Articles

he 2022 Houzz Study shows a positive outlook is prevalent across industry groups from architects and designers to builders and landscapers, despite headwinds in the form of labor and product availability and price volatility, said Marine Sargsyan, Houzz senior economist. Read More

Despite numerous market forces, the builder market has shown little signs of slowing down. Single-family and multi-family units are being built as fast as the market will allow — but continued supply chain issues, labor market shortages and regulatory issues are starting to catch up to the industry, and insiders said these factors, coupled with record high demand and low supply, are pricing even more consumers out of the market. Read More

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes moved two points lower to 79 in March from a downwardly revised reading in February, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Read More

Total construction starts rose 9% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.013 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. Nonresidential building starts swelled 32% due to the start of three large manufacturing facilities. By contrast, residential starts fell 3%, and nonbuilding starts fell by less than 1%. Without the three large manufacturing projects, total construction would have declined 6% in February. Read More

U.S. ceramic tile imports in January 2022 were down by 13.1% in square meters but down by only 3.7% in dollars, reports Grosser Consulting. Read More

Consumer sentiment declined 4.9% to 59.7 in early March, according to preliminary results from the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers.  Read More

Mortgage applications increased 8.5% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 4, 2022.  Read More

The number of job openings was little changed at 11.3 million on the last business day of January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.  Hires and total separations were little changed at 6.5 million and 6.1 million, respectively. Within separations, the quits rate decreased to 2.8%.  Read More

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.8% in February on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.6 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 7.9% before seasonal adjustment. Read More

After eight years, Ceramics of Italy will return to the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) in Las Vegas, Nev. from April 5-8 for Coverings. More than 100 Italian brands producing cutting-edge ceramic tile and installation products will showcase their latest collections inside the Italian Pavilion, organized by Confindustria Ceramica, and located in the Central Hall. At the center of it all, the Ceramics of Italy booth (Booth C6433) will offer a meeting point and hospitality hub for attendees while showcasing innovative applications using Italian tile. Read More