Articles

Personal income decreased 2.0 percent in March after increasing 0.6 percent in February. Wages and salaries, the largest component of personal income, decreased 3.1 percent in March after increasing 0.5 percent in February. Read More

Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020, according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2019, real GDP increased 2.1 percent. Read More

"Despite the sharp decline in new home sales this month, the first quarter of 2020 was actually 6.7 percent higher than the same period last year, reflecting a strong pace prior to the virus outbreak," said Dean Mon, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Shrewsbury, N.J. "While we expect to see some further impacts to the industry, we remain confident that housing will be a sector that will help lead the economic recovery." Read More

Sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 15.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 627,000 units in March, coming off a downward revision in February, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The March rate is 9.5 percent lower than the March 2019 pace. Read More

Despite a slowdown in demand and the continued strength of new construction, rental markets remain extremely tight. With vacancy rates at decades-long lows, rents have soared — far outpacing the rebound in household incomes. As a result, the number and share of cost-burdened renters are again on the rise, especially among moderate-income households. These conditions are the result of fundamental changes in rental markets since the recession, including an influx of higher-income households, constraints on new supply, and losses of the low-cost stock.  Read More

According to TCNA, many key economic indicators were positive in 2019, as the U.S. economy experienced its tenth consecutive year of expansion on the heels of the Great Recession. However, the American ceramic tile market did not follow suit and declined for the first time in a decade. U.S. ceramic tile consumption in 2019 was 2.9 billion sq. ft. (273.2 million m2), down 5.4 percent from the previous year, according to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and TCNA. (Total Consumption is U.S. Shipments + Imports - Exports). Read More

Once the reins are taken off the economy and consumers regain confidence, kitchen and bath product demand is expected to spring back. Historically low interest rates should give a boost to housing demand, and we expect housing sales to resume double-digit growth rates. Households may also begin to trade up to a larger dwelling if they determine they need more work-at-home space. Read More

"The impact of COVID-19 is visible in the remodeling industry," said NAHB Remodelers chair Tom Ashley, Jr., CAPS, CGP, CGR, a remodeler from Denham Springs, La. "The rate of inquiries coming in is slowing down because many home owners are wary of remodeling crews inside their homes." Read More

"Housing has been deemed an essential business in most of the nation, and in the few states where the governors have not acted, we urge them to deem construction as essential," said Dean Mon, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Shrewsbury, N.J. "Housing can help lead an eventual rebound, as it has done in previous recessions." Read More

In 2019, Canadian ceramic tile consumption registered a further decrease, declining by 11.2% to 35.3 million sq.m Read More