Industry News
December 7, 2010
America’s 10 largest publicly traded home builders have started to improve their policies and practices relating to the environment and resources, but much progress remains to be achieved, according to a new study by Calvert Investments, a...
December 6, 2010
The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) submitted a letter to the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, which has called a hearing on regulatory issues small business face. The letter centers on the U.S....
December 6, 2010
Andersen Corporation CEO Jim Humphrey will retire from active management on March 31, 2011 and will be succeeded as CEO by Jay Lund.
December 3, 2010
Beazer Homes has agreed today to pay a $925,000 civil penalty to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations at its construction sites in 21 states, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced. As part of the...
December 2, 2010
The Pending Home Sales Index rose to 89.3 in October, a 10.4 percent gain over the previous month, according to the National Association of Realtors. The index, which is based on contracts during October, remained 20.5 percent lower than in October...
December 1, 2010
Consumer confidence in the U.S. increased in November, rising to its highest level in five months. The Conference Board’s sentiment index rose to 54.1, exceeding estimates by a Bloomberg survey of economists that it would increase to 53. Meanwhile,...
December 1, 2010
The U.S. housing industry is likely to see increased demand for rental properties, according to the latest Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, which collected data from 3,417 households. For the first time in the survey’s history, delinquent...
November 30, 2010
The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes showed that home prices went down between August and September, and that third quarter prices also were down, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The indexes also indicated that the rate of...
November 29, 2010
A survey by Fannie Mae showed that Americans' confidence in the housing market dropped during the third quarter of 2010. The survey, which polled 3,417 households in July, August, and September, indicated that 85 percent think it is a bad time to...
November 29, 2010
The number of homes listed for sale declined in October, the first time that has happened in nine months, The Wall Street Journal reported. In 26 major U.S. markets, the housing supply fell by an average of 3.3 percent. Inventories usually increase...
November 28, 2010
Underwriters’ Laboratories Environment has published one of its first green building product standards, ULE ISR 100, for gypsum wall board and panels. USG was the first company to earn Gold level certification under the new standard for its...
November 28, 2010
For the seventh straight quarter, housing affordability hovered around its highest level in decades, HousingPredictor.com reported. In the third quarter, 71.1 percent of all homes sold were affordable for families earning the median income of $64,...
November 28, 2010
More than 7 million mortgages in the United States are either at least 30 days past due or in the process of foreclosure, according to Lender Processing Service. Although the delinquency rate essentially remained the same, foreclosures are on the...
November 25, 2010
Do you have an “up-and-comer” on your Home Building or Remodeling Team? Professional Builder and Professional Remodeler magazines are teaming up to launch the first annual “40 Under 40 in Residential Construction” awards program, honoring “hotshots...
November 24, 2010
The U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported today that new single-family home sales October were down 8.1 percent, to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 283,000, from the previous month. This rate was 28.5 percent...
November 23, 2010
Existing home sales went down 2.2 percent in October, dropping to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.43 million, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales went down 25.9 percent compared to October 2009, when home sales were high...
November 22, 2010
The housing market’s “shadow inventory”—unlisted bank-owned homes and potential foreclosures—rose compared to 2009, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. A report by CoreLogic, a real estate research firm,...
November 19, 2010
The North Carolina chapter of Our Towns Habitat for Humanity has built the organization’s first LEED-certified green home, according to The Charlotte Observer.
The home was built for Wendy Roberson, a divorced single mother of two who couldn’t...
November 19, 2010
While the vast majority of consumers believe living in a green home would be affordable, only those in the high-income bracket are likely to say it would be an affordable purchase, according to a survey of consumers by Whirlpool and Habitat for...
November 19, 2010
Rates on home mortgages climbed this past week, causing mortgage applications to plummet, according to HousingPredictor.com. The average rate on a fixed 30-year mortgage climbed to 4.46 percent, showing that the foreclosure moratoriums enacted by...
