New-home sizes hit record as upscale buyers dominate the recovery

A trend toward smaller houses is in full retreat, as the average new home is bigger than what was going up during the boom.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 27, 2013

Optimism fails to make Kansas City urban retail site a reality

Kansas City, Mo., had high hopes that replacing 60 homes and businesses with a multi-use called Citadel Plaza, but all it has now is vacant lots in a depressed neighborhood.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 27, 2013

Planned power plant in Maryland would spawn 700-800 construction jobs

There's good news for the commercial construction sector in southern Maryland: A Dallas-based investment company called Panda Power Funds says it is going to build a power plant there.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 26, 2013

Growth in housing market held back by shortage of workers

There is a pronounced lack of skilled construction workers, especially in the Phoenix and Seattle areas.

By Nicole Wrona • Aug. 26, 2013

A measure of recession: How old are the pickups on the roads?

You can see one sign of the U.S. recession every time you drive down the road—or perhaps look in the parking lot—light-duty trucks in the U.S. are getting older.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 21, 2013

Contractors' work backlog rising, but the news isn't all positive

Good reason for optimism still comes in the context of weak U.S. economic growth.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 21, 2013

It was a tough quarter for several engineering and construction companies

Stock analysts found several publicly traded companies' figures disappointing—and even good results to be so-so.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 21, 2013

Builder confidence for August marks an eight-year high nationally

Builders in the Northeast may be feeling a little bitter, or at least left out, as the national confidence index rose three more points to 59, but the region was stuck at a glum 39.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 19, 2013

Multifamily and single-family didn't share success in July

Multifamily was the star of the month, as that part of the residential sector recovered, but single-family saw different results.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 18, 2013

Common-area lighting requires some thinking in commercial refits

Contractors who are helping clients through a commercial rehabilitation need to think through conventional lighting when weighing it against new technologies.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 16, 2013

Home sales and prices both rose in Southern California, July figures show

Supply went up in the Southern California housing market last month, but demand did, too, and prices had their seventh straight month of 20+% gains from year-before numbers.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 15, 2013

Home-building boom in Texas seems imminent

Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center says the Lone Star State could need as many as 10.5 million new places to live in 40 years.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 15, 2013

Gilbane foresees growing nonresidential volume, but also costs, for rest of 2013

Gilbane Building Co. says in its summer analysis of nonresidential building construction that the outlook for the rest of this year is good, but all of a 2013 construction gain of 5% will be from residential.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 15, 2013

Construction materials prices hold the line in July in government index

Construction materials overall were going for the same prices in July as in June, which put them 2% from July 2012 and a little bit behind the rise in all wholesale goods for the period.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 14, 2013

Cities hit hardest during recession now seeing biggest home-price rebounds

The National Association of Realtors is optimistic about some of the country's worst-hit areas.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 13, 2013

K2LA Luxury Development Selects Cobalt Construction for Second and Third Buildings

One of the largest luxury multifamily projects under development in Los Angeles now is the K2LA urban development. The project’s developer, Century West Partners, has recently announced that it has selected a company to handle the second and third phases of construction at the site. Cobalt ...

Aug. 12, 2013

Minneapolis market is a microcosm of U.S. housing construction

Home-building is booming in the Twin Cities area now, and the same factors that affect building nationally—supplies and labor—have prices up with bargains banished.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 12, 2013

Why 'housing bubble' fears are about as real as a horror movie

Media-generated talk about a new bubble in housing prices has as much truth to it as "Nightmare on Elm Street," auction.com executive vice president Rick Sharga says.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 12, 2013

Good news for home builders: Discount on foreclosures is falling

Builders have been at a disadvantage for several years, but the playing field is beginning to level out.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 12, 2013

A contractor's view: Labor will influence cost more than materials will

Alabama-based contractor Merrill Stewart sees labor shortages stirring things up in the coming years.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 9, 2013

The Urban Strategy America Fund Invests in 151-Unit Affordable Community

The Urban Strategy America Fund, a fund at New Boston Fund has closed on the permanent financing for the third financial rental phase of Olmsted Green, a community in Boston.

Aug. 8, 2013

Construction equipment industry sees Asian growth, but says U.S. already bought

A five-year projection for construction equipment purchases says 6% growth by 2017, but much of that will come from buying in China.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 8, 2013

One Republican, one Democrat pitch energy-efficiency bill

Sens. Rob Portman, Ohio Republican, and Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Democrat, have written legislation to cut energy waste with better model building codes and education about what's available.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 8, 2013

Thanks to contractors and consumers, rental industry is smiling

Companies that rent equipment and tools to the construction industry are happy with their business this year and expect to get even happier.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 7, 2013

Another study has house price rises beginning to slow – at least for one month

Amid sellers' celebrations about house prices increasing from May to June, a study from Movoto Real Estate has the national average price per square foot holding steady from June to July.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 6, 2013