WASHINGTON (RFD-TV) — U.S. housing construction slowed in the second quarter of 2025, with single-family permits declining in nearly every region, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
Large metro areas posted the sharpest decline at 3.8 percent, while rural “micro counties” bucked the trend, recording a 1.8 percent increase — their fifth straight quarter of growth. Collectively, less densely populated regions captured just over 50 percent of the single-family market share, their highest level since early 2023.
NAHB leaders cite high mortgage rates, labor shortages, and regulatory costs as barriers to new single-family construction. At the same time, multifamily construction has expanded in smaller and rural counties, benefiting from lower land costs and lighter regulations.
Small metro outlying areas led with a 22 percent gain in multifamily permits, while large metro cores posted their ninth consecutive quarterly decline.
Tony’s Farm-Level Takeaway: While big-city housing starts are slowing, rural and small-market counties are gaining share in both single- and multifamily construction. For rural communities, this shift could mean new housing options for farmworkers and young families priced out of metro markets.
The spending bill keeps animal health and traceability funding in place while trimming several other USDA accounts.
The question of whether a traditional, multi-year Farm Bill is a constitutional necessity or merely an outdated artifact of legislative compromise — as opposed to a model of targeted reconciliation and ad hoc assistance — is one of the most critical debates in current agricultural policy.
Farmers still earn only a small share of consumer food spending, even as post-farm costs continue to take most of the dollar.
NRECA CEO Jim Matheson joins us to discuss rural electric co-ops’ push for expanded USDA loan programs, rising energy demand from data center expansion, wildfire mitigation and other policy priorities impacting rural power infrastructure.
