual private nonresidential spending increase was mainly due to higher spending for the class of manufacturing ($36.4 billion), followed by the power category ($8.8 billion).

Discover more from Eye On Housing

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.



This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .

Read More
By
In Research & Trends

Over Two-Thirds of New Homes in 2023 Feature Porches

No Comments


Porches continue to rank as the most common outdoor feature on new homes, according to NAHB tabulation of the latest data from the Survey of Construction (SOC, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau with partial funding from HUD). Of the roughly 950,000 single-family homes started in 2023, the SOC data show that 67.7% were built with porches. This is four full percentage points higher than the 63.7% reported for patios, and marks the first time the share of new homes with porches has surpassed two-thirds since the re-design of the SOC in 2005.

Traditionally, porches on new homes have been most common in the four states that make up the East South Central Census division. That was true again in 2023, although by the narrowest of margins. While 81% of new homes in the East South Central had porches in 2023, that was only a single percentage point higher than the 80% recorded in the Pacific Division. The share was also over 70% in four other divisions: the Mountain (77%), South Atlantic (74%), East North Central (73%) and New England (72%). Once again, the division with the smallest share of poches on new homes was the West South Central (42%). After some significant changes between 2021 and 2022, the 2023 divisional percentages were not drastically different from the ones reported for 2022 in last year’s post.

Detail about the characteristics of porches on new homes is available from the Builder Practices Survey (BPS), conducted annually by Home Innovation Research Labs. Among other things, the 2024 BPS report (based on homes built in 2023) shows that porches continue to be most common on the front of new single-family homes, rather than on the side or rear. When on the front, porches average approximately 100 square feet of floor area, compared to 140 square feet for a side or rear porch, and 200 square feet for a screened-in porch.

On a square foot basis, builders continue to use concrete more than any other material in new-home porches—except in New England, where composite (a blend of usually recycled wood fibers and plastic) is most common, and treated wood, PVC or other plastics, cedar, and natural stone are each used more than concrete.

Discover more from Eye On Housing

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.



This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .

Read More
By
In Research & Trends

Bedrooms in New Single-Family Homes in 2023

No Comments


In 2023, the most common number of bedrooms in newly-built single-family homes continued to be three at a 45.7% share.  This share is up almost three percentage points from 42.8% in 2022. The second highest share was single-family homes with four bedrooms at 33.1%, followed by homes with two bedrooms or less at 11.5% and then homes with five or more bedrooms at 9.7%.

As shown above, the share of single-family homes started with three bedrooms rose to its highest level since 2019. While this share rose, the second most frequently built number of bedrooms (four) fell to 33.1%, the lowest share for such homes since 2012. At the same time, the share of new single-family homes with 2 bedrooms or less reached its highest level since 2012. The share of homes with five bedrooms or more has remained fairly stagnant at around 10% over the past ten years.

Regions

Across U.S. Census divisions, the share of new single-family homes with four or more bedrooms features distinct variations. The share ranged from a low of 22.0% in the New England division to the highest share of 47.9% in the West South Central division. Coinciding with the fall in the share of new single-family homes with 4 bedrooms or more nationally, there are no divisions that have a share above 50%. In 2022, the data featured the South Atlantic (51.7%), Pacific (51.4%) and West South Central (50.6%) all with above 50% shares.

Purpose of Construction

The number of bedrooms in the home greatly varied in 2023 depending on a new single-family home’s purpose of construction (built-for-sale, contractor-built, owner-built, built-for-rent). Most of this variation comes from the two-bedroom or less homes and four-bedrooms homes. For example, the share of new single-family homes with two bedrooms or less ranges from 5.7% of homes built-for-sale to 38.4% of homes built-for-rent. Meanwhile, three-bedroom homes and five or more bedroom homes display relatively little change across purpose of construction, as shown in the chart below.   

Discover more from Eye On Housing

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.



This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .

Read More
By
In Research & Trends

Custom Home Building Share Declines in 2023

No Comments


In 2023, 18.8 percent of all new single-family homes started were custom homes. This share decreased from the 20.4 percent recorded in 2022, according to data tabulated from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC). The custom home market consists of contractor-built and owner-built homes—homes built one at a time for owner occupancy on the owner’s land, with either the owner or a builder acting as a general contractor. The alternatives are homes built-for-sale (on the builder’s land, often in subdivisions, with the intention of selling the house and land in one transaction) and homes built-for-rent.   

In 2023, 71.5 percent of the single-family homes started were built-for-sale, and 9.7 percent were built-for-rent. At an 18.9 percent share, the number of custom homes started in 2023 was 177,850, falling from 207,472 in 2022. 

The quarterly published statistics show that the custom home share of single-family starts showed gains in the second quarter of 2024 after some recent slowing. Although the quarterly statistics are timelier, they lack the geographic detail available in the annual data set.

When analyzed across the 9 census divisions, the annual data show that the highest custom home share in 2023 was 35.5 percent in the East South-Central division. While the lowest share was in the West South-Central division, where the share was only 11.9 percent. The share of custom homes across U.S. divisions are showed in the map below.

Discover more from Eye On Housing

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.



This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .

Read More
By
In Research & Trends

Single-Family Starts Up in August but Supply-Side Issues Linger

No Comments


Single-family starts posted a solid gain in August on robust demand and moderating mortgage rates even as builders continue to grapple with challenges related to lot and labor shortages and elevated prices for many building materials.

Overall housing starts increased 9.6% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The August reading of 1.36 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts increased 15.8% to a 992,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate. On a year-over-year basis, single-family starts are up 5.2% compared to August 2023. On a year-to-date basis, single-family starts are up 10.4%. The three-month moving average (a useful gauge given recent volatility) is down to 944,000 units, as charted below.

The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, decreased 4.2% to an annualized 364,000 pace. The three-month moving average for multifamily construction has trended upward to a 363,000-unit annual rate. On a year-over-year basis, multifamily construction is up 0.6%.

On a regional and year-to-date basis, combined single-family and multifamily starts are 1.9% lower in the Midwest, 2.1% lower in the Northeast, 4.4% lower in the West and 4.6% lower in the South.

The total number of single-family homes and apartments under construction was 1.5 million in August. This is the lowest total since November 2021. Total housing units now under construction are 11.1% lower than a year ago. Single-family units under construction fell to a count of 642,000—down 5.2% compared to a year ago. The number of multifamily units under construction has fallen to 867,000 units. This is down 15.0% compared to a year ago.

On a 3-month moving average basis, there are currently 1.8 apartments completing construction for every one that is beginning construction. While apartment construction starts are down, the number of completed units entering the market is rising due to prior elevated construction levels. Year-to-date, the pace of completions for apartments in buildings with five or more units is up 36.7% in 2024 compared to 2023. A higher pace of completions in 2024 for multifamily construction will place some downward pressure on rent growth.

Overall permits increased 4.9% to a 1.48-million-unit annualized rate in August. Single-family permits increased 2.8% to a 967,000 unit rate. Multifamily permits increased 9.2% to an annualized 508,000 pace.

Looking at regional data on a year-to-date basis, permits are 2.1% higher in the Midwest, 0.7% higher in the Northeast, 1.1% lower in the South and 6.2% lower in the West.

Discover more from Eye On Housing

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.



This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .

Read More
By
In Research & Trends

Apartment Construction Time Averaged 20 Months in 2023

No Comments


The average length of time to complete construction of a multifamily building after obtaining authorization was 19.9 months in 2023, according to the 2023 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau. The permit-to-completion time inched up 0.1 months in 2023, after an increase of 2.3 months in 2022, as the ongoing skilled labor shortage and supply chain issues were still challenging the industry.

The average time to build multifamily homes varies with the number of units in the building. The more units, the more time required to build. In 2023, buildings with 20 or more units took the longest time,22 months, to build after obtaining authorization. Properties with 10-to-19 units required 21.5 months. However, 2-to-4 unit buildings came in at 18.7 months, which took longer time than 5-to-9 unit buildings (16.9 months).

Compared to 2019, pre-pandemic, only buildings with 5 to 9 units took a similar time to complete. The construction process required 3.3 more months to complete multifamily buildings with 2-to-4 units, 2.8 months more for 10-to-19 unit buildings, and 3 months longer to finish for properties with 20 or more units.

The 2023 SOC data also shows a significant regional variation in the average construction duration of multifamily buildings. The West had the longest time from authorization to completion at 20.9 months, followed by the Northeast at 20.8 months, and then the South with 19.5 months. The shortest permit-to-completion period happened in the Midwest with 17.3 months.

Discover more from Eye On Housing

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.



This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .

Read More
By
In Research & Trends

Single-Family Permits Up in July 2024

No Comments


Over the first seven months of 2024, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 599,308. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is an increase of 13.7% over the July 2023 level of 527,158.

Year-to-date ending in July, single-family permits were up in all four regions. The range of permit increases spanned 18.2% in the West to 9.8% in the Northeast. The Midwest was up by 14.5% and the South was up by 12.4% in single-family permits during this time. For multifamily permits, three out of the four regions posted declines. The Northeast, driven by New York was the only region to post an increase and was up by 32.0%. Meanwhile, the West posted a decline of 31.2%, the South declined by 22.7%, and the Midwest declined by 9.3%.

Between July 2024 YTD and July 2023 YTD, 47 states and the District of Columbia posted an increase in single-family permits. The range of increases spanned 39.4% in Arizona to 2.1% in Rhode Island. New Hampshire (-0.2%), Hawaii (-2.7%), and Alaska (-10.4%) reported declines in single-family permits. The ten states issuing the highest number of single-family permits combined accounted for 64.0% of the total single-family permits issued. Texas, the state with the highest number of single-family permits, issued 97,551 permits over the first seven months of 2024, which is an increase of 15.6% compared to the same period last year. The succeeding highest state, Florida, was up by 9.5%, while the third highest, North Carolina, posted an increase of 11.8%.

Year-to-date ending in July, the total number of multifamily permits issued nationwide reached 279,618. This is 17.2% below the July 2023 level of 337,730.

Between July 2024 YTD and July 2023 YTD, 18 states recorded growth in multifamily permits, while 32 states and the District of Columbia recorded a decline. New York (+117.4%) led the way with a sharp rise in multifamily permits from 10,110 to 21,981, while the District of Columbia had the biggest decline of 68.7% from 1,969 to 616. The ten states issuing the highest number of multifamily permits combined accounted for 64.7% of the multifamily permits issued. Over the first seven months of 2024, Texas, the state with the highest number of multifamily permits issued, experienced a decline of 30.4%. Following closely, the second-highest state in multifamily permits, Florida, saw a decline of 24.4%. California, the third largest multifamily issuing state, decreased by 27.5%.

At the local level, below are the top ten metro areas that issued the highest number of single-family permits.

For multifamily permits, below are the top ten local areas that issued the highest number of permits.

Discover more from Eye On Housing

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.



This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .

Read More
By
In Research & Trends

New Homes Built with Private Wells and Individual Septic Systems in 2023

No Comments


Shares of new single-family homes built with private wells and individual septic systems decreased in 2023, compared with the previous year. NAHB tabulation of data from the Survey of Construction (SOC) indicates approximately 9% of new single-family homes started in 2023 were served by individual wells and 17% had private septic systems. There are large variations for these shares across the nine Census divisions with the corresponding shares reaching 26% and 38% in New England – the highest occurrence rates in the nation.

Nationally, 9% of new single-family homes started in 2023 were served by individual wells, with the majority relying on public water systems, which include community or shared supplies. In New England, where the median lot size is almost 3 times larger than the national average, 26% of new homes used private wells. Private wells were also common in the East North Central division, where nearly 22% of new homes had them. The Middle Atlantic division had the third-highest share at 14%. These divisions, along with the South Atlantic division (13%), surpassed the national average of 9%. Conversely, individual wells were rare in the East South Central and West South Central divisions, accounting for only a 1% share.

For sewage disposal, 82% of new homes were connected to public sewers (including community or shared sewage/septic systems) in 2023, and 17% utilized individual septic systems. The share of individual septic system decreased from 18% in 2022 to 17% in 2023.

The use of individual septic systems varied by division. In New England, 38% of new homes had private septic systems, while the East South Central, South Atlantic, and East North Central divisions reported 30%, 25%, and 23% shares, respectively. These shares, including the Middle Atlantic (18%), were above the national average of 17%. Shares were below average in the Mountain (10%), West North Central (10%), Pacific (8%), and West South Central (6%) divisions.

Compared to the previous year, the proportion of new single-family homes with individual septic systems fell in five out of nine divisions. Notably, New England saw a decrease from 46% in 2022 to 38% in 2023. Meanwhile, the Pacific, Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic, and East South Central divisions experienced slight increases, ranging from 1% to 2%.

Discover more from Eye On Housing

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.



This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .

Read More
By
Load More
Pin It