Returning business means 2 big truck problems for contractors

A lot of companies got rid of rolling stock in the downturn, but just buying new trucks as business grows does not get a fleet back to what it was.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 24, 2013

A look at 2012 mortgages: Still a lot of refinancing, not buying

A Federal Reserve study found that total mortgages were the best since 2009, but loans for people buying houses did not increase nearly as quickly as re-fi mortgages.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 23, 2013

Explore the Trendline➔

Labor

A roundup of articles about issues affecting the workforce.

By Construction Dive staff

A slowdown in home-price increases should comfort buyers, not worry them

Apparently prospective home-buyers got jumpy when month-to-month home-price increases slowed recently, but economists argue that they should be relieved of bubble fears.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 23, 2013

Be smart about hiring – and don't trust your gut more than 50%

As things pick up in the housing sector, hiring will likely be a necessity, and a former builder has some advice about how do it wisely.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 23, 2013

36-acre Wash. state redevelopment moving ahead after 6-year wait

A $2.3 billion behemoth of a project in Bellevue, Wash., is ready to kick off 15-years of work.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 23, 2013

Taking a less-cheerful view of August housing starts

Unlike The New York Times, a principal at Auction.com Research did not find August housing-start numbers to be all that great in single-family building.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 20, 2013

Single-family for rental is still an option if you know where to look

There is still demand for single-family housing as rental property, according to a recent study that parsed the national markets.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 19, 2013

Report calls for even more NYC office space: Time to get building?

A commission that looked at Manhattan office demand in the coming decades said that, yes, a lot will be needed, though perhaps not the 80 million-plus square feet the mayor wants.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 19, 2013

Home starts boom, apartments wane in August construction stats

August data from the Commerce Department showed single-family starts were up 7% from July's pace, but starts on apartment and condominium construction were down 11.1%.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 18, 2013

Consultant FMI scales back its forecast for total 2013 construction

The construction and engineering consultant is shaving $4 billion off its second-quarter prediction for put-in-place construction this year, guessing $909.6 billion.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 18, 2013

McMansion worries return: Is it a sign of recovery?

Residents are up in arms over the resugence of giant homes in Burbank, Calif.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 17, 2013

Survey finds builders are waiting to see if recent buyer activity will persist

The September survey of builders found that they are coasting while they watch what develops in the market.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 17, 2013

Las Vegas home builders are feeling good after August boom

Residential construction had the best month of 2013 in the Las Vegas area, with home sales up 29% year over year.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 16, 2013

Five years on, is housing back by a little, a lot?

Housing is looking pretty good if you talk about sales of existing homes and not nearly as shiny if you focus on new construction.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 16, 2013

Commercial construction picking up in Indiana's steel region

A gradual recovery in the commercial construction sector in northwest Indiana and areas south of Chicago is doubly good news for the area where steel is made.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 15, 2013

Anecdotal economic outlooks can be useful

Official economic reports can be good, but there are other ways to assess what's going on—like steaks dinners and scrap metal.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 13, 2013

Tragedy in the Midwest and useless size: The week's most read construction news

Catch up on some important stories this week with the posts our readers read the most.

By Brian Warmoth • Sept. 13, 2013

Pause in home purchases correlates with softening consumer confidence

At Fannie Mae, they see a reduction in mortgage applications and purchase contracts as linked to declining consumer confidence and interest-rate worries.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 10, 2013

Limit on federally insurable mortgages may drop

Officials may shave several thousand dollars off the highest loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can insure for lenders.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 9, 2013

When reduced construction unemployment is a bad thing

Lower unemployment normally would be a cause for celebration, but a drop in the number for the construction industry may not be a good sign.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 9, 2013

NAHB's rankings for improving metro areas hits 291, best yet.

An index that was created to measure recovery from the recession reached its highest measure this month as 291 metro markets qualified as "improving."

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 9, 2013

Survey: Finding qualified workers is a headache for 74% of contractors

Associated General Contractors says that information from nearly 700 contractors, the bulk of them in 15 states, shows that recruiting craft workers is rough.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 5, 2013

It's cheaper to borrow big for a home than to stay small

The mortgage world has turned upside down, with lower rates on loans too big to guarantee than on so-called "conforming" loans too small to fail.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 5, 2013

Texas proposal for beat-up rural roads: Forget pavement

Trucks servicing the oil and gas boom are beating up Texas farm-to-market roads something fierce, and the state says the answer should be to make them officially unpaved roads.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 4, 2013

Builders say lots are in short supply, especially the best ones

Home demand doesn't matter if there's no place to build, and a new survey indicates that could be a problem.

By Ron Gallagher • Sept. 4, 2013