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Builder Confidence in Single-Family Homes Rises to 51 in March

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes climbed three points to 51 in March, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the highest level since July 2023 and marks the fourth consecutive monthly gain for the index. Read More

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Construction Backlog Declined to 8.1 Months in February

Associated Builders and Contractors reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator declined to 8.1 months in February, according to an ABC member survey conducted February 20 to March 5. The reading is down 1.1 months from February 2023. Read More

Ceramic Tile Statistics Economic Indicators Floor Covering Products Industry Forecasts Industry Statistics Reports

Ceramic Imports Declined 7.9% YOY in January

In the month of January 2024, total U.S. imports of ceramic tile were 13.79 million square meters, according to Grosser Consulting, a 7.9% decline compared to January 2023’s 14.97 million square meters. Read More

Ceramic Tile Statistics Competitive Intelligence Economic Indicators Floor Covering Products Industry Forecasts Industry Statistics Stone Statistics

Tile Shop Sales Down 3.4% in Q4, Income Down 58%

The Tile Shop reported net sales for Q4 2023 were $84.5 million, a decrease of 3.4% compared to Q4 2022’s $87.5 million. Read More

Ceramic Tile Statistics Competitive Intelligence Economic Indicators Floor Covering Products Industry Forecasts Industry Statistics

LL Flooring Sales Declined 19.7% in Q4 2023 on Loss of $17.5 Million

LL Flooring reported Q4 2023 net sales declined 19.7% to $211.8 million compared to sales of $263.9 million in Q4 2022, driven by a decrease in transaction count and average transaction size reflecting lower spend by consumers and pros. Read More

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The 2024 Election & The Economy

With the presidential and congressional elections occurring later this year, many are pondering their impact on the U.S. economy. There are basically two schools of thought on how federal elections translate to economic conditions. The first is that politicians will stimulate the economy with new spending programs to promote greater support for their economic agenda, hoping that voters will reward them and other candidates in their party at the polls. Read More

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Single-Family Production Shows Signs of Stirring

Led by larger urban metro markets, single-family growth rates are showing signs of a turnaround as moderating mortgage rates and a lack of existing inventory are contributing to a gradual upward trend, according to the latest findings from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) for the fourth quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, new data on overall production in coastal areas shows that single-family home building is holding steady while multifamily is falling. Read More

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Dodge Momentum Index Declined 1.4% in February

The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), issued by Dodge Construction Network, fell 1.4% in February to 180.5 (2000=100) from the revised January reading of 183.0. Over the month, commercial planning fell 2.3% and institutional planning ticked up 0.1%. Read More

Ceramic Tile Statistics Competitive Intelligence Floor Covering Products Industry Forecasts Industry Statistics Stone Statistics

Flooring Recovery Depends on Interest Rates

Floor covering demand is highly correlated with interest rate cycles. Interest rate movements affect housing demand, non-residential building construction spending and transportation equipment shipments. Any interest rate decline stimulates flooring sales to households, businesses, builders and transportation equipment manufacturers. Read More

Economic Indicators Industry Forecasts Industry Statistics

Smaller Homes Trends for Home Buyers

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. Read More