Oklahoma Home Builder News

Save the date! The 2025 Oklahoma Building Summit & Expo will take place on Wednesday, October 1st and Thursday, October 2nd at the Grand Casino Hotel in Shawnee.

Make plans to join us for home building industry news, guest speakers, networking, and much more!

Exhibitors: Don't miss out on the opportunities to show off your products and services at our annual event.

• 1 booth maximum per exhibitor (this is due to space)
• For information about the event and to reserve a booth, please check out this page.

To book a hotel room, follow the instructions below:

Reserve a Room by Phone:
Call the Grand Casino Hotel at 1-405-964-7777- Press 1 for hotel 
Mention your Group Name: OK Home Builders Association 2025

Online Booking:
Go to www.grandresortok.com
Book Now at the upper right corner
Enter Group Offer Code: OKHBA25
Select your Group
Choose your arrival date and Departure Date 
Click "Show Rooms" then Book!

Please help us welcome Ryan Martinez as the new Executive Vice President of the Oklahoma Home Builders Association! 

A passionate and accomplished leader, Ryan has built a reputation for driving both top-line and bottom-line performance across government and private sectors. With extensive experience in corporate leadership, operations management, sales, marketing, business development, and fundraising, Martinez excels in delivering innovative solutions and operational excellence that foster sustainable growth. Known for a forward-thinking approach, Ryan is an expert at transforming organizational vision into tangible results through strategic planning, talent acquisition, client retention, and a strong focus on continuous improvement. 
 
Previously, Ryan served as a State Representative in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, where he led the state's $12B budget negotiations and played a pivotal role in shaping economic policies. His career has been marked by a commitment to stakeholder engagement, ethical leadership, and developing high-performing teams to achieve corporate and public sector objectives.
 
With a proven ability to drive growth, optimize operational efficiency, and build lasting relationships, Ryan is a visionary leader dedicated to achieving success through innovation, strategic alignment, and a focus on operational excellence.

The article below was written by Dr. Robert Dietz, Chief Economist at the National Home Builders Association. 

A slight decline in mortgage rates and limited existing inventory helped new home sales to edge higher in February even as housing affordability challenges continue to act as a strong headwind on the market.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes in February increased 1.8% to a 676,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a revised January number, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales in February was up 5.1% compared to a year earlier.

New home sales have been roughly flat thus far in 2025, as ongoing limited inventory of existing homes in many markets continues to support the need for new homes. Lower mortgage rates helped to lift demand in February, despite other near-term risks such as tariff issues and affordability concerns.

A new home sale occurs when a sales contract is signed, or a deposit is accepted. The home can be in any stage of construction: not yet started, under construction or completed. In addition to adjusting for seasonal effects, the February reading of 676,000 units is the number of homes that would sell if this pace continued for the next 12 months.

New single-family home inventory in February continued to rise to a level of 500,000, up 7.5% compared to a year earlier. This represents an 8.9 months’ supply at the current building pace. The count of completed, ready-to-occupy homes available for sale increased again, rising to 119,000, up 35% from a year ago and marking the highest count since mid-2009. 

However, after accounting for a low 3.4 months’ supply for the existing single-family market, total market inventory (new and existing homes) stands at a lean 4.2 months’ supply per NAHB estimates. A balanced market is typically defined as a 6 month’s supply.

The median new home sale price in February was $414,500, down 1.5% from a year ago. The count of sales was supported by a gain of transactions priced between $300,000 and $400,000 in February.

Regionally, on a year-to-date basis, new home sales are up 12.4% in the South but down 6.7% in the West, 13.5% in the Midwest and 50.8% in the Northeast.

The article below was written by Dr. Robert Dietz, Chief Economist at the National Home Builders Association. 
 
The uncertain timing and scale of tariffs, combined with the last legs of the fight against inflation, have rattled financial markets. Equity markets are in correction territory as investors react to a flurry of public finance proposals, including the largest proposed tariff hikes since World War II. However, improved clarity is on the way, as President Trump indicated that details concerning reciprocal tariffs will be announced on April 2.
 
Moreover, efforts to extend the 2017 tax cuts are well underway on Capitol Hill, and the administration has made moves to reform burdensome regulatory rules, including FHA-financing related energy code requirements and the waters of the United States rule. These are positive developments for the housing outlook.
 
As a result of these crosswinds, bond markets are in a holding pattern. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remains near 6.6% and the Federal Reserve is expected to hold its policy rate constant after its March meeting. 
 
The policy uncertainty is having an impact on the residential construction sector. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 39 in March, down three points from February and the lowest level in seven months, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). A special question for the March HMI revealed that builders estimate the recent tariff actions will have an average cost impact of $9,200 per home. Uncertainty on policy is also having a negative impact on home buyers and development decisions. However, builders have long-run faith in the market, as the component measuring sales expectations in the next six months held steady at 47.
 
For the overall economy, progress on inflation remains limited. Inflation slowed to a three-month low in February, with decreases for airfares and gasoline partially offsetting shelter increases. Despite the easing, the report does not capture upcoming tariff impacts. Meanwhile, housing drove nearly half of February’s inflation increase and remains higher than the 2019 pre-pandemic average of 3.4%. However, housing continues to show signs of cooling — the year-over-year change in the shelter index remained below 5% for the sixth straight month and posted its lowest annual gain since December 2021. 
 
Progress on housing inflation is directly tied to construction costs. Prices for inputs to new residential construction — excluding capital investment, labor, and imports — were up 0.5% in February, according to the most recent Producer Price Index report. Softwood lumber prices were 11.7% higher compared to one year ago, with tariffs threatening additional cost increases.
 
Such cost increases would make the current housing affordability situation worse. New NAHB analysis indicates that 100.6 million households are priced out of the market, even before accounting for further increases in home prices or interest rates. A $1,000 increase in the median price of new homes would price an additional 115,593 households out of the market.
 
Cost increases also affect the remodeling market, which NAHB forecasts should otherwise experience significant growth in the years ahead. In fact, new NAHB analysis finds that in 2023, nearly 6.45 million homes (around 5% of the U.S. housing stock) were classified as inadequate according to the American Housing Survey. Of these, 1.65 million homes were classified as severely inadequate, showing significant concerns over housing quality. While this reveals ongoing issues in the nation’s housing conditions, it signals probable market growth for remodeling and home improvements in the year ahead.

The article below was written by Dr. Robert Dietz, Chief Economist at the National Home Builders Association. 

The 2024 election offers both upside and downside risks for housing and home building, given both the scale and scope of policy change now underway in Washington, D.C. Regulatory reform and cost reduction offer the most upside risk for the persistent problems that plague the housing market, namely growing construction costs and poor housing affordability due to limited inventory. Extension of the 2017 tax cuts would also be a net positive for home builders and remodelers. 
 
However, negative risks for residential construction include tariffs on imported building materials, concerns regarding immigration and workforce availability, and general policy uncertainty given the daily headlines of proposals and executive orders. The bond market also has long-run concerns over inflation and long-term government deficits
 
As a result, home builder sentiment fell after a post-election gain. The NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI was 42 in February, down five points from January and the lowest level in five months. While builders hold out hope for pro-development policies, particularly for regulatory reform, policy uncertainty and cost factors created a reset for builders’ 2025 outlook. Uncertainty on the tariff front helped push builders’ expectations for future sales volume down to the lowest level since December 2023.
 
Similarly, the NAHB Multifamily Production Index (MPI) remains below the break-even level of 50, although it did show signs of improvement at the end of 2024 by increasing seven points to a level of 48. The MPI is pointing to eventual stabilization of the multifamily construction market in 2025.
 
Reflecting the sentiment indicators, single-family starts in January decreased 8.4% to a 993,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate; 1.8% lower than a year ago. Multifamily starts decreased 13.5% to an annualized 373,000 pace. There were 669,000 multifamily completions in January, up 11% from January 2024. For each apartment starting construction, there are 1.8 apartments completing the construction process.
 
Higher construction financing costs and elevated mortgage interest rates continue to hold back the housing market, and the future of interest rates will depend on inflation data and policy change. During the past 12 months, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index rose by 3.0% in January. This was higher than the 2.9% rate recorded in December and is a warning that policies that increase costs on the supply side of the market, like tariffs, may push inflation higher in 2025 and keep the Federal Reserve on an extended hold.

The article below was written by Dr. Robert Dietz, National Home Builders Association Chief Economist. 

Despite ongoing easing of short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve, long-term interest rates remain in the same range they have been in for the last two years. Frustratingly, the 10-year Treasury rate began the week at 4.6%, about 100 basis points above NAHB's forecast from a year ago. With the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now near 6.9%, interest rates for home buyers are back to levels from last July but remain below October 2023 cycle peaks. 
 
The rise in long-term rates has been driven by bond market concerns rather than monetary policy. After cutting the federal funds rate by 25 basis points in December, the Fed's policy rate target is now 75 basis points off the cycle high. Long-term interest rates have been driven higher because of improved economic growth prospects (a positive) as well as concerns over tariffs, a tight labor market and a potential increase to the federal deficit — all post-election changes for the economic outlook. Indeed, the Fed is projecting just two rate cuts for 2025, compared to earlier projections of four rate cuts, with a terminal rate for this cycle at 3.25% in 2026. The central bank also lifted its inflation forecast for 2025 to 2.5% (up from 2.1%), reflecting an even slower path back to its inflation target of 2.0%.
 
Amid these financial challenges, builder sentiment in December, as measured by the NAHB/HMI Housing Market Index (HMI), held steady at a level of 46. Nonetheless, builders remain confident that the positive factors of the outlook, including expectations for an improved regulatory environment and faster economic growth, will help spur the industry in 2025. As a reflection of that sentiment, the future sales component of the HMI increased three points in December — the highest reading since April 2022.
 
In November, single-family starts increased to a 1.01 million annual rate, rising 6.4% from the month prior and up 7.2% on a year-to-date basis. Multifamily construction slowed 23% in November to a 278,000 annual rate, with apartment construction on a path to be down almost 30% for the 2024 data. 
 
In addition to elevated interest rates and a multi-decade low for housing affordability, inventory is rising and becoming a concern in some local markets. However, on a national level, inventory remains below historical norms. The 8.9-month supply of new construction combined with a 3.8-month supply for single-family resale homes yields a still-low total of a 4.5-month supply of all for-sale housing. While inventory is expected to rise in 2025, solid economic growth and a positive labor market should support demand for housing.