Economy: Page 133


  • LCS Enters into JV with Nine Senior Living Communities

    By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor Des Moines, Iowa-based LCS has entered into a joint venture with Chicago-based real estate investment firm Harrison Street Real Estate Capital that has acquired an equity position in nine senior living communities in Greater Minneapolis. The [...]

    Dec. 8, 2012
  • Construction employment falls as contractors' 'cliff' worries weigh

    Federal jobs numbers show construction employment is down in both residential and nonresidential sectors, and contractors are worried about taxes rising on Jan. 1.

    By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 7, 2012
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    Trendline

    Labor

    A roundup of articles about issues affecting the workforce.

    By Construction Dive staff
  • AGC puts price tag for federal fiscal stalemate at $6 billion for construction

    The contractor organization figures mandatory spending cuts that will take effect next year absent any plan to delay or avoid them altogether will put 170,000 jobs at risk.

    By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 7, 2012
  • Trade groups see construction economy getting better in 2013, but remaining far from best

    The opinions about recovery among industry groups' economists vary, but no one is sending up skyrockets yet.

    By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 6, 2012
  • Home Builders' index for improvement gains 76 more U.S. metro areas

    The National Association of Home Builders tracks areas that have had at least six straight months of improvement in three indicators.

    By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 6, 2012
  • Toll Brothers posts a nifty profit in fiscal year's last quarter

    Even without a one-time tax benefit that steeply boosted results, net income was still more than 300% of last year's Q4.

    By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 5, 2012
  • Look at Houston contractor Satterfield & Pontikes for tough-times survival tips

    The firm had strategies to survive the recession, including its early embrace of technology.

    By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 5, 2012
  • Gilbane economics report says residential building recovery is real

    Residential should finish the year 12% above 2011 numbers, Gilbane says, and nonresidential should be up 5%.

    By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 4, 2012
  • Would new city-funding mechanisms change people's decisions about where to live?

    If cities could collect the cost of services from suburbanites who commute in, would the pattern of housing choices change?

    By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 4, 2012
  • Green is going and growing in U.S. residential and commercial construction

    A report from analysts at McGraw-Hill says green building will total $85 Billion by year's end and will hit $98 billion to $106 billion next year.

    By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 3, 2012
  • All construction sectors look spiffy in October spending numbers

    Not all sectors were equally good, of course, but even the long-lagging public sector eeked out a month-to-month gain.

    By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 3, 2012
  • Landscape contractor rings up profits with professional holiday decorating

    In New York state's Hudson Valley, the Neave family has made a major income source out of what was going to be a tide-over sideline.

    By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 2, 2012
  • Economic analysis: How to turn higher GDP into bad news

    Third-quarter GDP for the U.S. was revised upward by more than 50%, but now economists are worried that sucked life out of the current quarter or next year.

    By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 29, 2012
  • New York contractors' group will pay a transit tax despite judge's killing it

    The New York Building Congress says the city's transit system is too important for it not to chip in, even if the tax itself has been declared unconstitutional.

    By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 29, 2012
  • Fighting the costs and curse of project rework

    Fixing problems can run to 20% of a project's price, and contractors are tackling the problem up front.

    By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 28, 2012
  • Case-Shiller finds mostly modest growth for metros in September

    Atlanta saw its prices rise year-to-year for the first time in 26 months, even if the gain was 0.1%, while Phoenix saw a 20.4% spike.

    By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 27, 2012
  • Analyst at CoStar says market conditions will force a jump in housing construction

    The company says the current pace of building cannot meet demand, especially in the multifamily sector.

    By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 27, 2012
  • Fixed-rate mortgages dive to yet lower lows in latest survey

    Thirty-year and 15-year loans went to record lows last week, though adjustable-rate mortgages held steady.

    By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 26, 2012
  • Fla. builder revives a custom-home program it shelved during the downturn

    Lee Wetherington Homes sees a market ready for its relaunched offering of custom homes on owners' lots.

    By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 26, 2012
  • Brokers, builders in the South say credit is getting in the way of demand

    A survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta found a region with lots of unhappy professionals.

    By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 26, 2012
  • Industry predictions: Construction activity in 2013 will be, well ....

    Different observers say 2013 will find business up a little, up more than a little or not up at all – and everyone warns of a big "if."

    By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 21, 2012
  • In equipment, renters have been and will be doing the buying, observers say

    Analysts say that modest growth in building activity this year and next year will not change contractors' reluctance to buy gear.

    By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 21, 2012
  • Housing starts in October stood 3.6% above September, U.S. data shows

    New-home completions also went up from September – by 14.5%.

    By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 20, 2012
  • Senator attacks proposed down-payment rules as drag on housing recovery

    Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., says it's too much to ask 20% in rule for qualified mortgages.

    By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 19, 2012
  • Builders' confidence in their business nears positive territory

    The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) reached 46 this month, and 50 is the tipping point.

    By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 19, 2012