Economy: Page 106
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Bad news for construction: Lenders losing money on mortgages
Mortgage bankers reported that the average mortgage bank or mortgage subsidiary lost $194 on each loan it made in the first quarter.
By Ron Gallagher • June 10, 2014 -
Bankers say mortgage credit eased up in May
With the building industry long decrying overly restrictive credit standards for slowing the recovery, a sliver of good news comes from mortgage bankers.
By Ron Gallagher • June 9, 2014 -
U.S. construction spending hits 5-year high
Public construction spending was up, according to the Commerce Dept.
By Davide Savenije • June 6, 2014 -
Lennar CEO: We'll build more when Millennials start buying more
Stuart Miller told CNBC that household formation will pick up some day and the production rate will have to catch up.
By Ron Gallagher • June 4, 2014 -
Commercial sector turns nonresidential backlog negative for Q1
Associated Builders and Contractors said the infrastructure and heavy industrial segments saw some increase in backlogged work.
By Ron Gallagher • June 3, 2014 -
Big bill for developers looms without CA state school bond
If the state has no money for schools, local governments may try to extract costs from developers, which could launch house prices upward.
By Ron Gallagher • June 3, 2014 -
Analysts: Mortgage climate will help Horton, Beazer, MDC
With rates for 30-year fixed loans at a nine-month low, the three builders have factors in place that should mesh nicely for higher sales.
By Ron Gallagher • June 2, 2014 -
Total April spending up, but beyond that is a matter of perspective
It was the third month in a row of an overall increase in construction put in place, but what else happened depends on how you slice the data.
By Ron Gallagher • June 2, 2014 -
Construction boom town: Would you believe Detroit?
Associated General Contractors' Michigan chapter hears the city ringing with the music of cranes, trucks and scaffolding.
By Ron Gallagher • June 1, 2014 -
Warmington finds a good way to beat the competition is to avoid it
The builder, part of a group of companies that include design and asset management, looks for different designs with market appeal and different property.
By Ron Gallagher • May 30, 2014 -
OR readies next step in road-use-tax experiment
The state is seeking contractors to manage a 5,000-volunteer test of using a fee for miles driven rather than a fuel tax to gather funds for highway construction work.
By Ron Gallagher • May 29, 2014 -
Consultant slams doom-and-gloom housing scenarios
Former builder Charlie Scott has little patience for the media's sensationalist coverage of prospects of the housing market.
By Ron Gallagher • May 27, 2014 -
Investors see U.S. housing market as bad bet
Word from Wall Street is that the housing recovery is unlikely to get back its previous upward momentum.
By Ron Gallagher • May 26, 2014 -
US new-home sales rise 6.4% in April
Government reports show newly built homes were selling at an annualized pace of 433,000.
By Ron Gallagher • May 26, 2014 -
Will the rise in existing-home sales lead to more new-home buying?
Data from the National Association of Realtors shows that existing home sales began to come out of the winter slump that hit home building.
By Ron Gallagher • May 22, 2014 -
No good news yet from the design business (but perhaps soon)
The Architectural Billings Index stayed in negative territory in April, but a new measure of design contracts suggested billings will rise later this year.
By Ron Gallagher • May 21, 2014 -
Total construction starts up 3% in April
The overall gain came despite single-family homes hitting a sixth straight month of decreases and non-building construction falling off.
By Ron Gallagher • May 21, 2014 -
Jersey City program to start residents on construction careers
The city's mayor said he wanted residents working on projects in the community, and the Jersey City Employment and Training Program is recruiting candidates.
By Ron Gallagher • May 20, 2014 -
Grabbing global profit opportunities requires agility, quick learning
Construction opportunities outside the U.S. and western Europe can have higher profits, but the competition is intense and growing.
By Ron Gallagher • May 20, 2014 -
Fast growth leads to builders' opportunity
Towns that have boomed in population are showing slow housing growth, so there is demand aplenty.
By Ron Gallagher • May 19, 2014 -
New San Francisco terminal dulled down to fight budget creep
The Transbay Transit Center will have painted steel where it was to have stainless, and glass flecks are gone from the specs for walls and beams.
By Ron Gallagher • May 18, 2014 -
Florida touts biggest gain in US construction jobs over last year
A breakdown of new federal data on employment shows that from April 2013 to last month, the energy belt had three of the four biggest percentage gains in construction hiring.
By Ron Gallagher • May 16, 2014 -
Economists see housing sales, construction still in low gear
The population is growing faster than jobs and young people believe they cannot meet down payments.
By Ron Gallagher • May 15, 2014 -
More new workers coincide with more job-site injuries
Insurers say contractors and builders need to be careful with experienced workers whom they rehire after the workers have been away.
By Ron Gallagher • May 15, 2014 -
Big builders back from the bottom, but it's a changed world
The biggest companies, the "giants" of home building, have nicely recovered revenues, but they have had to adapt to changed conditions and demands.
By Ron Gallagher • May 14, 2014
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