NBN Online for the week of May 1, 2006

Buckle Up for a Soft Landing, Housing Economists Advise

After soaring to record levels for three consecutive years, the single-family housing market is gliding toward a “soft landing” in 2006, as rising interest rates, affordability issues and a reduced role for investors and speculators soften demand, according to economists at the NAHB Construction Forecast Conference in Washington, D.C. on April 27.

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Tentative Timber Accord a Blow to U.S. Consumers

The U.S. and Canada announced on April 27 that they have resolved their long-running cross-border softwood lumber dispute by entering into a tentative managed trade agreement that will be detrimental to housing affordability and millions of U.S. consumers.

Under the framework, Canada would impose a complicated system of export taxes and quotas on its softwood lumber exports when the price of U.S. lumber is below $355 per thousand board feet (the current price is $377). The deal would remain in place for seven years, with an option to renew it for an additional two years.

If the settlement is finalized and results in new trade barriers limiting Canadian lumber shipments into the U.S., NAHB will help builders seek lumber sources from other countries and promote the use of alternative building materials wherever practical.