Are more homeowners ready to sell? Listed “The latest data from Realtor.com found that the number of homes for sale increased 2.36% from February to March. While that doesn’t indicate a stampede of sellers, it may be a sign that at least sellers are ready to quit sitting on their hands.” Construction Groups Criticize Limits in Guest Worker Deal [...]

You Can’t, and Don’t Need to, Win Them All Builder “Just as real baseball fans don’t get too upset when their favorite team loses a game (it’s a long season!), followers of the housing industry shouldn’t dwell on month-to-month metrics.” Remaking the great room Professional Builder “Although the idea of a great room has been [...]

Positioning your business for 2013 Housing Zone “We interviewed a number of top remodelers about how they are positioning their business in 2013, and the top challenges and opportunities they expect to face. We asked them to reveal their keys to a successful 2013.” Australian Banks Try to Stimulate Home Building New York Times Here’s [...]

Confident consumers spur retail, remodeling hiring USA Today “The economy added a better-than-expected 171,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday. A healthy portion of the additions came from sectors, such as retail and construction, that were lagging but now are benefiting from a more bullish consumer.” Right Away, Housing Challenges for Obama BUILDER [...]

Wood, Mortar, Magic New York Times “Their particular — and, frankly, peculiar — building method is called cordwood masonry. And in a three-day workshop over Labor Day weekend, they will again demonstrate its earthy alchemy. That is, how to create a masonry wall with short lengths of exposed wood in place of the usual brick [...]

Last month, Time declared that the housing market was on its way to recovery. Here are some reasons they came to that conclusion: Multifamily housing has had a recovery. It’s a good time to be a landlord, and rental rates are high and vacancies are low. After the multifamily housing sector has recovered, prices will supposedly stabilize [...]

Dear Builder’s Engineer: Advice for My Son Builder “Dear Builder’s Engineer, You write a lot about business savvy. I’m nearing retirement and want to pass along my design-build company to my son. What is the one most important piece of advice you would give in this situation? Frank R., Spartanburg, S.C.” Big Homes Are Back [...]

Green Building Megatrends for 2012 BUILDER “Yudelson unveiled a list of 10 other green megatrends destined for growth in 2012, both in the U.S. and abroad. And while, like the rest of the home building industry, green building will certainly face headwinds in coming days—such as squeezed budgets among families and governments—the market is poised [...]

Here’s an interesting story: a company is hoping to be build a new town in New Mexico. Only thing is, you can’t live there. It’s a ghost town. The town (currently called the Center for Innovation, Testing and Evaluation) will have all the amenities that a real city would have, including houses and businesses. Everything would be fully [...]

Green Codes and Red Flags Daily 5 Remodel “Building codes in your jurisdiction: Do you think they go too far or not far enough to encourage energy-efficiency and sustainability?”  NAHB Builder Confidence Index increases in October Calculated Risk “The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports the housing market index (HMI) increased in October to 18 from 14 [...]