Jim Haughey's blog has moved to Market Insights, Reed Construction Data's economics community. Jim continues to discuss how current developments in construction markets and the ecomony will bring opportunities and challenges for designers, contractors, and materials and services providers. Feedback and questions from readers are highly encouraged. Click here for Notes from Jim Haughey en-us http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141.html?nid=3649 Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information. Subject to its Terms of Use Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:31:36 PST http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/880016888.html?nid=3649 166,000 more jobs in October is more evidence that Main Street is paying little attention to Wall Street. After a two month pause, hiring has picke... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/30016803.html?nid=3649 GDP grew at a 3.9% pace in the summer quarter but the underlying growth trend through next year remains at 2.5%. While subpar, this is enough to ke... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/1360016736.html?nid=3649 The price of crude oil has been labeled overpriced in economic models for several years with quick, substantial declines predicted. However, ... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/1220016322.html?nid=3649 There is important site planning information for homebuilders and developers in how different towns and neighborhoods are faring during the steep, ... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/1980016198.html?nid=3649 Four months after it became clear that subprime and Alt A residential mortgages were not worth as much holders paid for them, the financial markets... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/1360015936.html?nid=3649 Proposals to cushion the consequences of the housing collapse on financially distressed homeowners have moved to the top of the policy debate in Co... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/850015685.html?nid=3649 The commercial real estate market has yet to fully recover from the suddenly higher cost and reduced availability of funds for commercial mortgages... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/930015493.html?nid=3649 The economic environment for construction over the next year got a big boost when the Labor Department added 93,000 jobs to the August job count by... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/1410015341.html?nid=3649 Expect ugly housing market reports for September when the data begin to appear in a few weeks. The peak impact of the collapse of the residential s... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/850014885.html?nid=3649 The surprise strike by the UAW against General Motors on September 24th is a “meow” compared the lion’s roar of national strikes ... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/1650014165.html?nid=3649 The 4,000 job loss reported for August is bad news for the next year, whether it is sustained in the next Jobs report on October 5th or revised awa... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/730013673.html?nid=3649 July’s 2.8% rise in new home sales to an 870,000 annual rate provided a morsel of relief to beleaguered homebuilders. Unfortunately it is not... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/1640013564.html?nid=3649 First, the subprime mortgage crisis appears not to have caused an extended credit crunch thanks to quick, aggressive action by the Federal Reserve ... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/200013020.html?nid=3649 Financial markets remain in turmoil around the world as the fallout from the US subprime mess spreads. This is now the biggest risk to the investme... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/250012625.html?nid=3649 There were two tidbits of good news for homebuilders and their suppliers in the June report on existing home sales even though the annual sales pac... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/1700012170.html?nid=3649 Another bubble is heading for a big pop or at least a period of loud leaking. It is the Chinese economy which has become dominant variable in the w... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/350012035.html?nid=3649 Construction materials production increased 1.0% in June, the fourth consecutive monthly increase. Production is still 2% below peak production in ... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/1000011900.html?nid=3649 Highway construction will drop sharply unless Congress quickly finds more money for the Highway Trust Fund. The first cutbacks could happen latter ... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/1890011789.html?nid=3649 The reports over the last year on construction employment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics are not consistent with the reports on construction s... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/1450011145.html?nid=3649 State tax receipts in the Northeast, the Carolinas, the northern Rocky Mountains, Texas and Alaska grew strongly over the past year, putting these ... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/40011004.html?nid=3649 Housing starts dropped 32,000 in May to 1.474 million and April’s total was revised down 22,000. This confirms that the lingering weakness in... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/1150010915.html?nid=3649 Large homebuilders and their suppliers are scrambling to find a way, anyway, to boost their volume. They got a good run from nontraditional mortgag... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/660010666.html?nid=3649 Michigan has spiraled downward into recession over the last three years while the rest of the country has prospered. What went wrong? What can fix ... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/1310010531.html?nid=3649 The 2004-06 housing boom was heavily driven by a huge inflow of foreign immigrants into a small number of cities. The subsequent collapse of the ho... http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/blog/1410000141/post/330010433.html?nid=3649 The remarkable turnabout in California state finances in the last three years has not led to the increase in public construction spending in Califo...