Stall

Given a choice between putting a roof over their own heads or over their horses', the clients of equestrian architect Hannah Banks often choose the latter. More

Construction continues to stall as housing starts dropped 10.2 percent in September, while building permit activity plummeted 7.3 percent, according to a joint report from the Commerce Department and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday. The monthly report revealed that housing starts set an annual pace of 1.191 million units in September, reaching their lowest level since the March 1993 rate of 1.083 million units. Brian Bethune, an economist for Massachusetts-based Global Insight, calls current housing sector conditions a "perfect storm." More

The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) report, released today-July 21-by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, projects that remodeling spending will be down 4 percent through the first quarter of 2012. Although discretionary funds used for home improvement should continue to increase through fall, indicators such as a slowdown in pending home sales and housing starts portentd a winter drop that will linger well into next year. More