Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) have introduced NAHB-supported legislation that would improve the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and allow builders to increase production of badly needed affordable rental housing.
NAHB mourns the passing of Kim Shanahan, who played an integral role in the Sustainability & Green Building Subcommittee and Healthier Homes and Communities Subcommittee.
The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter of 2025 for the first time in three years, driven by a sharp surge in pre-tariff imports, softening consumer spending, and a decline in government spending. According to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025, following a 2.4% gain in the fourth quarter of 2024. This marks the first quarter of economic contraction since the first quarter of 2022. NAHB predicted a 0.2% increase for the first quarter of 2025. Furthermore, the data from the GDP report suggests that inflationary pressure persisted. The GDP price index rose 3.4% for the first quarter, up from a 2.2% increase in the fourth quarter of 2024. The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price (PCE) Index, which measures inflation (or deflation) across various consumer expenses and reflects changes in consumer behavior, rose 3.6% in the first quarter. This is up from a 2.4% increase in the fourth quarter of 2024. The contraction in real GDP primarily reflected a sharp increase in imports and a decrease in government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, surged at an annualized rate of 41.3% in the first quarter, as businesses rushed to stockpile goods ahead of implementing tariffs. While goods imports spiked by 50.9%, services imports increased by 8.6%. The import surge contributed to a record-high trade deficit and subtracted more than five percentage points from the headline GDP figure. Government spending decreased at an annual rate of 1.4% in the first quarter. Federal spending fell sharply by 5.1%, partially offset by a modest 0.8% increase in state and local government expenditures. Consumer spending, a key driver of the economy, softened. It rose at an annual rate of 1.8%, the slowest pace in seven quarters. Spending on goods increased by 0.5%, while expenditure on services grew by 2.4%. Private inventories were the largest contributor to the increase in gross private domestic investment. Nonresidential fixed investment increased by 9.8%, with notable increases in equipment (+22.5%) and intellectual property products (+4.1%). Residential fixed investment posted a 1.3% gain, following a 5.5% increase in the previous quarter. Within residential categories, single-family structures rose 5.9%, improvements increased 3.6%, while multifamily structures fell 11.5%. For the common BEA terms and definitions, please access bea.gov/Help/Glossary. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
ERTH360, a home design and architecture firm based in Ontario, has spent years focused on bringing wellness concepts to production home design. Its design won the Gold award for GIA Global Innovation Home of Year at NAHB’s The Nationals for 2024.
A record-high 6.8 million households shared their housing with unrelated housemates, roommates or boarders in 2023. While college-age and young adults make up the largest subset of house sharers (close to 41%), this type of living arrangement is gaining popularity among older householders fastest, with the 55+ segment accounting for 30% of all house-sharing households in 2023. The number of households sharing housing with nonrelatives had been rising steadily since the 2008 housing crash until the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the upward trend. During that period, the count of households with at least one unrelated member increased from 5.3 million in 2008 to over 6.7 million in 2019. At the same time, the percentage of house-sharing households grew from 4.7% to 5.4%. The pandemic dramatically redefined living arrangement preferences. Reflecting the shift towards more spacious, lower-density independent living, the number and percentage of house-sharers collapsed in 2020 (although the data collection issues during the lockdown stages of the COVID-19 pandemic make the 2020 estimates less reliable). While the percentage of households sharing housing has climbed since the pandemic lows, it remains below the 2019 peak. However, the count of house-sharing households in the U.S. is now at a new record-high point. This is largely reflective of a faster household formation rate since the end of the pandemic, as well as the growing popularity of home sharing arrangements. Young Adults (25-34) Young adults in the 25-34 age group make up the largest (close to 1.6 million, or 23%) cohort of households that share housing with unrelated housemates. Over the last two decades, amid the rising housing burdens and cost of living, house sharing became a way for young adults to afford to leave parental homes. From 2005 to 2017, as the headship rates for this age group declined precipitously and millions of young adults dropped out of the housing market, house sharing became more common among those who managed to stay out of parental homes. In 2017, when 25 to 34-year-old adults registered record low headship rates, one in eleven householders in this age group shared housing with unrelated housemates. By 2023, when the headship rates rebounded, the share of 25 to 34-year-old house-sharing householders dropped to 7.9%, on par with the 2005 reading. While it is tempting to assume that the high prevalence of house sharing among young adults reflects a rise in unmarried partnerships, these are not considered house-sharers in this analysis. Unmarried partners tend to function as a unit similar to a married couple, dividing their economic, social and financial responsibilities, and not just those related to house-sharing. To differentiate between these different demographic trends, unmarried partnerships are counted as independent households for the purposes of this analysis.1 College-Age Adults (18-24) College-age adults make up the second largest group of house-sharing householders (1.2 million, or 17%). While the total counts are substantial, they represent a decline since 2005 when 1.3 million 18 to 24-year-old householders shared housing with unrelated roommates, accounting for 22% of house-sharing households. The lower counts of house sharers in this age group reflect, among other factors, the rising share of college-age adults living with parents, declining rates of college attendance in recent years, as well as slower youth population growth. Nevertheless, the youngest householders remain the age group that is most likely to share housing. As of 2023, over one in five leaseholders/homeowners in the 18-24 age group shared housing with unrelated roommates or housemates. Older Adults 55+ Older adults ages 55 and over registered the most substantial gains in house-sharing arrangements since the housing boom of the mid-2000s[1]. The number of households lead by 55 to 64-year-old adults that shared housing almost doubled since 2005 to 1 million. Their segment increased from 9% of house-sharing households in 2005 to 14% in 2023. At the same time, the number of house-sharers among 65+ householders increased 2.7 times. These oldest householders now account for over a million, or 15% of all house-sharing households, more than doubling their share of 6.8% in 2005. Partially, the surge in the number of older households sharing housing with nonrelatives simply reflects the aging U.S. population with numerous baby boomers filling the ranks of 55+ households. Partially, it captures the changing preferences, as the older householders are now more likely to live with unrelated members. In 2005, 3% of 55 to 64-year-old householders shared housing with nonrelatives. This share increased to 3.6% in 2013 and continued its climb to 4.1% in 2023. The increase in the percentage of 65+ householders sharing housing was similarly persistent, rising from 1.7% in 2005, to 2.3% in 2013, and climbing further to reach 2.8% in 2023. Unlike the rates of house-sharing among younger adults, the rates for the 55+ age group appear less cyclical. While still largely unconventional among 55 and older householders, house sharing is on the rise, potentially offering a cost-effective option for older adults to stay in place as they age.2 The ACS microdata allows differentiating between unmarried partners and those living with roommates/housemates/nonrelatives, even though they are all included in Census’s separate variable that counts unrelated household members.Conventionally, the population in group quarters, such as dormitories, nursing homes, etc., are not included in household counts. 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Women have long played a crucial and multifaceted role in the labor force. Since peaking at around 60% in 1999, the women’s labor force participation rate flattened and then declined. As of March 2025, the rate is holding steady at 57.5%, and women now represent nearly half (47%) of the total U.S. labor force.
Consistent with soft sentiment data, the count of job openings for the overall economy and construction fell in March as employers slowed hiring plans amid a broader economic slowdown, per the March Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The number of open jobs for the overall economy declined from 7.48 million in February to 7.19 million in March. This is notably smaller than the 8.09 million estimate reported a year ago and reflects a softened aggregate labor market. Previous NAHB analysis indicated that this number had to fall below 8 million on a sustained basis for the Federal Reserve move on interest rate reductions. With estimates remaining below 8 million for national job openings, the Fed, in theory, should be able to cut further despite a recent pause. However, tariff proposals may keep the Fed on pause in the coming quarters. The number of open construction sector jobs fell from a revised 286,000 in February to 248,000 in March. This nonetheless marks a significant reduction of open, unfilled construction jobs than that registered a year ago (338,000) due to a slowing of construction activity. The chart below notes the recent decline for the construction job openings rate, which is now back to 2019 levels. The construction job openings rate moved lower to 2.9% in March, significantly down year-over-year from 4%. The layoff rate in construction stayed low (1.7%) in March. The quits rate declined to 1.8% in March. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The Fix Our Forests Act would help improve the U.S. forest management system by expediting environmental reviews and ending frivolous litigation that often grinds needed forest management projects to a halt.
The Issues Briefing webinar on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at noon ET will provide NAHB members with an overview of the high-priority topics to discuss with lawmakers.
The 2025 hurricane season is expected to be an active, above-average season. NAHB has resources to help you create or update a business continuity plan and strengthen your supply chain resilience.