The final estimates of first quarter GDP growth were released with housing’s share of gross domestic product increasing slightly to 15.4 percent. The home building and remodeling component as a share of GDP also increased to 3.4 percent, NAHB’s Eye on Housing blog reports.
Housing related activities contribute to the GDP through residential fixed investment (RFI) and through the measure of housing services, which includes gross rents paid by renters (including utilities), and owners’ imputed rent and utility payments.
RFI, which is basically a measure of the homebuilding, multifamily development, and remodeling contributions to GDP, was 3.4 percent of the economy for the first quarter. This is the highest quarterly rate for RFI in more than 8 years. Housing services accounted for 12.0 percent of the economy, or $1.98 trillion.
Since the Great Recession, RFI and combined housing have grown by 31 percent and 17 percent respectively and have drawn closer to their 35-year averages of 4.7 percent (RFI) and 13.3 percent (housing services).
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