NAHB Mourns Passing of Former Staff Member Gopal Ahluwalia

Economics
Published

NAHB mourns the passing of Gopal Ahluwalia, a longtime NAHB staff member, on March 3. He was 94.

Ahluwalia served as vice president of research of NAHB for 32 years, overseeing the research, analytical and data needs of the association. He was responsible for the planning, development and analysis of the large volume of data that the organization collected from both primary and secondary sources. He also tracked trends in design, features, products and layout of new homes, as well as smart growth, environmental issues, green building, construction cost, cost of regulations and impact fees.

He continued in the field of home building research after leaving the NAHB, and lent his expertise to many publications and private companies as the owner of GBA Research and Consulting.

“Gopal was a much sought-after industry expert on housing and home building for decades,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “His residential construction research affected millions in terms of home design and the construction plans of NAHB members across the nation.”

“Gopal shared his wisdom and experience enthusiastically, mentoring many of us at the start of our careers,” said Rose Quint, NAHB assistant vice president of survey research. “On our behalf, thank you.”

Ahluwalia lived in Potomac, MD, and is survived by his wife, Brij; his son, Amit, and his wife, Seema; his daughter, Amrita, and her husband, Rudra Rai; and his grandchildren — Mira, Sachi, Neil, Devan, Dev and Leena.

Services will be held Friday and Saturday.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Economics
Aug 17, 2026
Affordability Pressures Keep Builder Confidence Low

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes inched up one point to 35 in August, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today.

Regulations | Environmental Issues
Aug 14, 2026
Administration Acts on 3 Key NAHB Deregulatory Priorities

Two regulations will become effective under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Aug. 20, and a third final rule rescinding the ESA’s 45-year-old “harm” regulatory definition becomes effective next month.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics
Aug 17, 2026
Consumer Credit Slowed in Q2

In the second quarter of 2026, consumer credit growth slowed over the quarter and was lower than a year ago. According to the Federal Reserve’s G.19 Consumer Credit Report, total outstanding U.S. consumer credit reached $5.17 trillion in the second quarter of 2026.

Economics
Aug 17, 2026
Affordability Pressures Keep Builder Confidence Low

Builder sentiment remains muted from economic and geopolitical uncertainty, elevated mortgage rates and rising construction costs.

Economics
Aug 14, 2026
Single-Family Permitting Declines Through June in Contrast to Multifamily

Single-family permitting activity continued to weaken through the first half of 2026, while multifamily permitting remained somewhat stronger compared with the same period last year.