Articles

"Renovation markets have historically seen up to a year delay in rebounding from recessions after new construction turns,” reports Truist. “This would put the industry on pace to see a rebound in '24 given the mid-year '23 new housing starts rally. Read More

The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), issued by Dodge Construction Network, fell 8.6% in March to 164.0 from the revised February reading of 179.5. Over the month, commercial planning fell 3.2% and institutional planning dropped 17.2%. Read More

The U.S. ceramic tile market contracted for the second straight year in 2023, as the U.S. housing market with which it is closely linked continued to struggle due to high mortgage rates, inflation, and labor shortages. Read More

As the housing industry celebrates New Homes Month in April, builders continue to respond to buyer preferences by constructing smaller homes to place homeownership within reach of families planning to buy a home this year. A National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) analysis found that new homes built in 2023 reached their smallest median size in 13 years. Read More

A National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) analysis found that new homes built in 2023 reached their smallest median size in 13 years. Read More

But as most of you know, the most unhappy customers are the greatest source of learning about your employees, business policies and general operations. So here’s a thought: Attend a training session on “Worst Practices.” We don’t know of any such training but there should be. This is negativity in a very positive way. Kinda. Read More

Personal income increased $66.5 billion (0.3 percent at a monthly rate) in February. Disposable personal income (DPI)—personal income less personal current taxes—increased $50.3 billion (0.2 percent). Read More

U.S. hard-surface imports began 2024 in much the same way they left 2023, with January's $374.2 million in value only increasing by 0.6% from last December. Read More

Total U.S. ceramic tile consumption in 2023 was 264.5 million sq.m, down 7.3% from the previous year. Imports fell by 8.4% to 185.8 million sq.m. Read More

Consumer sentiment rose 3.3% to 79.4 in March, according to final results from the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers. This represents 28.1% year over year. Read More