In spite of the pandemic, the U.S. and Canadian housing markets have seen significant growth over the past year as individuals and families stuck in apartments were driven to the suburbs in search of bigger homes with space to live, work and play. In addition to a rise in demand for single-family housing, housing supply shortages, higher material prices, ... READ MORE >
House of the rising costs: Construction materials surge amid higher demand, supply constraints
Construction material costs have been rising since last June, and the increase is having a big effect on the residential construction industry. Everything from lumber to asphalt to cement to insulation has soared in price as the home building industry has heated up. Part of the reason, in addition to rising demand, is that supplies have been ... READ MORE >
Building the new normal in health care
As the health care industry works toward a new normal—a time of recovery and eventual re-emergence from the pandemic—providers are taking a hard look at their physical infrastructure and rethinking what they will need in the future. This rethinking has been prompted in no small part by the explosion of telemedicine during the pandemic and the ... READ MORE >
Traditional retail’s loss has been industrial’s gain
The holiday season is upon us and like most everything that has happened in 2020, it will bring unprecedented experiences due to the pandemic. Most people associate the holidays with buying presents for friends and family and getting together to share each other’s company. But with the coronavirus still raging, these time-worn practices may not be possible. ... READ MORE >
There is no cooling the housing market as homebuilder confidence surges
The U.S. homebuilder confidence index continues to reach new heights, rising to 85 in October, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders released on Monday. The reading was stronger than the median forecast of 83, marking the sixth straight month that the index has exceeded the consensus estimate. All three components of the ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: New home sales continue to surge
Sales of new homes have continued to reach new heights, increasing by 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted rate of a little more than 1 million for August – the first time new home sales had eclipsed that mark since 2006. Compared to the same period a year earlier, sales surged 43.2%, according to data released from the U.S. Census Bureau on ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Existing home sales surge
Existing home sales surged in July by the most on record, increasing 24.7% from June to a 5.86 million annualized rate. The housing market has been booming as a result of low mortgage rates, which have been hovering around 3%, pent up demand from millennials who have been entering the housing market, and an increased interest in suburban markets following ... READ MORE >
Laying the foundation for construction’s IT future
The construction industry has seen gains in employment since April, despite overall declines in spending, as workers were brought back to complete necessary emergency projects and jobs begun prior to the pandemic. For the month of July, total construction employment increased a modest 0.3% to 7.2 million, up from an April low of 6.6 million. While ... READ MORE >
There is no V in housing, but there is in recovery
The strong data for housing starts and permits in June released last week were just the opening act for the V-shaped recovery in housing. Existing home sales increased 4.72 million for June, up 20.7% from the previous month, according to data released on Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. Existing and pending home sales surged in ... READ MORE >
Housing remains a leader in the economic recovery
Housing continues to be a bright spot in the economy, with housing starts jumping 17.3% in June and housing permits rising 2.1% -- the second straight month of gains following the economic shutdowns of March and April. While the June housing data, released by the Commerce Department on Friday, may have been short of market estimates, the growth in ... READ MORE >