NBN Online for the week of May 28, 2007

Useful Links to Monitor Economic and Housing Trends

The following are links to useful information from government agencies and NAHB that will enable you to monitor the housing market.

To access the latest information available, simply click the links.

• U.S. Census Bureau Construction Price Indexes
  
  
• NAHB's Housing Forecast
  Housing starts, sales and interest rate projections through 2007.
  
  
• Latest Home Mortgage Interest Rates
  Contains current and historical data on fixed and adjustable mortgage rates. Updated weekly.
  
  
• Historical Facts, Figures and Trends
  Includes new home starts and sales, average and median home prices, homeownership rates, characteristics of new homes and more.
  
  
• Characteristics of New Housing
  Highlights the latest data on new-home characteristics released by the U.S. Census Department. Includes links to the complete Census report and other trends researched by NAHB.
  
  Additional breakouts of this data and other trends researched by NAHB are available at www.nahb.org/constructionstats under “Selected Characteristics of New Housing” (dated 6/13/2006).
  
  
• Housing Starts
  Updated monthly and based on a seasonally adjusted annual rate.
  
  
• New and Existing Home Sales
  Updated monthly and based on a seasonally adjusted annual rate.
  
  
• New and Existing Single-Family Median Home Prices
  Updated monthly.
  
  
• Home Price Index
  The index measures average home appreciation in more than 250 metropolitan markets. Updated quarterly.
  
  

• Metro Home Building Permits
  Local and state data on housing construction rates. Updated monthly.
  
  
• Employment Trends for Metro/State Markets
  Provides metro and state employment data nationwide. Updated monthly.
  
  
• Local Economic Impact of Housing
  Shows how building 100 homes benefits a typical metropolitan area.
  
  
• Home Building’s Direct Impact on the Economy
  
  
• Housing’s Contribution to Gross State Product
  Measures how much housing contributes to the economic output of each state.
  
  
• Housing Market Statistics from HousingEconomics.com
  Full array of statistical categories available to NAHB members, a limited number available to non-members.
  
  
• In-Depth Analysis from HousingEconomics.com
  Full array of analysis of factors affecting housing and the impact on the industry available to NAHB members, a limited number available to non-members.

Discussions From Construction Forecast Conference Now Available on the Internet

The simultaneous Webcast of the Construction Forecast Conference — Spring 2007 held in Washington, D.C. on April 26 is available for purchase for the next three months.

Those interested can purchase the conference Webcast, which includes panels of nationally recognized experts discussing economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys.

Purchasers will receive unlimited access to the Webcast archive for three months, as well as electronic copies of the conference handouts and presentation material. Purchasers can watch at their own pace, rewind, fast forward and review important sections.

To Purchase the Webcast

To purchase the Webcast, visit www.nahb.org/cfcwebcast.

Want to Know the Housing Forecast for the Top 100 Metros? 

Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s 2007-2008 Metro Forecast (free preview). Get the metro forecast with in-depth analysis, overviews and downloadable Excel tables.

To learn more, visit www.HousingEconomics.com.

NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Cooling Market

With the current cooling of the nation’s housing market expected to persist into next year, NAHB has developed a comprehensive online toolkit geared to providing association members with information that will help them prosper in today’s changing business environment.

To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar.

For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.