Watch for a New Look for Nation's Building News
Coming next week, Nation's Building News Online will have a new look and even more of the information you need and want — like the latest lumber prices, interest rates, floor plans, builder tips and industry news and information. Building news that will make your business click.
The new NBN will sport an easier-to-read and more “user-friendly” format that is similar to other online news publications like USA Today and CNN. Color-coded category tabs will help you locate information you need and of interest to you quickly no matter what page you are reading.
The new design will feature weekly charts so you easily can scan important economic information like starts, sales and prices. New charts will also give you an instant read on framing lumber, OSB and plywood prices.
All this and more will be coming to your desktop next week.
Subscribe Your Employees
Don’t forget to subscribe your employees to Nation’s Building News Online, too. It’s free, it’s easy and NAHB members who sign up three or more employees will be entered into the "Make Your Business Click" contest to win a digital camera. To learn more or sign up your employees, click here.
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Supreme Court Looks at Economic Development as Justification for Taking Private Property
In the first of two cases that could hold major repercussions …
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Housing Snapshot
Mortgage rates ticked up for the second consecutive week, according to Freddie Mac, while still remaining at affordable levels. Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, predicted that a lower-than-expected rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and a subsequent decline in bond yields could push mortgage rates back to where they were a week or two earlier. Despite indications of declines in housing sales in January, he said that "continuing low interest rates will keep the housing sector active for some time to come." The Labor Department reported that the CPI was up a scant 0.1% in January. The Commerce Department repored good news for the economy last week with growth in the Gross Domestic Product running at 3.8% in last year's fourth quarter, up from an earlier estimate of 3.1%. Lumber prices, which had been rising in recent weeks, came almost to a standstill last week, according to Random Lengths. The cost of framing lumber rose from $426 to $427 per 1,000 board feet; it was $384 one year earlier. The panel composite price, which includes plywood and oriented strand board, dropped from $459 to $457 per 1,000 square feet, compared to $571 a year earlier.
| Mortgage Interest Rates |
| 30-Year Fixed-Rate |
5.69% |
| 15-Year Fixed-Rate |
5.22% |
| 1-Year ARM |
4.16% |
| Housing Starts - Jan. 2005* |
| Total |
2.159 milliom |
| Single-Family Starts |
1.76 million |
| Multifamily Starts |
399,000 |
New Home Sales
Jan. 2005* |
1.106 million |
Existing Home Sales
Jan. 2005* |
6.81 million |
| * Seasonally adjusted annual rate |
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