Jul 7th 2011 3:10PM
Buying a newly built house costs more -- even with all the builder incentives thrown in. The National Association of Realtors reports that the median price for existing homes in May was $166,700. The Census Bureau says the median home price for new homes was $222,600 -- or 33.5 percent higher. The price gap explains why... Continue Reading »
Apr 25th 2011 10:32AM
The market for new homes showed some unexpected life last month. New home sales rose 11.1 percent to annual rate of 300,000, according to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. While this marks a nice bump up from the February rate of 270,000, it does not yet... Continue Reading »
Feb 28th 2011 10:39AM
Over the past two weeks we have been bombarded with housing market data, much of it seemingly contradictory. • On February 15, the National Association of Home Builders released their Housing Market Index for February. The Index measures confidence among home builders, where 50 is neutral, higher is positive, and... Continue Reading »
Dec 16th 2010 10:24AM
Well, it's something, if not much: Builders began construction on new homes at higher rate in November. So-called housing starts increased 3.9 percent last month, according to the National Association of Home Builders, the first time the index has shown an uptick since August. Builders such as Toll Brothers are... Continue Reading »
Nov 17th 2010 4:30PM
A court decision in Florida recently exonerated homebuilders who'd used Chinese drywall, since they were not within the distribution chain. But they are not completely off the hook. While builders won't be held to rules of "strict liability" for homes impacted by allegedly toxic Chinese drywall, this ruling is not a... Continue Reading »
