U.S. housing starts did not turn out as expected in September, according to the latest release from the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. Privately-owned housing starts staggered slightly from August to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.201 million in September. Economists surveyed by Reuters expected starts to decline, h...

Single-family residential permits went up by more than 6% from last August in the U.S. Despite an overall climb in permits, the Northeast saw an overall decline of more than 4%, and the Midwest did not see any change at all. According to the New Residential Construction Survey by the United States Census Bureau, most single-family construction seem...

Construction spending in the nonresidential sector is taking a hit, according to a leading economic indicator. The Dodge Momentum Index, which has been shown to lead nonresidential building construction spending by one year, is in a bit of a slump following September's 2.6% downturn from August. The index also declined in August after a string of s...

Construction costs are on the rise in the near term and not so distant future. According to the latest IHS Markit PEG Engineering and Construction Cost Index, September was the 23rd straight month of cost increases. The index jumped more than three points to 62.1. The materials/equipment and subcontractor labor sub-indexes also showed cost growth c...

While economists anticipated a decline in U.S. pending home sales in August, many were surprised to see the extent at which the sales fell. On Sept. 27, Reuters reported the sale of previously-owned homes dropped 1.8%, compared to the predicted 0.4%, based on the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index. Pending home sales h...

Only a few weeks remain until Pennsylvania's Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act (CASPA) changes, shaking up the future of timeliness for construction payments. The new act will affect construction contracts entered into, on or after Oct. 10, 2018. In Pennsylvania, CASPA affects downstream payments on private construction projects. The amendme...

Growing affordability concerns couldn't keep builder confidence down for single-family homes as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) held steady throughout September. The index maintained a 67 reading, indicating "firm demand for housing" from Millennials and new homebuyers. According to NAHB Chair...

September 19, 2018 U.S. housing starts rose significantly in August for multi-family construction, forecasting a positive outlook for the housing market. Interest rates for home loans have increased, but houses continue to be built more frequently, according to a recent Reuters article. For the month of August, housing starts rose 9.2%, bringing th...

Sept. 13, 2018

As the East Coast prepares for Hurricane Florence to make landfall late Thursday or early Friday, the construction industry is already seeing the storm’s costly effects through lumber prices. According to Prosales magazine, the impending hurricane and any that follow are expected to bring a 10% lumber price hike that may last roughly two months.

September 7, 2018

Employment in the residential construction industry remains stable, sitting at 3.9% this August, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Jobs increased by 201,000, and employment in residential construction continued to trend upward.