U.S. construction spending unexpectedly fell in August amid a sharp drop in outlays on single-family housing projects, but declining borrowing costs could stimulate activity in the months ahead.The Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Tuesday construction spending dipped 0.1% after a downwardly revised 0.5% drop in July. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast construction spending would edge up 0.1% after a previously reported 0.3% decr
U.S. home builder confidence edged up in September as mortgage rates fell, breaking four months of consecutive declines, but remained at relatively low levels as rising costs continued to impede construction.The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index of builder confidence rose to 41 this month from 39 in August, the National Association of Home Builders said on Tuesday. A Reuters poll showed economists expected the outlook to increase to 40 this m
Sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose to their highest level in more than a year in July as a drop in mortgage rates boosted demand, offering more evidence that the housing market is recovering.New home sales jumped 10.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 739,000 units last month, the highest level since May 2023, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Friday. It was also the sharpest increase in sales since August 2022.The sa
The White House is expanding low-cost financing, easing regulations and incentivizing local reforms in a wide-ranging effort to increase housing supply.The White House is announcing $100 million in grants to state and local governments to spur the construction of new housing, one of a host of new administrative actions to boost housing supply.The Biden administration has witnessed record levels of housing production, driven by a pandemi
High homebuying costs continue to push consumers toward rentals, fueling a multifamily boom. But how long will it last?A record number of new apartments—more than half a million—are expected to hit the market by the end of the year as high rental demand continues to fuel a multifamily construction boom, according to a new report(link is external) from RentCafe. This would mark the third consecutive year that apartment construction r
AI is improving building design, operations and space planning. Here’s how.It’s no small wonder that AI has been quickly absorbed into proptech. Real estate and facilities management have always embraced tools that drive efficiency in the built environment. But it also means that property managers need to accelerate their digital strategy to keep pace. “We are owners of concrete, steel and earth, but we have to transform into a tech b
Builder confidence dropped 1 point in July to 42, according to the latest NAHB Housing Market Index. That's the lowest score since December 2023 Homebuilders exhibited little optimism as the housing market showed little improvement month-to-month, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today.Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes
You have heard of VR and maybe even AR, but have you heard about XR? XR stands for extended reality and is an umbrella term for virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. It is also the term the architecture and engineering industries use for the immersive 3D imaging being deployed on construction sites worldwide.One significant difference between XR and VR/AR is that XR doesn’t require a headset. Many extended reality applications sim
With unprecedented home prices and generationally high mortgage rates, more people are looking for rental options — and not apartments — but single-family homes.You've probably seen some of these communities throughout Central Florida. WESH 2 spoke with developers and renters about why this growing trend is here to stay.“I previously resided in New York and came to Florida for the good weather, more family-oriented environment, fresh air, s
Newly built homes available on the market rose to 480K, representing a supply of 9.1 months at the current sales rate, up from an 8.5 month supply in March, according to US Census Bureau data New-home sales fell in April as inventory of existing homes increased modestly and inventory of newly built homes hit their highest level since November 2022, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.Sales of newly built single family h
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