Nation's Building News Online

Survey of Home Inspectors Helps Builders Identify Potential Trouble Spots

A construction quality survey conducted by NAHB and the American Society of Home Inspectors has identified typical problems that new home inspectors are seeing … [ MORE ]

Building News From Coast to Coast

• In Brief: Low-Income Downpayment Loan Program
• Tax Breaks OK'd for Accessible Homes
• Hovnanian Heats Up Housing
• Realtors Predict 7.1 Percent Increase in New Home Sales in 2004
• Housing Surge Threatened by a Shortage of Cement
• OSHA Plans Voluntary Program to Improve Construction Safety
• Money Shortage Threatens Superfund
• Cashing In; Your House May Still Offer the Best Way to Raise Money

[ MORE ]

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Learn More About Concrete With Free E-Newsletter

Learn more about building with concrete by subscribing to NAHB’s new, monthly, free e-newsletter, "At Home With Concrete."

Produced by the Concrete Home Building Council, "At Home With Concrete" is a resource for all cement-based building materials in residential, multifamily and light commercial construction, including the latest trends and most current information on concrete driveways, foundations, decorative concrete, concrete wall systems and more.

Subscribe by Oct. 31 and You May Win a Dell Handheld

Subscribe to "At Home With Concrete" by Oct. 31 for a chance to win a Dell Axim X30 with 624 MHz and integrated wireless PDA. The drawing will take place Nov. 1.

To subscribe, e-mail Dawn Faull at dfaull@nahb.com. Include your name, e-mail address, company and company mailing address.

To read the inaugural issue of "At Home With Concrete," click here.

Celebrate 40 Years of Innovation from the National Council of the Housing Industry

This is the first in a series of three articles recognizing …  …[ MORE ]

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Housing Snapshot

Mortgage interest rates moved up slightly last week amidst some glimmers of hope that the economy is now moving out of its summer doldrums, but rates on 30-year loans remained comfortably below 6%. In better than expected news for the economy, the Labor Department reported that the Producer Price Index was down 0.1% in August, leaving it at 3.8% for the first eight months of this year, compared to 4.6% for the same period of 2003. Also a good sign, the U.S. trade deficit dropped 8.9% in July to $50.15 billion, down from a record $55.02 billion in June. Although the July number was the second highest in history, the financial markets viewed it as a good step in the right direction. U.S. exports in July rose 3% to $95.86 billion. On the lumber front, signs of some weakening in prices started to emerge last week. The cost of framing lumber was $458 per 1,000 board feet, $9 below the previous week. The price of 15/32-inch 3-ply sheathing rose $5 to $445 per 1,000 square feet, and oriented strand board remained unchanged at $412. [ MORE ]

Mortgage Interest Rates

30-Year Fixed-Rate: 5.83%
15-Year Fixed-Rate: 5.22%
1-Year ARM: 4.00%

Housing Starts - Jul. 2004*

Total: 1.978 million
Single-Family Starts: 1.651 million
Multifamily Starts: 327,000

New Home Sales Jul. 2004*

1.134 million

Existing Home Sales Jul. 2004*

6.72 million

* Seasonally adjusted annual rate

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