All Articles Tagged Builders

Daryl Delano | 04/24 10:09 AM, 0 Comments

Home sales have steadily improved during the past year as a host of general economic indicators (the unemployment rate, business investment, consumer confidence) have turned more positive at the same time that mortgage interest rates have remained at or near historic lows. The U.S. Commerce Department reports that sales of new single-family homes increased (after seasonal adjustment) 1.5 percent between February and March.  More significantly, total sales through the first three months of 2013 were 19.6 percent greater than the total recorded during the first quarter of 2012. The sales… View this story

Daryl Delano | 04/22 08:32 AM, 1 Comment

With momentum in both new construction and home sales continuing to build this spring, we now have confirmation that remodeling activity is trending much stronger than its year-ago level, as well. The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) earlier this week continues to show a strong rebound in home improvement activity during 2013. The JCHS report documented robust spending throughout the fall of last year, and a plateauing of spending gains between the final quarter of 2012 and the early months… View this story

Daryl Delano | 04/09 05:40 AM, 0 Comments

Home sales have been steadily improving throughout most of the past year, aided by mortgage interest rates that have remained near historic lows, as well as by (relatively) affordable prices in most markets. Demand has built as employment growth has accelerated, and the unemployment rate has steadily, albeit slowly, eased.  However, a combination of factors has limited the amount of for-sale inventory available for the consideration of prospective home buyers, and therefore home sales have grown at only about half the rate of housing starts so far in 2013.  Sales… View this story

Daryl Delano | 04/05 06:36 AM, 0 Comments

U.S. Commerce Department data for the first two months of 2013 show a continuation of the strong housing market recovery momentum that steadily built as we moved through 2012. Over the first two months of 2013, total housing starts were running 26 percent above the total recorded during the same period of 2012. Starts of single-family homes in 2013 are up 24 percent compared to this time in 2012. Single-family starts grew by 24.1 percent between 2011 and 2012, following steep declines in four of the previous five years. Starts… View this story

Marek Robinson | 04/04 09:18 AM, 1 Comment

Amid the backdrop of wildly unpredictable indicators that define the current economic atmosphere, most experts can agree on one thing: The housing market is slowly but steadily rebounding. But while homebuyers are returning, they are wading back into the water carefully, not diving headfirst. Even people who are buying upscale homes are weighing their options very carefully. The market for home automation technology is one of the best examples of this trend. High-end packages that enable whole-home entertainment and are priced into the tens of thousands of dollars draw plenty… View this story

Jason Knott | 03/21 08:04 AM, 0 Comments

A recent study from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shows variations in home buyer preferences with regards to home size when it comes to age, race and ethnicity. In a nutshell, NAHB’s “What Home Buyers Really Want” reveals African-Americans under the age of 35 are the ideal demographic for larger homes in terms of desired needs. The study raises an interesting question: Should that particular demographic be more of a target audience for technologies designed to be particularly helpful for occupants in large homes - like wireless networks,… View this story

CE Pro Editors | 03/19 01:42 PM, 0 Comments

Nationwide housing production edged up 0.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 917,000 units in February 2013, according to newly released figures (pdf) from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. This slight upward movement represented gains in both the single-family and multifamily sectors, with single-family housing starts reaching their fastest pace since June of 2008. “Demand for new homes and apartments is definitely rising as the spring buying season approaches and more young people move out on their own,” says Rick Judson, chairman of the National Association of… View this story

Eli Citrom | 03/13 07:20 AM, 2 Comments

As owner of Los Angeles-based Citrom Home Automation, a small company doing custom installation and programming of motorized shades and lighting systems for the high-end custom home market and having 27 years of electrical experience, I believe entry-level home automation is becoming the way of the future. As we see technology advance, it’s very clear smart homes are the way of the future if not for ease and convenience, certainly for energy cost savings and greater efficiency. Surprisingly, there are many builders who have not yet “bought into” the smart… View this story

CE Pro Editors | 02/26 11:53 AM, 0 Comments

Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 15.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 437,000 units in January, according to figures released today by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Those sales mark the highest monthly total since July of 2008 — just before the economy plunged into recession. Officials from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) declared the figures proof that the housing market is regaining its health. “The surge in demand for new homes this January is an excellent… View this story

CE Pro Editors | 02/12 09:13 AM, 0 Comments

EH Publishing, producers of the new CE Exchange event and providers of original and compiled market intelligence through its EH Research division, published its first report on construction and economic activity in the East, covering state and metropolitan area level information in New England, the Middle Atlantic and Upper South Atlantic. The report captures housing permit and employment trends for the full year of 2012, with highlights such as more than 50 percent growth in permits in the Greater Boston metro, a better of doubling of permits in the Bridgeport,… View this story