Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing weakened significantly in the first quarter of 2020, according to results from the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

In a sign of the growing economic toll from the coronavirus pandemic, total housing starts decreased 30.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 891,000 units, according to a report from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department.

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes increased seven points to 37 in May, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

The National Green Building Standard ensures that homes are healthy, efficient, and sustainable, and is the most utilized third- party residential green building certification program in the United States.

Surging job losses in March stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a decline in U.S. median income and housing affordability in the first quarter of 2020, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.  

Sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 15.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 627,000 units in March, coming off a downward revision in February, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The decline in April was the largest single monthly change in the history of the index and marks the lowest builder confidence reading since June 2012.

In an effort spearheaded by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), 90 companies and organizations called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to designate construction of single-family and multifamily housing as an "Essential Infrastructure Business."

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes edged one point lower to 74 in February, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

San Francisco, which has been the nation's least affordable major housing market for the past two years, was supplanted by Los Angeles in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released on February 13, 2020.