He Was the Most Famous Builder Ever in American Residential Construction
A new book on the man behind Levittown shows how William Levitt changed the way the country builds new homes. Over a career spanning decades and stretching from the former potato fields on Long Island to as far away as France, William Levitt claims to have built 140,000 new homes, becoming the Henry Ford of […]
Why the “Missing Middle” Is an Opportunity for Home Builders
Between the single family and large multi-family buildings that dominate home building today lies an underdeveloped middle. The so-called “middle” sector of the U.S. homebuilding market – the medium-density structures like duplexes, triplexes and townhouses – grew just 11 percent nationwide over the past 20 years, contributing to the overall shortage in homes in the […]
The Great American Hallway Disappearing Act
It’s no secret that new homes in America are getting smaller but you might be surprised where the loss in space is coming from. The average American new home built in the first quarter of this year was 2,351 square feet. That’s down from a peak of 2,736 square feet during the early part of […]
Here’s What Six Homebuilders Are Saying about the Houses of 2045
Predicting the future is tough but a select group of builders is making big predictions about what houses will look like in 20 years. If you grew up on the Jetsons – or maybe Blade Runner or the Back to the Future movies – there were all sorts of crazy predictions about the kinds of […]
Are Lumber Prices Stabilizing as 2025 Approaches?
New data suggests that pricing for lumber will be more predictable giving builders more confidence in pricing. Madison’s Lumber Reporter, the well-regarded source for pricing information, is forecasting more stability going forward for lumber producers and end-users. “Given that the macroeconomic indicators and specific factors affecting the lumber industry last year are well known,” Keta […]
What the Expected Fed Rate Cut Means for Builders
We’re only weeks away from the highly anticipated cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve. Here’s what it could mean for the building and construction trade. It’s been talked about for almost a year, the Federal Reserve has stuck to its guns and kept interest rates at the highest level in 20 years. Now, […]
It’s Taking Longer to Build a Single-Family Home
New numbers from the Census Bureau indicate that the average single-family home takes half a month longer to build than it used to. If it sometimes seems like everything takes a little longer to finish these days, you might be right when it comes to building a single-family home. A new National Association of Home […]
Zillow Now Forecasting Stronger Housing Prices for 2024
The real estate site has raised its outlook for housing prices this year, predicting a more robust marketplace. As one of the more popular websites for the U.S. residential real estate market, Zillow has its fingers on the pulse of housing price trends, so its just released upgrade of its forecast for this year is […]
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 […]
A Small Solution to the Big Housing Crisis
Call them ADUs, backyard cottages or garage conversions but accessory houses may be becoming builders’ best friends. The shortage of housing in America has been well documented but now new research is showing that accessory dwelling units – ADUs – are rapidly gaining in popularity and could represent a major opportunity for the construction industry […]