Sector: Construction Materials

Numbers showing the biggest price jump in housing prices since January of 2006 are different. That jump was real, this latest spike is not.    Read More

As real estate investors rush to buy distressed properties and reap the rewards of a still-heating rental market, two distinct phenomena are suggesting caution, perhaps extreme caution.    Read More

Foreclosure activity in April fell nationally to the lowest level since the summer of 2007, but government intervention and the recent $25 billion mortgage servicing settlement are now changing the face of the crisis.   Read More

A new report came out this morning with a curious headline: “Foreclosure Activity Declines, Hurting Investors.” I read it twice. You would think declines in foreclosure activity would be a good thing, that is, would help, not hurt. Not in this bizarre housing market.    Read More

Builder confidence jumped five points in May, which is a sign that the nation’s homebuilders are feeling far better again, after an unusually warm winter wreaked havoc with the usual traffic and sales trends.   Read More

President Obama has visited a “responsible” couple who owe more on their mortgage than their Nevada home is currently worth. But did they act responsibly?    Read More

And here’s how he recommends playing it.   Read More

The Realtors say it, the home builders say it, and now the chairman of the Federal Reserve is saying it: “Some creditworthy borrowers are still having trouble getting a mortgage.”    Read More

The number of homes entering the foreclosure process rose 8.1 percent in March, according to a new report, but the volume is down more than 30 percent from a year ago.   Read More

More Americans are renting homes, and fewer are owning them; it’s not as if this is news to anyone who follows the U.S. housing market, but a new report from the Census Bureau today really put an historical exclamation point on the trend.    Read More