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n For Working Families, Affordable Housing Is in Short Supply
 
Housing Politics
n BUILD-PAC Fundraising Heading for a Record
 
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n Spotlight on: Houston
n Eye on the Economy
n Don’t Miss NAHB’s Spring Construction Forecast Conference
 
Business Management
n Combat Turnover with Teamwork
 
Green Building
n Austin Architect Provides Tips on Green Building
n Green-Built Homes Face Financing Challenges
 
Design
n Santa Monica Affordable Housing Project Sets High Standard for Energy Efficiency
n Community-Supported Mixed-Use Developments Transform Run-Down Areas
n Best in American Living Awards Accepting Entries
 
Housing Finance
n Member Input Needed on HUD Projects
n Rural Housing Service Has Funding for Demonstration Program
 
Seniors Housing
n Five Honored as 2004 Icons of the Industry
 
Small Builders and Remodelers
n Designations Are More Than Just Acronyms
 
Labor
n Builders Applaud Bush Administration for Job Training Efforts
 
Building Products
n Fiberglass Doors Grace 'New American Castle' Show Home
 
Builder's Engineer
n Cut a Truss? Never, Almost
 
Building News
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Association News
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n Recruit Three Members, Get a Membership Day Jean Jacket
n April Is New Homes Month
n Sign Up for the Legislative Conference and Make Housing a Priority in Congress
n Help Build This Year’s Family Build Home for a Mother of Three
n Calendar of Events
 
NBN Back Issues
 


Builders Working With Labor Department to Promote Careers in Construction

In response to a predicted shortage of skilled workers …

Building News
From Coast to Coast

n Fancy Flats in Old Boxes

n A Not-So-Mobile Society

n Trade Group Raises Forecast for Home Sales

n Builders Should Beware of Land of Opportunity

n Our Sprawling, Supersize Utopia

n Now You See It, Now You Don't

n Home Bars Host a Toast in Any Room

n A Home Like No Other

Check it out: Countrywide offers some of the most innovative strategic alliance programs in the industry.
Discover how Countrywide's non-conforming loans can give larger borrowers an edge.

Create an Electronic Signature for Your Outgoing E-mail Messages

Tired of typing your name, address and other contact information after each e-mail you send? Save time by creating an electronic signature that can be inserted at the end of each e-mail you send. This signature can be as simple as your name and/or contact information. Or it can mimic the way you would sign off on a printed letter, i.e. “Sincerely,” followed by your name and contact information.

Using Microsoft Outlook 2003:

  1. From the main Microsoft Outlook window, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
  2. In the Compose in this message format list, click the message format that you want to use the signature with.
  3. Under Signatures, select an e-mail account, and then choose the signatures that you want to use for new messages and for replies and forwards. You can use a different signature for each. (This option may not be available in earlier versions of Outlook.)
  4. In the Enter a name for your new signature box, enter a name for your signature.
  5. Under Choose how to create your signature, select the option you want.
  6. Click Next.
  7. In the Signature text box, type the text you want to include in the signature. Then click Okay.

Web Site Helps Affordable Home Builders Achieve High-Quality Design

Builders and developers who are looking for information on how to achieve higher levels of design quality …


Housing Snapshot

On the strength of impressive job gains in March and hopes that the economy is finally starting to gain its full strength, mortgage interest rates increased last week for the second week in a row. While the higher rates discouraged some refinancing, they remained at levels that were very favorable for home buyers. Economists at Freddie Mac said that they are still predicting that fixed-rate mortgages will average less than 6% for the year as a whole. Housing analysts expect improvements in the job market to make up for some of the sales activity lost to rising mortgage rates in the months ahead. Meanwhile, the situation in lumber prices continued to worsen last week. Framing lumber rose to $420 per 1,000 board feet from $398 during the previous week, according to Random Lengths. This was the highest price in almost three years. And the costs of plywood and Oriented Strand Board reached record territory. The mill price for 15/32-inch 3-ply CDX Southern Westside plywood was $510 per 1,000 square feet and OSB was $510, compared to $187 during the same week a year earlier.
Mortgage Interest Rates
30-Year Fixed-Rate 5.79%
15-Year Fixed-Rate 5.12%
1-Year ARM 3.65%
Housing Starts - Feb. 2004*
Total 1.855
Single-Family Starts 1.489
Multifamily Starts 366,000
New Home Sales
Feb. 2004*
1.163 million
Existing Home Sales
Apr. 2004*
6.12 million
* Seasonally adjusted annual rate


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