Articles

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

Searching for a “wow factor” look that’s sure to impress? Gold tile might just be the answer. Gold tile offers everything from luxurious gilded designs to clean contemporary aesthetics. At the same time, it provides all of the low-maintenance benefits you’ve come to expect from ceramic tile, including scratch, stain, fade, and fire resistance. 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

Tile’s history extends back thousands of years, through cultures all over the world. Tile’s beauty and functionality has endured through the ages, from Ancient Rome through the modern era. Today, tile trends from all over the world continue to shape design, from aesthetics to habitability. 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

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell three points in September to 46, the lowest level since May 2014 with the exception of the spring of 2020, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Read More

Consumer sentiment rose 2.2% in early September to 59.5, according to the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers. This represents an 18.3% decline year over year. Read More