Tag: housing market: Page 4

Workforce

Sioux Falls women finding work they love in construction industry

After seeing the results of a Pew Research survey saying 40 percent of U.S. moms are now the breadwinners in their households, news station KSFY out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, did some digging and filed an interesting report about the number of women in the area now doing construction work. KSFY talked to several women […]

June 17, 2013

Business

Home prices see biggest gains in 7 years

In May, home prices saw their biggest gains in 7 years, according to a report from the New York Times citing data from the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home price index. The index of home prices, which covers 20 U.S. cities, indicated a 10.9-percent gain over last year at the same time. That’s the biggest increase […]

June 12, 2013

Workforce

Skilled labor shortage slows Michigan’s response to growing demand for new homes

After 60,000 of Michigan’s skilled home builders were put out of work during the recession, many left the state to find work elsewhere while some left the trade entirely, reports the Detroit Free Press. Michigan is the latest of several states around the country to report skilled labor shortages as demand for construction rebounds. The […]

June 11, 2013

Business

Construction spending up 0.4% in April despite another dip in government spending

Spending on construction projects in the United States rose 0.4 percent in April, continuing a volatile trend in 2013 of ups and downs, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department Monday. After dropping 4 percent in January, spending rose in February only to drop again in March. But in April things are back […]

June 3, 2013

Business

U.S new-home sales rise; home prices jump to highest level in 7 years

The number of new homes sold in April rose 2.3 percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 454,000, the highest mark since the summer of 2008, the Associated Press and CNBC report. Compared to a year ago, new home sales are up 29 percent, according to Commerce Department data. However, the number is still well […]

May 28, 2013

Business

Housing starts tumble 16.5% in April, but surge in permits suggests continued recovery

The start of construction on homes fell drastically in April, one month after reaching a level of home starts the country had not seen since before the recession. However, a surge in building permits hints that the damage might not be too bad. Construction began on homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 853,000, […]

May 16, 2013

Business

Builder confidence up on strengthening housing market, but majority rate still rate it “fair” or “poor”

Though the reading is not at a point where more home builders view the current market for newly-built, single-family as “good” than “poor,” builder confidence improved three points to a 44 on the May edition of the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.   The monthly survey asks home builders to rate current […]

May 15, 2013

Business

Construction materials prices flat in March as diesel price drop negates lumber and plywood increases

According to the latest Producer Price Index from Associated General Contractors of America, the prices for construction materials were flat in March. The AGC reports that although the prices of homebuilding materials including lumber and plywood, gypsum products, construction plastics, paint and roofing materials increased again in March, a plunge in diesel prices and declines in […]

April 15, 2013

Workforce

Washington Post: Housing hasn’t led to hiring boom because construction jobs already historically high

Though construction industry employment in the U.S. is steadily improving—adding 18,000 jobs in March amid a dreary overall jobs report—the numbers don’t match the boom the housing market is seeing. This has a lot of people searching for an answer. Recently, we shared with you one interesting theory from the Washington Post’s Neil Irwin. Irwin, […]

April 10, 2013

Business

Manufacturing growth slows despite increase in construction spending

The majority of financial analysts expected growth in the manufacturing sector to accelerate in March thanks to the boom in housing and increases in construction spending. However, companies reported “fewer new orders and less production” in March than in February, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, the Institue for Supply Management’s purchasing manager’s […]

April 5, 2013

Business

Construction spending up 7.9 percent annually, home building at highest level in 4 years

Thanks to a surge in home building, construction spending grew 1.2 percent in February, according to seasonally-adjusted data from the U.S. Commerce Department. After a nine-month string of monthly increases was snapped with a 2.1-percent dip in January, construction spending is now at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $885.1 billion. Compared to February 2012, that […]

April 1, 2013

Workforce

NAHB survey finds labor shortages in “all aspects” of home building

According to a survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders, labor shortages are hurting the housing and economic recoveries here in the U.S. Since June 2012, residential construction firms are seeing a growing number of shortages in all positions in the industry including carpenters, excavators, framers, roofers, plumbers, bricklayers, HVAC, building maintenance managers and […]

March 25, 2013