Housing inventory

Contract signings fell 5.5% to 74.2 in December, according to a National Association of Realtors index released Thursday.

Sales of new US homes ended 2024 on a high note in December as customers took advantage of incentives from builders, leading to a second straight year of increased purchases.  

Contract closings of existing homes last month increased 2.2% to an annualized rate of 4.24 million, the most since February, according to National Association of Realtors data released Friday.

Los Angeles already had a housing affordability crisis before devastating wildfires burned entire neighborhoods to the ground. The disaster is making it worse. 

The residential market is expected to face challenges from stubbornly high mortgage rates and limited supply in 2025, particularly after Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on Wednesday indicating fewer rate cuts are coming.

Contract closings increased 4.8% to an annualized rate of 4.15 million in November, the most since March, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.

US new-home construction unexpectedly fell in November as a drop in multifamily projects mitigated a rebound in starts of single-family houses, solely in the storm-ravaged South.  

The latest plans include details on promoting housing development in underserved areas and increasing secondary market access to rural institutions.

U.S. lumber prices, which already have risen in recent months due to lower production in Canada, could see further gains after President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on trade from north of the border.

"If he manages to get through the policies that he's proposing, that will be really bad news," says Desmond Lachman, an economist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

The development is the latest in an ongoing series of initiatives the Department of Housing and Urban Development has introduced to encourage growth of the factory-built construction segment.

Developers "need those cuts badly" because many projects are financed at floating rates, Jorge Perez, founder and chief executive officer of Related Group, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.

Housing starts decreased 3.1% last month to a 1.31 million annualized rate, reflecting a steep decline in the South, according to government data released Tuesday.

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders advanced to a seven-month high in November on a jump in sales expectations and optimism a Trump administration will ease regulatory burdens.

Residential construction companies facing their own construction cost burdens are continuing sales incentives that have cut into some of the largest players' profit margins.

The National Association of Homebuilder's chief economist lays out a timeline for the market, and describes how new construction today compares to existing home sales.

The affordability crisis has moved to the center of national politics, posing complicated challenges for both Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump as they try to woo voters in battleground states with promises to address housing costs.

Housing starts decreased 0.5% last month to a 1.35 million annualized rate, according to government data released Friday, after a big rebound in August.

A measure of housing market conditions from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo increased for a second straight month in October.

The share of homes constructed in community associations rose for the first time in three years in 2023, the National Association of Home Builders reported.