Home builders across the country are prioritizing high-performance building practices in their projects, regardless if they consider the home they are building to be green, according to new research published in the 2020 Green Single Family and Multifamily Homes SmartMarket Brief.

The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 58 in the fourth quarter of 2019, up three points from the previous quarter.

Single-family starts should continue on a gradual, upward trajectory in 2020, fueled by solid job growth and low mortgage rates that will keep demand firm.

National spending for improvements and repairs on owner-occupied homes is expected to rise only modestly this year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA).

Total housing starts increased 3.2% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.37 million units.

Greg Ugalde, chairman of the NAHB, issued a statement after an agreement was reached on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

The majority of housing production in the nation is occurring in counties with the greatest concentration of millennials.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes decreased 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 733,000 units in October.

Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing weakened slightly in the third quarter.

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes edged one point lower to 70 in November.