Usual growth leaders absent from recovery New York Times “Why has the job picture been so bleak in the current recovery? A large part of the problem can be traced to unusual weakness in two categories: construction jobs and government jobs.” 9 tricks for creating a super model HousingZone.com “Believe it or not, if you [...]

As Congress battled over whether to raise the debt ceiling last week, economic uncertainty drove mortgage rates down, leading many potential buyers to pounce on low rates. For those in the lending or building industry, the political drama was a spark plug for market activity, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Mortgage Bankers Association [...]

Architects Get Busier … Especially with Remodeling Daily 5 Remodel ” ‘Improve instead of move’ could be the mantra of the American Institute of Architects’ latest Home Design Trends Survey. Released Wednesday, the survey found that residential architects are still reporting net declines in all sectors of new construction, but are generally optimistic about remodeling. [...]

The Kitchen Sink, and the Remodeling Scoop Daily 5 Remodel “An award-winning kitchen designer at this California design/build firm, a popular blogger, and now an author as well, Kelly Morisseau shares every remodeler’s frustration with a public that often holds the industry to the impossible standards of “reality” TV, down to the bare-bones costs and [...]

Here is an important piece of news for builders, if you haven’t already heard: Builders all over the country are being fined for not properly following the Residential Lead-Based Paint Regulations. Housing Zone has an in-depth article that lists out examples of builders fined for not following these practices. Did you know that the highest [...]

As if a bullish housing market hasn’t created enough headaches for builders, earlier this week, the National Association of Home Builders pointed to the rising costs of building materials as a threat to profit margins. According to the Wall Street Journal, citing the Producer Price Index, some of the most notable year-over-year price hikes for [...]

The Price of Electricity Marketplace This interactive map shows average prices for residential and commercial electricity state by state. You can also compare 2011 prices to 2010 data. As pointed about by Daily 5 Remodel, Hawaii, Connecticut and New York are consistently expensive and North Dakota and Idaho are consistently the least expensive. Check out [...]

An underground roof? Green Building Advisor “It happens: snow loads trash them, historic commissions don’t allow them, or architects and clients simply don’t like the way they mess up clean roof lines. What do you do when you can’t use gutters to manage all that water coming off of roof eaves or valleys?” 7 radical [...]

NAR: Pending home sales up 5% in March, continue upward swing HousingZone.com “Home-sales contract activity has now increased six of the past nine months, as the Pending Home Sales Index saw gains in March, according to the National Association of Realtors. The index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 5.1 percent to 94.1 [...]

8 best-selling home designs HousingZone.com “What makes a home a best-seller? Price, location, and amenities are important, but design can make or break a sale. Buyers can tell if a floor plan flows well and takes advantages of views and sightlines. They’re turned off by wasted space — rooms that will never be used and [...]