Moving Out and Buying In: Single Ladies Emerge as Homeowners... It's hard to remember that just a few decades ago it was difficult, if not impossible, for a woman alone to take out a mortgage. Federal legislation changed that.
And yet, it's still surprising to learn how dominant single women have become in the housing market today: Their share is second only to married couples, and twice that of single men. Read more.
[Source: NPR.org, April 22, 2013]
Marketplace Fairness Act Clears Hurdle... The National Retail Federation today issued the following statement from president and CEO Matthew Shay: "NRF applauds today's Senate vote on the Marketplace Fairness Act, and we commend Senators Enzi, Durbin, Alexander and Heitkamp for their skilled leadership in moving this legislation ahead." Read more.
[Source: Home Channel News, April 23, 2013]
New Home Sales Turnaround... New home sales made a U-turn after falling 4.6% in February to 411,000 homes sold. The sales of new single-family homes inched up 1.5% in March to 417,000. Read more.
[Source: HousingWire, April 23, 2013]
Growth Item: Biscuits for Builders... Pittsburgh-based Versatex Trimboard now offers a PVC-compatible plastic biscuit for builders who biscuit-join PVC trim components. Read more.
[Source: Home Channel News, April 22, 2013]
Big-Ticket Remodeling Spending to Speed Up in 2013... Spending by homeowners on major projects will accelerate through 2014 to the point that we'll end the year with $150.1 billion in spending, up 20.2% from last year's total, the Remodeling Futures Program at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies forecast today. Read more.
[Source: ProSales Business Update, April 24, 2013]
Housing Rebound in U.S. Hampered by Success... Even as U.S. housing rebounds from its worst downturn since the 1930s, production bottlenecks are pushing up building-materials costs, land prices are rising and skilled labor ready to begin work is hard to find. Read more.
[Source: Bloomberg News, April 24, 2013]
Businesses Poised to Hire Again... The country's business activity in the first quarter of 2013 grew at its strongest pace in a year, according to the assessment of 58 business economists (11 of whom work for companies in an industry group that includes construction) polled by the National Association of Business Economics, which released its April report on Monday. Read more.
[Source: Builder Business Update, April 24, 2013]
OSHA Crane Rule Explained... NLBMDA held four webinars covering the OSHA Crane Rule. If you missed the webinars, guidance is available here. If you still have questions, please contact Frank Moore, NLBMDA Regulatory Counsel at [email protected].
[Source NLBMDA, April 25, 2013]
Counting to 90: ACA and the Waiting Period... Under the Affordable Care Act, once we decide who we have to offer coverage to, then we have to decide when they get the coverage. Generally the new rule is that a waiting period for coverage cannot exceed 90 days. More recently, the IRS has given us proposed rules on the 90-day waiting period. As with all proposed rules, they are not final until they are final, but these do give employers some additional guidance on how to maintain the correct waiting period. Read more.
[Source: Employee Benefit News inBrief, April 26, 2013]
NAHB Tells Congress to Retain Incentives... To meet the nation's growing need for affordable rental housing and homeownership opportunities, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today called on Congress to maintain its support for vital housing tax incentives, including the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, the mortgage interest deduction and real estate tax deductions. Read more.
[Source: NAHB, April 25, 2013]
Pending Home Sales Rise in March... The National Association of Realtors said on Monday its Pending Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, rose 1.5 percent to 105.7. Activity in recent months has shown modest improvements, and contracts last month reached the highest level since April 2010. Read more.
[Source: Reuters, April 29, 2013]
Handy Faces Future as Private Distributor... Handy management intends to explain the changes to current Handy dealers at a series of town hall meetings in the coming weeks. Read more.
[Source: Home Channel News, April 29, 2013]
Lumber Prices Up Sharply on the Year... Indexes for framing lumber, plywood, and OSB maintained by the authoritative Random Lengths Lumber and Panel Market Report show a sharp increase this year, the newsletter reports. The Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price stood at $434 (per 1,000 board feet) on April 19, up from $302 a year earlier. The Random Lengths Structural Panel Composite Price, a weighted average of 11 key products, was at $509, up from $345 a year earlier.
[Source: Builder Business Update, April 30, 2013]
Making Up for Retirement Shortfall... You may find that you haven't saved enough for retirement. There are different strategies for making up the shortfall. In this issue, we give you a few. One way is to reduce spending during accumulation years. In this issue you will also find ways to cut expenses. Read more.
[Source: Tax Favored Benefits, May 2, 2013]
EPA Fines 17 Companies... EPA announced it is taking enforcement actions against 17 companies for violations of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting rule (RRP). Alleged violations include failure to obtain certification prior to performing or offering to perform renovations on homes built before 1978, where lead is more likely to be present, and failure to follow lead-safe practices. Read more.
[Source: Hardwood Floors Magazine, May 6, 2013]
Industry Dashboard for May 6, 2013... Consumer confidence improves in April, and so does unemployment - but only slightly. Sherwin-Williams continues to lead the stocks on the Home Channel Stock Roundup. Click here for dashboard.
[Source: Home Channel News, May 6, 2013]