Americans file more unemployment claims
Jobless claims trudged up to their highest level since June, according to this week’s report from the U.S. Department of Labor.
There were 235,000 initial unemployment claims for the week that ended Aug. 16, up 11,000 from the preceding week’s unrevised tally.
The figures were released as some economists expressed concerns over a cooling U.S. labor market in which layoffs aren’t skyrocketing, but it’s harder to find jobs. The number of Americans collecting unemployment insurance hit 1.972 million based on the seasonally adjusted figure, its highest level since November 2021.
Prices of K Hovnanian Homes decline 4%
The average price of houses K. Hovnanian Homes built is down 4.3% compared to this time last year, the builder told investors on its earnings call Thursday.
The average sales contract price as of July 31 was $534,497, according to the builder.
Many homebuilders have reported taking a market-by-market approach to home cost cuts and increases. K. Hovnanian has done the same. The builder has increased prices in 21% of its communities — the ones in better-performing markets: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, CEO Ara K. Hovnanian said on the call. The New Jersey-based company made price cuts in struggling markets like Florida and Texas.
For some builders, mortgage rate buydowns have helped draw buyers. K. Hovnanian reported that 75% of its homebuyers used a mortgage rate buydown in the third quarter, and the company forecast calls for more of the same.
“The buydown usage in our deliveries indicates that buyers continue to rely on these rate buydowns to combat affordability at the current mortgage rates,” said Hovnanian.
Entry-level, lower-priced homes saw the most challenges compared to pricier active-adult and move-up properties, Hovnanian said. To be sure, entry-level buyers feel the pinch of high mortgage rates and affordability more than other home shoppers.
K. Hovnanian is the 17th-largest builder in the country by volume, according to data from trade publication Pro Builder. The homebuilder sold 6,151 homes in 2024. It has 192 active communities in 46 markets, according to Homes.com.
Custom-home starts are up 4%
Interest rates are high and tariff-fueled construction material prices are following suit, but custom home building is on the uptick.
In the second quarter of 2025, custom home building starts expanded by 4% to reach a total of 54,000 projects, according to an analysis the National Association of Home Builders released Wednesday. The Washington, D.C.-headquartered trade group has observed that growth over the past four quarters, which saw custom house starts up 2% to 184,000 residences.
Despite that growth, the segment still has ground to recover: Custom homes starts represented 19% of single-family construction in the second quarter. That’s far from its share in 2009 (31.5%), when production building tumbled amid the Great Recession, and in 2023 (21%).
“The custom-building market is less sensitive to the interest rate cycle than other forms of home building but is more sensitive to changes in household wealth and stock prices,” Robert Dietz, NAHB chief economist, wrote in a post for its Eye on Housing blog. “With spec home building down and the stock market up, custom building is gaining market share.”
Architects face another month of weak billing
Despite seeing positive interest in new projects, architecture firms across the United States still struggle to land contracts amid a soft economic environment, according to a report from the American Institute of Architects.
The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billing Index, which tracks the number of invoices studios send to clients, sank to 46.2 in July. Any figure under 50 indicates a decline in billings. July’s soft figure continued a trend in billings that “have been negative for 31 of the last 34 months,” the Washington, D.C.-based trade group said in a press release accompanying the data.
"Business conditions remain challenging for architecture firms nationwide, with billings declining across all regions in July," Kermit Baker, AIA’s chief economist, said in a statement. "Client inquiries into new projects continue to build. Still, while commercial and institutional sectors show some signs of stability, the multifamily residential sector is still facing significant headwinds."
