CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Persistent affordability challenges and rising economic uncertainty are squeezing housing conditions, with weakening labor markets and plummeting immigration dampening household growth, according to a new report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. The State of the Nation’s Housing 2026 report also finds that construction activity has softened, cost burdens for both renters and homeowners continue to climb, and federal assistance is profoundly underfunded.

Associated Builders and Contractors reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to 9.1 months in May, according to an ABC member survey conducted May 20 to June 3. The reading is up 0.3 months from April and 0.7 months from May 2025.

Overall housing starts decreased 15.4% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.18 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell two points to 35 in June, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the 14th straight month that sentiment has remained below 40, a streak not seen since 2011-2012 during the foreclosure crisis.

This bipartisan legislation provides incentives for the use of mass timber building materials in federal contracting, giving timber and other forest products companies the ability to compete for construction, renovation, or acquisition of public buildings, and for military construction.

Wholesale prices of goods used in residential construction rose in May as energy prices continued to climb. In May, residential building material prices, excluding energy, rose at their highest yearly rate since January 2023, as prices were up 4.4% from a year ago and up 0.7% over the month. Meanwhile, prices for services rose 4.7% over the year, but were unchanged from the previous month.

C&C Forest Products announced it is investing over $21 million to rebuild its Coushatta sawmill following a 2025 fire, repositioning the facility as a more efficient, cost-competitive specialty lumber and timber operation. The company is expected to create 77 direct new jobs with an average annual salary of $65,260, which is 34% above the average Red River Parish wage, while retaining 27 current positions.

The construction industry had 259,000 job openings on the last day of April, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting.

By the Numbers is a monthly column providing facts and figures on the woodworking industry. By the Numbers is sponsored by IMA Schelling Group. 

New residential furniture orders rose 1% in March compared to the previous month, but were down 2% compared to March 2025's numbers, according to the May issue of Furniture Insights. Approximately 60% of participants reported increases versus decreases in March compared to a year ago.