Trends
The Top Kitchen and Bath Features that Buyers Crave
NAHB’s recent study, What Home Buyers Really Want, 2021 Edition, reveals the key kitchen and bathroom amenities that home buyers cannot live without.
Rising Material Challenges, Declining Builder Sentiment
Home builder confidence dipped to its lowest level since August 2020 on rising material prices and supply chain shortages, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).
Record Number of Builders Report Material Shortages
Shortages of materials are now more widespread than at any at any time since NAHB began tracking the issue in the 1990s, with more than 90% of builders reporting shortages of appliances, framing lumber and OSB.
Home Building at Fastest Pace in Areas with Shortest Commute Times
Home building across the nation expanded the fastest in places with the shortest commute times, according to the quarterly NAHB Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) released today. The HBGI also shows the suburban shift in new home construction to low density, low cost markets stemming largely from the COVID-19 pandemic and first reported in the second quarter of 2020 continued into 2021.
Construction Self-Employment Rates at Record Low
The current construction self-employment rate is now the lowest on record, according to the 2019 American Community Survey. Today, 22% (2.4 million) of construction workers are self-employed, down from a record high of more than 26% in 2010.
Building Materials Top Housing Concerns
Builder confidence held stable in May, despite growing concerns over the price and availability of most building materials, including lumber.
More Buyers are Pumped Up Over Exercise Rooms
Over the past five years, there’s been a big jump in the percentage of prospective home buyers who want an exercise room, according to a recent study by NAHB.
The Most Common Reason Active Buyers Can’t Close the Deal
A recent Eye on Housing blog post revealed that 64% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding home in the first quarter of 2021 have spent upwards of three months searching for a home without success. The most common reason long-time searchers have come up empty-handed is not because they can’t find a home at an affordable price but rather due to a rising trend that is occurring in the marketplace.
More Buyers are Looking for a New Home
A growing number of buyers are looking specifically at new home construction from the onset of their home search.
Home Building Employment Across States and Congressional Districts
The most recent and comprehensive estimates of home building employment by state and congressional district reveals that California is the state with the most residential construction workers. Idaho’s 1st congressional district (Rep. Russ Fulcher – R), which comprises much of the western part of the state, leads the nation with 24,000 residents engaged in home building.
