New Study Shows Construction Costs Doubled Inflation Rate in 2022

A new NAHB study shows costs per square foot for single-family construction rose at more than twice the inflation rate last year. The Consumer Price Index rose 8% in 2022 but the median square foot price to build a new single-family detached home jumped 18%, more than double that rate. This is according to a […]

Goldman Sachs Forecasts High Home Prices & Mortgages for 2024

Despite some signs that interest rates may be leveling off and housing activity showing signs of life, the big investment banker says next year will still be a hard one for the building trade. There are some indications from the Federal Reserve that interest rates may be topping out while small pockets of the new […]

Construction Financing Still Going Strong

Interest rates may have skyrocketed putting pressure on new builds but lenders are still ready to write you a check for a construction loan.  In what seems like a confounding contradiction, lenders are still quite anxious to issue financing for new construction even as the overall building market continues to be impacted by high-interest rates, […]

More Mass Timber Coming to Atlanta

When you come to the next International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta in 2024 you may be able to see more of the burgeoning mass timber movement firsthand. The City of Atlanta is set to get its second mass timber structure, providing showgoers to next year’s International Woodworking Fair a chance to see more of this […]

Can Wearable Tech Help Builders Impacted by Record Heat?

It’s always hot in Texas in the summer, but 2023 is turning into a year of record heat waves, creating enormous concerns for workers, especially in the construction business, who need to do their jobs outside when the temperature is consistently in triple digits. One Dallas-based contractor is trying to address these concerns with new […]

Construction Spending Ticks Up in May, Continuing Uneven Path

The building industry has been on a roller coaster ride the past year and that continued in May – in a good way – when spending in the U.S. beat expectations. Construction spending is still in recovery mode and is unlikely to hit the highs of the early years of the pandemic when the country […]

The World’s Largest Wooden City Set for Stockholm, Sweden

In yet another benchmark moment for the Mass Timber movement, construction will start in Sweden in 2025 on what is being called the “world’s largest wooden city.” It will span more than 60 acres and include over 2,000 homes and 7,000 offices space and when the first phase opens in 2027, Stockholm Wood City will […]

Construction Equipment Rentals Remain Strong

Commercial construction continues to be the driving factor in the strength of the construction equipment rental market, according to a new report from financial services company TD Cowen. “Non-residential construction equipment rental rates remain strong, although commercial office continues to be pressured,” TD Cowen, the research arm of TD Securities wrote in a new report. […]

New Home Building Cancellation Rates Drop, Signaling More Demand

The U.S. housing market remains challenged but new information from two of the biggest home builders in the country suggests demand for new homes is picking up. Even as the market for new homes in the country is still below the past few years, D.R. Horton and PulteGroup – two of the nation’s biggest home […]

Dodge Charts Lower Wood Material Prices for March

While the cost of many building materials increased in March Dodge Data & Analytics shows prices in key categories of wood declined dramatically for the month. Inflation continues to cause havoc for those in the building and construction trade with the cost of many raw materials up this year but new data on the prices […]