National Home Sales & Remodeling News

Remodeling Hits Record Mark
Americans spent more on remodeling than ever before, breaking the $200 billion mark for the first time, and paying out an estimated $210 billion, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) analysis of recently released third-quarter remodeling spending from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The NAHB now forecasts a 13.2 percent jump to $238 billion in 2006, the largest increase in spending in more than 10 years.

New Home Sales Fall in February
Sales of new single-family homes fell 10.5 percent to a seasonably adjusted rate of 1.08 million units compared to a revised January rate of 1.2 million, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. The latest figure is also 13.4 percent below the February 2005 estimated rate of 1.24 million.
Sales improved in both the Northeast and Midwest by 12.7 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, but fell 6.4 percent in the South, in addition to the nearly 30 percent decline in the West.

The NAHB is currently projecting a decline of approximately 8 percent in new-home sales for 2006 as a whole, which would return the market to roughly the same healthy level of activity posted in 2004.