Category Archives: Real Estate

U.S. Housing Starts Surge 10.5% in November

Builders are stepping up home construction broadly across the U.S., suggesting the housing market will help anchor the economy amid global turbulence and a likely rise in interest rates. Builders broke ground on 1.173 million units, when calculated at a … Continue reading

Posted in Home Building, Marketing, Real Estate | Leave a comment

Top 10 NCHBA Actions to Benefit Our Members in 2015

The North Carolina Home Builders Association works diligently to protect the interests of the home building industry. To summarize our most important work in 2015, we have compiled a document entitled “Top 10 NCHBA Actions to Benefit Our Members in … Continue reading

Posted in Home Building, Marketing, Real Estate | Leave a comment

NEW HOME DEMAND UP IN 66% OF METROSTUDY MARKETS

Our October collection of new home and building lot demand in Metrostudy’s 36 markets indicates that typical seasonal decline continues in the majority of markets, but inventory in the pipeline appears stable, and the pace of starts continues to climb. … Continue reading

Posted in Home Building, Marketing, Real Estate | Leave a comment

BACK OF THE ENVELOPE THINKING

There are so many myths about what home buyers won’t pay for. And I’ll submit that too many of these myths are based on ineffective sales practices personally observed over the past 25 years working with the housing industry. If … Continue reading

Posted in Home Building, Marketing, Real Estate | Leave a comment

Lawmaker looks at proposal to ship water from Alaska to parched California

A proposal to ship 9 billion of gallons of water a year from Alaska to drought-plagued California caught the eye of U.S. Rep. Janice Hahn, D-Calif., who calls it “an idea worth exploring.” After reading about the concept in USA TODAY in … Continue reading

Posted in Home Building, Marketing, Real Estate | Leave a comment

Build a Better Email & Stand Out In the Inbox

There was a time, not so long ago, when people said email was dead … and then, along came the smartphone. Now even your grandma checks email on her phone, which has led to email becoming 40 times more effective … Continue reading

Posted in Marketing, Real Estate | Leave a comment

Producer Prices in August …Dow

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Producer Price Indexes (PPI) for August. Inflation in prices received by producers (prior to sales to consumers) were unchanged in August following a 0.2% increase in July. Separately, a 0.4% increase in prices … Continue reading

Posted in Home Building, Real Estate, Warranty Service | Leave a comment

HUD Secretary Cites Importance of Home Building, Seeks to Expand Housing Credit

HUD Secretary Julian Castro cited the importance of home building to the economy in an address today to the NAHB Board of Directors in Dallas. “Builders are part of our nation’s economic backbone,” said Castro. “You always have been. And HUD … Continue reading

Posted in Home Building, Real Estate, Warranty Service | Leave a comment

New Mortgage Lending Rules Take Effect Tomorrow

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) new mortgage lending rules will take effect Oct. 3. NAHBNow has reported on the impending changes over the past few months to help our readers prepare and avoid any unwanted closing delays. Beginning tomorrow, the … Continue reading

Posted in Home Building, Real Estate, Warranty Service | Leave a comment

U.S. New-Home Sales Up 5.7% in August

WASHINGTON—Sales of newly built homes reached the highest level since early 2008 in August, evidence that demand for housing is strengthening heading into the fall. Sales of new, single-family homes rose by 5.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of … Continue reading

Posted in Home Building, Real Estate | Leave a comment