Year: 2024

Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

BrianAnthony

Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey Mortgage applications increased 7.1% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 8, 2024. Read More Mortgage Bankers Association https://www.mba.org/news-and-research/newsroom/news/2024/03/13/mortgage-applications-increase-in-latest-mba-weekly-survey

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Driving Efficiency in Challenging Times with Structural Building Components

Hanna

By Jess Lohse Builders and developers continue to face unprecedented challenges as increased interest rates pressure housing affordability. Current rate levels jeopardize many multifamily housing projects and have many builders working to “do more with less” on single family projects. Times like these cause builders to revert to basics and analyze procurement and construction techniques. It may be tempting to apply pressure to subcontractors and suppliers to increase their scope of work while minimizing their price; better value can be found in soliciting their thoughts for efficiency and improvements to…

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Seven Percent of Builders Now Build Barndominiums

Hanna

Barndominium: a structure that is, in some sense, a combination barn and condominium A rising term in the industry, barndominiums are becoming increasingly widespread in real estate media outlets. Even more so, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) included the term in a questions in its February 2024 NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The survey yielded a response of a total of 7% of single-family builders are indeed building barndominiums at some point during the past 12 months. According to Eye On Housing, That result, however, leaves open the question…

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Job Growth Continues to be Strong Across Most States

Hanna

Compared to the previous month, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 42 states and the District of Columbia in January. Eight states saw a decrease. Nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 229,000 in January, following a gain of 290,000 jobs in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment data was most favorable in New York, which added 59,300 jobs on a month-over-month basis. California followed with a 58,000 increase, and then Florida adding 38,000 more jobs. Across those eight states, a total of 17,000 jobs were lost with…

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How to Hire More Women into Construction Roles

Hanna

With a seemingly never-ending run of labor shortages, contractors may need to turn to a pool left largely untapped, and that is a pool of talented women. Making up 47% of the United States labor force, only 11% of women comprise the construction industry, highlighting a need for hire. Though it may seem simple enough, to hire more women, that is not the case. A compilation of poor recruitment efforts coupled with unfair stereotypes of what women can and can’t do when it comes to the jobsite continues to block…

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Better, Not Bigger, Homes Among Top Design Trends for 2024

Hanna

LAS VEGAS – Following a brief uptick in new home sizes in 2021, the average size of a new home continues to inch smaller — dropping from 2,479 square feet in 2022 to 2,411 square feet in 2023, the smallest average size in 13 years — to match home buyer preferences for less square footage. According to NAHB’s latest What Home Buyers Really Want study, home buyers are looking for homes around 2,070 square feet, compared to 2,260 20 years ago. “It’s related to two factors that are linked,” said Rose Quint,…

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