NAHB / Eye on Housing

U.S. pro-homebuilding industry (center-right trade association)

Background

NAHB was founded in 1942 to represent U.S. home builders during World War II, then expanded rapidly after the war to address surging housing demand from returning veterans. Today it is one of the largest trade associations in the country, with more than 140,000 members drawn from homebuilding, remodeling, multifamily construction, and related fields; NAHB members build roughly 80% of new U.S. homes each year. Eye on Housing operates as NAHB's economics blog at eyeonhousing.org, staffed by the association's in-house economists who publish housing construction data, home sales analysis, affordability indices, and federal policy commentary — updated almost daily. Because it is produced by association staff rather than independent journalists, and carries no advertising, the blog functions as an advocacy and communications tool for NAHB's industry positions, not as a news outlet with editorial separation. As a 501(c)(6), NAHB's primary purpose is lobbying Congress and federal agencies on behalf of the building industry; it operates BUILD-PAC, a political action committee that funds pro-housing candidates in both parties, though historical contribution cycles have leaned more heavily toward Republicans. In the Trump administration's second term, NAHB publicly commended executive orders on housing issued in January 2025 and March 2026, framing them as steps to cut regulatory barriers and ease the affordability crisis. At the same time, NAHB has been a consistent industry critic of Trump's tariff policies — estimating lumber tariffs add thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home — and has documented how immigration enforcement is squeezing a construction labor force that is roughly one-third immigrant.

Sources

1. NAHB History and Values
2. National Association of Home Builders – Wikipedia
3. Eye on Housing (eyeonhousing.org)
4. How the National Association of Home Builders Spends Revenue – Paddock Post
5. NAHB – Nonprofit Explorer, ProPublica
6. NAHB Commends President Trump's Executive Orders on Housing (March 2026)
7. NAHB Promotes Key Housing Priorities to Incoming Trump Administration (January 2025)
8. National Assn of Home Builders – OpenSecrets PAC Profile
9. BUILD-PAC | NAHB

Profile compiled 2026-07-20; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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