Building News
From Coast to Coast

n Nailing Down a Reason Home Prices Are Rising

n An Empty Nest — Now What?

n Clear Skies Ahead for Home Values

n One Is Not Enough

n From 'Project' to Palace

n The Feng Shui of Real Estate

n Fastest Growing Market

n Raw Deal on Steel

NBN Online Will Not Be Published Next Week

The NBN Online staff will be attending the NAHB Spring Board of Directors meeting this week. We will resume publication on May 10.

Baby Boomers Shaping Up as a Prickly Market for Seniors Housing

Home builders and developers who hope to capitalize on the 30 million post-World War II baby boomers who are starting to enter their senior years should proceed with caution. …

Housing Snapshot

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was in the limelight last week as he told Congress that interest rates will eventually have to be raised to stave off inflationary pressures from a vigorously growing national economy. And analysts, who had been anticipating an increase in the federal funds rate as late as early next year, now expect to see the Fed's first move to increase interest rates as soon as this summer. Mortgage interest rates continued the upward trend of the past several weeks, though fixed-rate loans remained under 6%, although barely. An increase in factory orders for durable goods in March and a decline in jobless claims for the week ending April 17 provided the latest indications of economic rejuvenation. On the lumber front, prices continued to push forward, but they appeared to be losing some upward momentum. Framing lumber climbed to $446 per 1,000 board feet from $439 the week before, according to Random Lengths. The mill price for 15/32-inch 3-ply CDX Southern Westside plywood was $532 per 1,000 square feet and OSB was $520.

Mortgage Interest Rates
30-Year Fixed-Rate	5.94%
15-Year Fixed-Rate	5.25%
1-Year ARM	3.69%
Housing Starts - Mar. 2004*
Total	2.007 million
Single-Family Starts	1.599 million
Multifamily Starts	408,000
New Home Sales Mar. 2004*	1.228 million
Existing Home Sales Feb. 2004*	6.12 million
* Seasonally adjusted annual rate