Articles

"Bricks-and-mortar store owners are emerging from the pandemic with surprising strength, posting some of their best numbers in years and plotting expansions as more Americans venture out to buy things again,” reports the Wall Street Journal. Read More

ITR’s Beaulieu Offers Outlook for Upcoming Housing Activity September 30, 2022 from Floor Focus FloorDaily News Manchester, NH, September 30, 2022 – ITR Economics’ CEO and… Read More

Personal income increased $71.6 billion, or 0.3 percent at a monthly rate, while consumer spending increased $67.5 billion, or 0.4 percent, in August. Read More

Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2022, following a decrease of 1.6 percent in the first quarter. Read More

A brief decline in mortgage rates helped to boost new home sales in August but sales are expected to move on a downward trend in the months ahead as rates have since moved higher and builder sentiment continues to fall due to declining housing affordability and ongoing supply chain bottlenecks. Read More

Home prices made a 15.8% annual gain in July, down from 18.1% in the previous month, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions. Read More

Total construction starts fell 9% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.25 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. The decline, however, comes on the heels of a massive increase in July that saw the start of three large manufacturing plants and two LNG export facilities. In August, nonresidential building starts rose 7%, residential starts were 1% higher, while nonbuilding starts lost 36%. Read More

High mortgage rates and building production bottlenecks continue to act as a drag on the single-family housing market even as overall housing starts posted a double-digit gain in August due to a surge in multifamily production. Read More

Foreign-sourced products penetrated the U.S. floor coverings market before the pandemic, throughout the pandemic and during the pandemic recovery. Imports continue to take share from domestic manufacturers (whether shipped from a plant owned by a U.S.- or foreign-based company) despite re-shoring of some production, supply chain issues and additional tariffs placed on Chinese-made flooring. Read More

"Falling home sales are rippling through the economy, providing a window into how rising interest rates can cool spending, hiring and growth,” reports the Wall Street Journal. Read More