Residential Building Contractors NAICS 2361

Jan 17, 2026 - New Home Sales Dip Slightly

• New single-family home sales fell 0.1% month-over-month but were up 18.7% year-over-year in October 2025, according to the US Census Bureau. The October new home sales data was delayed due to the 43-day government shutdown. October's total new home sales reached 737,000 units, following two previous months of gains. Some industry watchers suggest that while mortgage rates gradually inched lower throughout 2025, they are likely to remain elevated, Reuters reports. Mortgage rates closely track the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, which is under upward pressure from the federal deficit and above-target inflation. There are emerging signals that labor-market concerns are weighing on new-home purchase demand.
• President Trump’s Federal Housing Finance Agency director, Bill Pulte, is pressuring major home builders to curb stock buybacks and redirect capital toward lowering housing costs, according to The Wall Street Journal. The move signals that penalties could follow if companies fail to support the administration’s affordability agenda. Pulte argued that builders have kept prices high while spending billions on repurchases, and he warned that access to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s liquidity should not “fund buybacks at the expense of Americans who need to get in homes.” While builders defend buybacks as efficient capital returns, Pulte has urged them privately to build more homes and cut prices, underscoring rising political scrutiny of an industry that has posted record profits.

• The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) reading for the fourth quarter of 2025 was 64, up four points from the previous quarter, according to a January 2026 report by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Any RMI reading over 50 indicates that most remodelers feel market conditions are good. In the fourth quarter, the Current Conditions Index portion of the RMI rose three points to 71 compared to Q3 2025. The Future Indicators Index component of the RMI increased by four points to 56. While aging US housing stock, strong homeowner equity, and the aging-in-place trend kept the RMI solidly in positive territory in Q4 2025, the NAHB noted that high building costs and waning consumer confidence continue to pose challenges to the remodeling industry.
• Private fixed investment in student dormitories rose 3.8% in the third quarter of 2025 to a $3.9 billion annual rate, according to US Bureau of Economic Analysis data and Reporting by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The third-quarter 2025 growth followed three straight quarterly declines, but it was still 5.5% below year-ago levels as high interest rates weigh on construction. The sector, which surged after the Great Recession alongside rising college enrollment, saw steep declines during the pandemic as enrollment dropped and projects stalled. Investment has since recovered as students return to campuses, though long-term growth is expected to moderate as the college-age population expands more slowly. Federal projections show postsecondary enrollment rising just 8% from 2020 to 2030, far below the rapid gains of the 2000s. Even so, improving enrollment trends and the need for in-person learning are supporting a gradual revival in student housing construction, with expectations of continued, but measured, growth.