November 2025 NAHB News....1-4 NCHBA News....5-7 HBAGC News...7-22
Existing Home Sales Increase in September
Existing home sales rose to a seven-month high in September as mortgage rates eased and inventory improved, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Resale inventory matched to the highest level since May 2020, though it remained below pre-pandemic levels. Mortgage rates hovered between 6.5% and 7% earlier this year due to ongoing economic and tariff uncertainty. However, rates recently fell below 6.5% for the first time this year as the Fed resumed rate cuts at its September meeting. Last week, the average mortgage rate decreased to a nearly one-year low of 6.27%. With additional rate cuts expected in coming months, lower mortgage rates and improved inventory should bring more buyers and sellers into the market. Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, rose 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million in September. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 4.1% higher than a year ago. The existing home inventory level was 1.55 million units in September, up 1.3% from August and up 14.0% from a year ago. At the current sales rate, September unsold inventory sits at a 4.6-months’ supply, unchanged from July and August but up from 4.2-months in September 2024. Inventory between 4.5 to 6 month’s supply is generally considered a balanced market. Homes stayed on the market for a median of 33 days in September, up from 31 days last month and 28 days in September 2024. The September median sales price of all existing homes was $415,200, up 2.1% from last year.
USPS Cluster Mailbox Guidance The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) recently clarified its policies on cluster mailbox units (CBUs) in new housing development. The USPS also apologized for inconsistent local guidance in recent years. While reaffirming that all new developments should use centralized CBUs, USPS offered clarifying guidance, including: CBUs do not require awnings or lighting; CBUs do not require dedicated parking for carriers; and larger developments may have multiple CBU locations to balance resident convenience and carrier efficiency.
New American Home Is a Model of Energy Efficiency The New American Home 2026, the must-see showcase at the upcoming NAHB International Builders’ Show®, is setting a new bar for energy efficiency, particularly for a home of its scale: over 9,200 square feet. Thanks to a smart integration of high-performance systems and a powerful solar array, the home is projected to achieve a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index of -40. To put that into perspective, a typical new home scores around 100, while a net-zero home rates at 0. The 2026 show home far exceeds both. IBS takes place Feb. 17–19 in Orlando. Register at BuildersShow.com. Vermont Seeks to Address Builders' Top Concerns Vermont Builders and Remodelers Association (VBRA) members stood with Gov. Phil Scott recently as he signed Executive Order No. 06-25, which addresses regulatory barriers, permitting challenges and energy code standards in the state. The executive order offers: Flexibility: Builders can return to using the former 2020 codes when they are more practical and affordable. Clarity: Retroactive coverage resolves uncertainty for projects started since July 2024. Speed: Shorter timelines, concurrent reviews, and deemed approvals reduce permitting delays.
NAHB Promotes NWP Improvements In a recent meeting with officials from EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NAHB urged the agencies to pursue regulatory reforms that would improve the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 permitting program. NAHB asked the agencies to increase nationwide permit acreage eligibility and to raise the thresh- old for mandatory compensatory mitigation. NAHB also asked that they expand the availability and lower the cost of mitigation credits.
Substance Use Issues in Construction Construction workers have nearly two times the rate of substance misuse (15%) as the national average (8.6%) and are more likely to be affected by opioid addiction. The nature of the work, with tight deadlines and physical demands, can lead to self-medication, potentially opening the door to abuse. NAHB and its partners – including SAFE Project, the Job-Site Safety Institute (JSI), Mind- Wise Innovations, and others – have resources to train workers on the risks of substance misuse.
The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 60 for the third quarter, up one point compared to the previous quarter. With the reading of 60, the RMI remains solidly in positive territory above 50, but lower than it had been at any time from 2021 through 2024. The NAHB/Westlake Royal RMI survey asks remodelers to rate five components of the remodeling market as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” Each question is measured on a scale from 0 to 100, where an index number above 50 indicates that a higher share view conditions as good than poor.
Fed Cuts Rates, Future Uncertain With the government shutdown limiting the quantity of economic data available to markets and policymakers, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) enacted a widely anticipated 25 basis-point cut for the short-term federal funds rate. This marks the second consecutive cut this fall, and the move decreases the policy rate to an upper rate of 4.25%. Reflecting that the market anticipated this policy move, long-term rates were relatively unchanged after the FOMC announcement. There were two dissenters to the Oct. 29 decision. Chair Powell noted that there were “strongly differing” views at this meeting with respect to December policy action, with a possibility of no further cuts before the end of the year.
Remodeling Market Sentiment Improves in Q3
Square-Foot Prices by Region Median square-foot prices for new single- family detached (SFD) homes started in 2024 grew modestly, according to NAHB’s analysis of Survey of Construction data. For spec starts, after excluding record-high improved lot values, the median price was $153 per square foot of floor area, inching up from $150 a year earlier. The New England division registered the highest median prices at $282 per square foot. The East South Central region had the lowest median sales price per square foot at $140. For custom, or contractor-built, homes, the median price was $166 per square foot of floor space, up slightly from $162 in 2023.
Report Reveals Economic Impact of Labor Shortage
The skilled labor shortage is responsible for the lost production of thousands of newly built homes, according to the Home Builders Institute’s (HBI’s) Fall 2025 Construction Labor Market Report. Produced by NAHB’s economics team, the report quantifies the size and impact of the skilled labor shortage at $10.8 billion per year. The aggregate annual impact of the skilled labor shortage in the home building sector is $2.663 billion in terms of higher carrying costs and $8.143 billion in terms of lost single-family home building (19,000 homes). Read the report. Other key findings: There are currently 3.3 million payroll residential construction workers. Amid a dramatic slowdown in the job market, home builders and remodelers lost 26,100 jobs over the last 12 months. The percentage of Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) participating in the construction workforce has more than doubled, increasing from 6.4% in 2019 to 14.1% in 2023. The impact of AI on the home building industry is limited but is likely to evolve in the coming years.