Home Builder Stats & What They Mean - Summer 2021

According to the National Association of Home Builder's Eye on Housing blog, the month of June saw steady housing production. However increased construction costs as well as issues of limited supply are definitely a factor impacting the industry.

Housing starts, which is defined as the number of new houses begun during a particular period, saw an overall increase of 6.3% to 1.64 million units, a seasonally adjusted annual rate (via HUD and the Census Bureau). The June starts figure indicates the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months.

However, the month of June saw a decrease in single-family permits. The reason for this is likely the higher material costs as well as availability of materials.

Builder confidence is steady, even considering the challenges on the supply-side of things.

So far in 2021, more than half of the single-family construction is taking place in the South. Data from NAHB shows that this may be due to better access to developable land as well as lower regulatory costs.

As an indicator of the economic impact of housing, there are now 675,000 single-family homes under construction nationwide, which is 32% higher than a year ago. There are currently 684,000 apartments under construction. Total housing units now under construction (single-family and multifamily combined) is 15% higher than a year ago.