The residential real estate market has been booming during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more buyers looking for homes and competing for unusually low levels of inventory. With new supply desperately needed, the market currently presents enormous opportunities for builders and…
With red-hot demand for residential construction nationwide, many builders are struggling to find the professionals they need to keep up. One recent forecast from a national trade association estimated that an additional 430,000 construction professionals will be needed in the…
The construction industry took a huge hit in 2020 due to pandemic-induced shutdowns and work stoppages. While construction is now booming in many cities across the country due to pent-up demand for new homes and low interest rates, construction employment…
While the potential for trillions of dollars of new infrastructure spending looms on the horizon, America’s construction industry is struggling to even keep pace with current demand for new homes, businesses, roads, and bridges. A shortage of supplies and employees…
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, America’s housing boom has surged to new heights thanks to a combination of factors that homebuyers haven’t experienced since before the housing bubble more than a dozen years ago. To begin with, fall…
As the U.S. begins to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and work towards economic recovery, one of the major economic issues to watch in the months and years ahead is housing. The pandemic has in some ways increased economic inequality,…
Although interest rates have inched up recently, they remain at historic lows, spurring demand in both home purchases and mortgage refinancing. However, many lenders have tightened up their borrowing standards due to the economic uncertainty of the pandemic, and hopeful…
One of the concepts that the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the forefront of the public imagination is the idea of an “essential worker.” The pandemic highlighted that many professions are critical for allowing the rest of the economy and society…
While COVID-19 has been detrimental to many American families, it has helped solidify the financial footing of others. With less money being spent on expenses like travel, commuting, or eating out, household savings rates rose to record levels in 2020.…
Small business is often held up as a key driver of the U.S. economy, and for good reason. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses account for 64 percent of net private-sector jobs created since 2005. Collectively, small…
One of the surprising trends in the U.S. rental market in recent years has been the emergence of Baby Boomers as a major source of demand. For many, the view of a typical renter is a young person, living on…
The United States has long been a mobile nation. Throughout America’s earliest days as a colonial outpost, the exploration of the frontier, the urbanization of industrial cities, and the postwar suburban boom, the freedom to venture out in search of…
The construction industry is struggling to attract young workers, contributing to a persistent labor shortage. Demand for new home construction continues to be high, and many construction companies are unable to find the workers needed in order to meet demand.…
The COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for the largest wave of job losses since the Great Depression. The mass layoffs caused by social distancing regulations have brought new meaning to the term “essential worker.” Today’s essential workers often hold some of the…