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"The demand for new single-family homes continues to be strong, as low interest rates and a focus on the importance of housing has stoked buyer traffic to all-time highs as measured on the HMI," said NAHB chairman Chuck Fowke, a custom home builder from Tampa, Fla. "However, the V-shaped recovery for housing has produced a staggering increase for lumber prices, which have more than doubled since mid-April. Such cost increases could dampen momentum in the housing market this fall, despite historically low interest rates." Read More

Despite low interest rates, a supply shortage coupled with rising home prices contributed to a decline in housing affordability in the second quarter of 2020, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released today.   Read More

In 2019, the ceramic floor and wall tile segment performed at a rate comparable to the previous year. According to Catalina Research, the category posted sales (in manufacturer’s dollars) of $3.9 billion, accounting for 14.1 percent of the total floor covering sales in 2019 — a 0.7 percent increase.  Read More

Daltile invented the manufacturer/distributor/sales office hybrid. It is a manufacturer, distributor with warehouses and has more than 200 sales offices selling to contractors, end users, etc. Emser has 78 regional locations and MSI has 25. All are pretty much national in scope and carry mostly its own brands. They are exceptional companies and continue to outpace the industry.   Read More

Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 32.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020, according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter of 2020, real GDP decreased 5.0 percent. Read More

"Low supply of existing homes and low interest rates are key factors in helping the 55+ housing market bounce back to where it was at the beginning of the year," said Harry Miller III, chairman of NAHB's 55+ Housing Industry Council and president of Regal Builders LLC in Dover, Del Read More

Personal income decreased 1.1 percent while consumer spending increased 5.6 percent in June. Read More

NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz, “Like the broader housing market, we are seeing the 55+ housing market return to pre-pandemic levels. However, challenges such as rising lumber costs and availability of skilled labor will limit a more robust recovery." Read More

One segment that is showing resilience is luxury spending on home products such as kitchen and bath items, according to a recent webinar, “Consumer Confidence and the Discretionary Dollar,” hosted by the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). Read More

U.S. floor coverings manufacturer dollar sales (U.S. factory shipments minus exports plus imports) could have increased by only 1.1 percent to $27.6 billion in 2019. This is down from a 5.7 percent increase in 2018. Square foot sales could have declined by 1.8 percent to 23.5 billion as rising average selling prices dampened demand. Read More