Building News
From Coast to Coast

n Building a Model Home in the Land of Electrons

n Home Builders Laud New Licensing Law

n Boomers Making In-Home Changes

n Taking It All Apart

n Members Only: Gated Communities Becoming Popular in Georgia

n Retirees Altering Life in Suburbs

n New Building Practices Can Clean Indoor Environments

n Housing Conversions Spark Worry — And Opportunity

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NBN Online Goes on Recess

Nation's Building News Online will be taking a midsummer recess next week. There will not be an issue on Aug. 4. Publication will resume on the following Monday, Aug. 11. So check your desktop then for the latest industry news and for news you can use to help make your business more profitable.

Tucson Zero Energy Home Sets the Stage for Further Research

The Tucson Zero Energy Home, which was designed to generate as much energy as it consumes, was sold less than one month after its grand opening earlier this year.

The 1,718 square-foot home, which was built by Tucson builder John Wesley Miller in  …

Housing Snapshot

Housing last week continued to dominate the good news coming out of the economy, but received a run for its money from a 1.9% increase on Wall Street on Friday. Reports on both new and existing home sales provided further evidence that 2003 will be another record-setter for the housing market. Mortgage interest rates rose for the third consecutive week, but that trend is not expected to discourage home buyers too much because the rates had fallen to such low levels. The Census Bureau said that 68% of the nation's households were home owners in this year's second quarter, a 0.6% increase over the same period a year earlier. The increase was twice as large for black families, which, along with other minorities, have been lagging significantly behind the white population.

Mortgage Interest Rates
30-Year Fixed-Rate	5.94%
15-Year Fixed-Rate	5.27%
1-Year ARM	3.67%
Housing Starts - Jun. 2003*
Total	1.80 million
Single-Family Starts	1.46 million
Multifamily Starts	341,000
New Home Sales Jun. 2003*	1.16 million
Existing Home Sales Jun. 2003*	5.83 million
* Seasonally adjusted annual rate