Big BuilderHome Building Industry News and Archive Information

June 18, 2013

Total Permits up 29%

California, Florida, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina and Georgia show biggest gains. Multifamily permits also are up across all regions. For more in-depth new-home data from Metrostudy, a sister company of Builder, click here. Read More
- Business
June 18, 2013

Homebuilder Confidence Soars

For the first time in seven years, most U.S. homebuilders are optimistic about sales, a sign that construction could help drive stronger economic growth. Read More
- Business
June 18, 2013

Apps to be good: job site math adds up

Ditch your handheld calculator for one of these mobile apps for all of your jobsite calculations. Read More
- Construction
June 18, 2013

Multifamily projects spur housing starts, as single-family builders pace lot releases

Start, permits and completions for May are out this morning from the Census Bureau. We feature Calculated Risk blogger Bill McBride's graphic and preliminary commentary, which notes that multifamily movement sparked the upward thrust as single-family starts remain subdued. This owes in part to home... Read More
- Business
June 18, 2013

Seal of disapproval

The black sheen on newly sealed pavement--whether your driveway, store parking lot or school playground--is prompting a rising number of cities, states and businesses to ban a commonly used product. Read More
- Business
June 18, 2013

Ancient terra firma may be a concret solution

Portland cement can't match the staying power of its Roman predecessor, and researchers now know why. Read More
- Business
June 18, 2013

NY factories up in June, but details underwhelm

Growth in the New York state manufacturing sector picked back up in June, but the details were less encouraging as new orders and employment fell to their lowest levels in five months, a report from the New York Federal Reserve showed on Monday. Read More
- Business
June 18, 2013

Light motif

Houzz contributor and architect John Dorman posts on how architects use a variety of ways to engage our senses, especially with light. Read More
- Construction Trends
June 18, 2013

More homeowners buying 'air rights'

The latest trend in one real estate market has homeowners looking up. Some are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for air rights, reports Heather Graf, KVUE TV. Read More
- Construction Trends
June 18, 2013

America's top cities for venture capital

Atlantic Cities' Richard Florida looks at cities data that show that, for venture capital, the Bay Area remains at the top, but several cities are starting to catch up. Read More
- Local Markets
June 18, 2013

The return of inventory to selected markets

Redfin's Tim Ellis posts on Redfin's latest tally of supplies of for-sale inventory in its market universe. Here's a line-up of metros with the biggest deltas, up or down, for supply. Demand seems to be holding up as well. Read More
- Local Markets
June 18, 2013

California home prices jump the most ever in 33 years

Bloomberg/ BusinessWeek's Nadja Brandt reports that California home prices rose by the most in three decades as a shortage of houses on the market spurred competition among buyers, per the California Association of Realtors. Read More
- Local Markets
June 18, 2013

Lowe's antes up $205M on California hardware chain stake

BusinessWeek's Kyle Stock reports that, in a bid to compete better with rival Home Depot in the Golden State, Lowes has made a $205 million offer to buy two-thirds of Orchard Supply Hardware stores. Read More
- Management
June 18, 2013

NAHB CEO: Consumer confidence makes a comeback

NAHB CEO Jerry Howard weighs in on the state of the housing market. Read More
- Business
June 18, 2013

Builder confidence tipping point

National Association of Home Builders chief economist David Crowe riffs on the inflection point in the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market index, which topped 50 for the first time since 2006. Crowe spots the reasons. Too, here's Calculated Risk's Bill McBride on the reading. Read More
- Business
June 18, 2013

Housing recovery means architects are back in business

As the housing market rebounds demand for architectural services are on the upswing, reports Teke Wiggin, Inman News. According to a new report from the American Institute of Architects, billings were up on everything from starter to luxury homes in the first quarter of 2013. Read More
- Business
June 18, 2013

Mortgage-backed securities 'godfather' is back

Bloomberg/ BusinessWeek's Jody Shenn & Christopher DeReza report on plans by Shellpoint Partners LLC, the home lender backed by mortgage-bond pioneer Lewis Ranieri, for a $251 million transaction in its first deal in the reviving market for securities without government backing. Read More
- Finance
June 18, 2013

Inventory watch: existing home inventory is up 14.9% year-to-date

Demand for new homes owes itself in part to scarcity, both of new homes and resales of used ones. Calculated Risk's Bill McBride is keeping vigil on existing home inventory levels; when they bottom, market pricing and pace will "normalize." Read More
- Finance
June 18, 2013

Piggy-back writers

Around the country, some lenders are offering 90% financing again on all loan types. Zillow's Brendan DeSimone reports, for example, that San Francisco-based RPM Mortgage resumed offering "piggyback" loans in the first quarter of 2013. Read More
- Finance
June 18, 2013

Ex-BofA employees allege mishandling of HAMP applications

HousingWire's Kerri Ann Panchuk reports that Bank of America is prepared to address allegations from former employees who claim the mega bank routinely stalled the application process for the government's Home Affordable Modification Program and wrongfully informed homeowners about the status of... Read More
- Housing Policy