NBN Online for the week of March 17, 2008

Research Weighs Consumer Preferences in Soft Market

Even in the depths of the current cyclical housing downturn, consumers continue to be interested in housing and home builders can tap into that potential by paying careful attention to home buying preferences, according to two experts on market trends who presented their latest research findings at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando last month.

Emerging as a strong draw for consumers this year is anything “green,” a market force that has been gaining strength with the continuing rise of energy costs, according to Gopal Ahluwalia, NAHB’s vice president of research.

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Builders in Kansas City Bust Housing Myths in the News Media

In a housing market that has been down but clearly not out, prospective home buyers in Kansas City earlier this month found in-depth reporting in their local newspaper of real estate experts suggesting that now is an opportune time to find out what the market has to offer.

Behind the scenes, local home builders had a hand in the news story, which provides extensive information on the dynamics of the local market and helps dispel the public perception of doom and gloom that has been conveyed by national media reports of conditions that don’t pertain to Kansas City.

Case Says Housing Prices 'Flat' in Most Local Markets

By Lew Sichelman

PARK CITY, UTAH — The housing markets in the vast majority of the country have been largely unaffected by recent price declines, according to a partner in a popular index the media likes to use to show the enormity of the housing crisis, and an index housing trade groups say paints exactly the wrong picture.

"There's no question there's no bubble in 43 states," Karl Case, who distributes the monthly S&P/Case-Shiller Housing Price Index with Robert Shiller, said at the Midwinter Executive Housing Conference here late last month.