Entries Sought for National Green Building Awards
Entries for NAHB’s 2005 National Green Building Awards are now being accepted from home builders, remodelers, developers, nonprofit organizations, the academic community, industry experts and others involved in green building efforts. Winners will be announced at the 2005 National Green Building Conference in Atlanta, March 13-15.
Award applications are being accepted for these six categories:
- Green Advocate of the Year, which recognizes builders, groups and individuals for significant achievement in resource-efficient new home construction over the past year
- Green Program of the Year, which acknowledges home builders associations, municipal governments and other institutions for new and existing green building programs
- Green Project of the Year — Single-Family, in recognition of green design and construction in attached, detached (affordable and production) and custom-built/luxury homes
- Green Project of the Year — Multifamily, honoring affordable housing and luxury condos and apartments
- Green Project of the Year — Remodeling, acknowledging modifications and improvements to existing homes using water conservation methods, ventilation systems, energy-efficient products and other green techniques
- Outstanding Green Marketing Award, recognizing the sales and marketing campaigns of a product and a housing development that best advance the ideals of environmentally friendly, resource-efficient residential construction.
For information about the awards and applications, click here.
Entries must be received by Dec. 15. A $250 fee is required for entries in all categories except Green Advocate of the Year and Green Program of the Year (new program).
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Multifamily Construction Pays for Itself, NAHB Economic Impact Model Demonstrates
New multifamily construction pays for itself, according to a new …
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Housing Snapshot
Last week brought good news on sales of new and existing single-family homes in October, but economists believe the market has crested and will start slowing down a bit as the Federal Reserve continues to exert upward pressure on interest rates. The cost of fixed-rate financing was largely unchanged last week, and Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said that a year ago those mortgages were expected to have surpassed the 6% level by now, but have been slower to rise because of the economy's "soft patch" this spring. He predicted that further increases in mortgage rates are inevitable. They will rise, he predicted, to "a still home buyer-friendly range that will cause home sales to cool relative to their current record highs." Adjustable-rate loans were up last week, rising from 4.17% to 4.27%. In other economic news last week, the Commerce Department reported a 0.4% drop in factory orders for durable goods in October, led by a decline in new orders for automobiles and parts. The bad news, however, was partly offset by a larger increase in orders in September than initially indicated. In worrisome news for those planning their European vacations but favorable news for U.S. manufacturers, the dollar fell on Wednesday to an all-time low against the euro and may have some further distance to fall. The holiday shopping season appeared to get off to an auspicious start on the day following Thanksgiving, but before the weekend was over WalMart and some other retailers were grousing about slow sales. Retail sales are expected to be somewhat slower than last year, when they were up 5.1%, but it's the last 10 days before Christmas that analysts say really count. In a three-day rather than five-day week, Random Lengths reported somehat disappointing numbers from the lumber price front. Framing lumber rose from $357 to $361 per 1,000 board feet. Random Lengths' structural panel composite price rose from $334 to $340 per 1,000 square feet, compared to $500 a year earlier. Sales on oriented strand board were strong enough, it said, to keep upward pressure on prices.
| Mortgage Interest Rates |
| 30-Year Fixed-Rate |
5.72% |
| 15-Year Fixed-Rate |
5.15% |
| 1-Year ARM |
4.27% |
| Housing Starts - Oct. 2004* |
| Total |
2.027 million |
| Single-Family Starts |
1.645 million |
| Multifamily Starts |
382,000 |
New Home Sales
Oct. 2004* |
1.226 million |
Existing Home Sales
Oct. 2004* |
6.75 million |
| * Seasonally adjusted annual rate |
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