House construction and building permit applications declined in May, offsetting the strong performance of the manufacturing sector and the favorable wholesale inflation reports. The lack of construction projects also means that more people working in the industry are out of jobs. This further contributes to the high unemployment rates all around the country.

Industry analysts state that the performance of the construction industry has a huge impact on various sectors of the economy. The higher the unemployment rate, the less number of people are buying new houses or having dwellings constructed. Although mortgage rates have declined to an almost record low, the house construction industry still struggles.

Some economists have seen a slight positive to the trend. They stated that while the economy is growing, the housing industry remains in recession. However, despite the fact that the industry will not be able to contribute to the growth of the economy, it is also not going to pull it back down.

Home construction company activities for apartment and residential dwellings declined by ten percent, while building permit applications dropped by almost six percent. According to homebuilders, the decline is largely due to the expiration of the tax incentive offered by the federal government to home buyers.

Meanwhile, construction of single family dwellings dropped by 17%, making it the largest monthly decline since January 1991. Builders have stated that, with the tax incentive gone, it is unlikely that the sector will be able to sustain its first half performance. They added that the strong numbers posted by the sector during the first four months of the year were largely due to the tax credit.

Although home construction company projects are expected to remain flat for the rest of the year, industry observers believe that the national economy is still on its way to recovery and that the weak construction market will not hinder its pace.

Home Construction Company Activities Declined in May is a post from: HomeBuildingNet.com - The home building net!

The collapse of the wall caused crevices about 8 feet wide and about 15 feet deep in some portions. It also caused soil movement underneath several houses and it made 27 homes totally unsafe for homeowners.

After the collapse, about 90 families were evacuated and moved to hotels and other residential properties. Most homeowners returned to their homes later, except for the owners of the 27 severely damaged homes.

Last week, Pulte Homes offered to buy back the 27 damaged homes from the owners. It also offered to pay moving expenses, home improvements and legal fees. Centex, the division of Pulte Homes that developed Rivermist, also said that homeowners who opt to keep their houses will be provided with temporary housing while the retaining wall is built, completed and certified.

Pulte Homes said that it will take about six months to build a new retaining wall and will cost about $4 million to $5 million. City officials of San Antonio said that no permit was issued for the building of the retaining wall, but Pulte Homes insisted that all necessary permits were obtained and all city requirements were followed before home construction, retaining wall construction and all housing development activities.

Homes at Rivermist were sold at an average of $200,000, with units adjacent to the retaining wall priced higher because of their city views and their bigger sizes.

Some residents are complaining that the collapse of the wall has cut down home values. Homeowner Dell Hammett said that owners are angry because they put all their life’s savings into properties that lost value quickly.

In response, Pulte spokesperson Valerie Dolenga said that the housing development has been holding up in value, as evidenced by the recent sale of six homes after the collapse at the original listing prices. In addition, two of the properties affected directly by the wall collapse just got sold.

Last week, Pulte Homes Inc. was lauded by Fortune magazine as among the most admired firms in the world. Two of its home building companies, Centex and Pulte Homes, were among the top 5 firms in the home construction category. Pulte was second in the ranking while Centex, which was acquired by Pulte last year, was ranked fifth.

Home Construction Firm Pulte Homes Corrects Damage is a post from: HomeBuildingNet.com - The home building net!

August, with multifamily buildings contributing substantially to the growth. The adjusted annual increase was slightly below the 600,000-unit rate predicted by economists and lower by over 70 percent than the peak rate in 2006.

The number of building permit applications also increased in August by 2.7 percent to an adjusted yearly pace of 579,000 units, just a thousand below the 580,000 units predicted by economists. Permit applications for single-family houses declined by 0.2 percent while applications for multifamily units increased by 15.8 percent.

The increase in house construction in August, which followed a slight decline in July, was driven largely by the more than 25-percent surge in multifamily construction, which experienced a 15.2-percent slowdown in July.

The house construction sector that declined in August was the large single-family housing sector, which dropped by 3 percent to an adjusted yearly pace of 479,000, its first drop after five consecutive monthly increases.

Capital Economics economist Paul Dales said that new construction data remains 74 percent lower than the peak in 2006 and that housing recovery may take a longer time.

In contrast, Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors said that new construction will contribute significantly to nationwide economic recovery.

In the Northeast, home construction increased by 23.8 percent and in the Midwest, construction rose by 0.9 percent. Construction declined in South by 2.4 percent while it remained unchanged in the West.

Since the housing downturn, home builders have been cutting down their construction activities, but now that first time home buyers are looking for new homes to buy to take advantage of the federal tax credit, builders have returned to the market.

According to the National Association of Home Builders, the housing market index increased by one point in September to 19 points, indicating growing optimism among home builders. The index reading was the highest level reached since April last year.

Share prices of home builders also increased as home building firms reported improvements in their financial results. The stocks of Beazer Homes USA and Hovnanian Enterprises rose by over 6 percent this week.

Additionally, the Dow Jones House Construction Stock Market Index also rose since falling to its lowest level in November last year.

House Construction Stepped Up in August is a post from: HomeBuildingNet.com - The home building net!

Lennar Corp has seen firsthand the improvements in the market, more particularly the increase in the confidence of people and home buyers. However, there are still some murky areas in the house construction industry. For instance, foreclosures are still present and even continue to increase in some areas. This presents a very tough competition to new houses, since foreclosed properties sell at a more affordable price. Lower mortgage rates and different programs of the government are also threatening the continuous increase of build construction projects.

This indicates that even though the housing market has already recovered, there are still some threats that may bring it back to the woods. Home buyers are now taking advantage of the prices and of the relatively good market perspective. As the country recovers from the difficult economic recession, Lennar expects it to be able to produce profit next year.

Last quarter, the company lost $171.6 million, significantly higher than its loss a year ago, which was at $89 million. Even though build construction orders have increased for new houses, there is still a lot of work to do and a lot of loss to be recovered.

The average price of a house for sale decreased by 11 percent to $239,999. On the other hand, this helped the demand to increase, and so has dropped incentives for home buyers. According to executives of Lennar Corp, they plan to control the amount of construction projects until the economy of the country has already fully recovered.

House Build Construction Projects Stabilizing is a post from: HomeBuildingNet.com - The home building net!

A report released by JD Power and Associates, it was revealed that overall satisfaction rose by 32 points for the second year, bringing it to 811 points out of 1000. On the other hand, the rate of problems reported by customers regarding new homes declined from 11.51 to 9.55 per home.

For industry experts, the tight competition in the market has left the strongest and most reputable companies standing. Of course, this is certainly good news for home buyers considering that it is now possible to buy quality homes for a relatively lower price.

Surprisingly, areas which gained the greatest in terms of customer satisfaction included California and Florida markets, which were hit hardest by the mortgage and housing crisis. It is possible that local home builders have decided to focus on quality of new property construction and not quantity in order to compete with the thousands of foreclosure properties for sale.

The said satisfaction survey was based on nine factors: workmanship, customer service, price, home readiness, design, location, recreational facilities, performance of construction manager and the sales staff. Among these factors, workmanship quality proved to be the most important as more and more customers are becoming concerned about getting the best value for their money.

On the other hand, it is evident from the survey that the homebuyers are not much concerned with the home readiness and construction manager factors. Most of the home buyers did not spend much time with the manager and most of the homes were already built and just waiting for buyers.

26, 231 home buyers were interviewed for this survey, all of which have occupied the property for at least four months. Companies involved in new property construction are looking forward to increased home sales activity in the coming months.

Quality of New Property Construction on the Rise is a post from: HomeBuildingNet.com - The home building net!

Some of the materials that you can use are wood composites and recycled plastic lumber. You can use these for porches, decks, trim and fencing so you can reduce your usage of chemically treated lumber and hardwood.

Another is the use of oriented strand board, which is an engineered wood material manufactured with less amount of wood taken from trees. It can be used to sheathe walls and roofs and is being used in roughly 75 percent of newly-built homes. This type of material is resource efficient and its durability has been proven.

For prehung doors and trusses, you can use factory-built components because these have been built with more efficient usage of raw materials. Factories have the equipment and processes to make the most out of every part of lumber. Wood waste is prevented because wood need not be cut at the jobsite.

For your floor covering, you can use carpets made of low-volatile organic compounds which improve indoor air quality. Other good choices are laminates that look like hardwood and linoleum materials which are available in natural-look designs.

For the roof, use fiber cement and steel because these materials reduce the number of times you have to replace your roof. There are also solar roofing products that incorporate asphalt shingles, slate, concrete tiles or standing-seam metal roofs. Choose lighter colors as these absorb less heat and reduce cooling costs during the hot season.

When evaluating windows to buy, choose energy-efficient windows that integrate advanced technologies such as low-emittance glass coatings, composite framing materials and gas filling between layers. These windows keep heat inside the house during winter and outside the house during summer.

You also need to increase the R-value of your insulation to reduce cooling and heating costs, which typically comprise over 50 percent of energy usage in homes. You can use sprayed insulation made of cellulose, foam or wool.

Vinyl siding is also recommended for exterior walls because it can cut installation and maintenance costs. Another is fiber cement siding, which is resistant to termite and water. This product has been guaranteed to last for 50 years.

Additionally, other features that you can incorporate are large south-facing windows, covered entry areas for exterior doors and use of native plants. These reduce lighting and maintenance costs.

Residential Home Construction with Energy Efficient Features is a post from: HomeBuildingNet.com - The home building net!

Volunteers for the project should email Habitat and should know that house construction would only take place during Friday and Saturday. However, arrangements for some groups who are unavailable at these days can be made.

Moquin is the founder of a local home-schooling club named A La Carte, and of “Festival of Trees”. Aside from this, she and her child Orian, now 12, are active participants of a lot of charity and community activities in York. She also worked in town and has served the community through her efforts, making her the clear choice for the program.

Moquin moved to York from Massachusetts along with her son and her mother back in 2004. She used to live in an apartment in Mount Agamenticus, a property owned by the town. She had hoped that things would turn around for her, and she is just plain happy about being chosen for the Habitat house construction project.

According to Richard Parsons, chairman of the board of Habitat York County, around 15 applications were received. The decision they made was based on financial status, community standing and the conditions of the present residence.

Parsons added that Moquin’s role and active participation in the community made her stand out from the other applicants. If they would be granted the house construction project, then she and her son Orion would be able to do more worthwhile contributions to the community.

Moquin is very happy about this, and says that doing a lot of things to help others is actually her comfort zone. She actually finds it a little odd to have a lot of people helping her. To date, Habitat has already registered around 50 volunteers to help in the house construction project.

House Construction Charity Group in Action is a post from: HomeBuildingNet.com - The home building net!

• Veer away from complicated shapes.
• Stay away from complicated level systems.
• Go for structural designs that are economical.
• As much as possible, go with a new house construction design that would allow as much natural light as possible.
• Make sure that pipes and cables can easily be placed.
• Make sure that the materials to be used in your house are sound, durable and fresh.
• Ensure that you would get a trained contractor with trained manpower for your new house construction.
• The entrance of your home should look appealing, since this is the first things that visitors would see.
• Make sure that the entrance of your house can provide you with the best security.
• During construction, it is best if you would be able to position the entrance in places where it is protected from harsh weather conditions such as sunlight and rain.
• It is practical to place the living room as near as possible to the entrance your new house.
• As much as possible, place the living room in front of the lawn.
• For aesthetic and practical purposes, you can get tall windows for your living room.
• To ensure privacy, place bedrooms as far from the living room as possible.
• For convenience and maximum comfort, it is best to have a balcony near the bedroom, and a comfort room should be adjoined to is as well.
• The bedrooms should also have a lot of storage spaces. Your new house construction should not neglect the need for this.

House Construction: The Essentials is a post from: HomeBuildingNet.com - The home building net!

There are fewer and fewer houses to build because people are not interested in investing their money anymore.

Just this Wednesday, home builders got another hard blow. This is because there has been a sharp decline in the sales of new houses, an unexpected event that even experts did not see coming. This event shows that the sector should continue to search for more stable means as it barely survives the economic crisis.

The Commerce Department said that sales of single-family houses fell by 0.6 percent. This is way below the expectation of economists, proving that the new house construction market has indeed fallen again.

According to Leif Thomas, Mortgage Master’s chief executive, the statistics and the recently released date made them sad, since they are really not great.

However, these results did not drag down the shares of home builders. They even opened with some gains as they were aided by a report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgage applications last week rose by around 6.6 percent based on seasonal adjustments, and even increase by 17 percent a year ago. All major construction companies recently had gains, with LEN or Lennar’s on the lead. The Dow Jones US New House Construction Index also climbed recently by 2.34 percent.

This is really good news for the home construction industry, as it had continued to suffer the effects of the economic crisis. Foreclosed houses continue to attract buyers since they are more affordable than buying a new house. The $8,000 worth of tax credit for first tome home buyers was expected to help the industry, but there was not much good news. Also, the interest rates are again gradually increasing, and this is a cause of worry for the construction companies.

There is also a newly enacted guideline for appraisal that some people would think as too stringent. This could mean that a lot of orders that were signed in the past months may not result to closings. This was according to Dann Oppenheim, Credit Suisse analyst. He further adds that there can be more decreases in new home sales, giving more worries to those in the new house construction business.

New House Construction Sales Continue Its Decline; Shares Still Holding is a post from: HomeBuildingNet.com - The home building net!

Nine families took part in constructing their own houses through the Self Help Housing Project of the Lower Columbia Community Action Program. The families recently took part in a barbecue party to celebrate their success in the construction of their homes.

This is celebration of the National Homeowners Celebration Month.

The participants in this project are families which are not able to buy their own houses without getting help. To qualify, a family should be able to meet an income guideline and should also have good credit. Instead of giving down payments, the families built homes under the supervision of a person that saw their work. They worked for 30 hours every week in a span of 12 to 15 months. This project resulted in low mortgages that families have to pay for.

Not all the construction work was done by the families. Some parts such as the electrical work, plumbing and insulation were done by contractors. This also resulted in a community of families who saw each other work on their own houses. The program has helped more than 300 families through the years of existence.

Families who participated this year are set to move in later during the summer. There is another plan that would launch a second phase to this project in the next few years. A six-house community in 46th Avenue, and another 14-home in Castle Rock are being planned.

Participants said that they had a lot of fun participating in the project. Although they were exhausted from the work, it was all worth it. Plus, they learned a lot of skill sin house construction. A participant even expressed his desire to volunteer and help in the upcoming projects for in the program.

The community is well-bonded, after having spent the whole construction phase together. This has resulted in a very ideal community, where everyone knows everyone else. CAP hopes that this program would reach out to other families and homeowners, as well as to organizations and companies, to launch their own efforts in helping each other out.

DIY New House Construction is a post from: HomeBuildingNet.com - The home building net!