Due largely to unusually severe weather, across much of the nation, housing starts fell 16 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 880,000 units in January, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Meanwhile, single-family permits, which are often a harbinger of future building activity, posted a modest 1.3 percent decline to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 602,000 units.
Construction materials prices expanded 0.6 percent in January and are up 1.5 percent year over year, according to the Feb. 19 producer price index released by the Department of Labor. More specifically, nonresidential construction materials prices are up 0.5 percent for the month and are 1 percent higher than the same time one year ago.
Slightly lower median home prices along with a small uptick in mortgage rates contributed to housing affordability holding steady in the fourth quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), released today.
Source: Woodworking Network By Lindsey Piegza Existing home sales fell 5.1% in January from 4.87M to a 4.62M unit pace. Single family sales fell nearly 6% in January, the fifth monthly decline in six, dropping from 4.3M to a 4.05M unit pace. Condo/Co-op sales, on the other hand, were unchanged at the start of the year, holding steady at 0.57M.
Source: Statistics Canada The total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities declined 4.1% to $6.5 billion in December, following a 6.6% decrease in November.
Lower construction intentions for commercial buildings and multi-family dwellings in Ontario and British Columbia were responsible for much of the decrease at the national level in December. The total value of building permits for 2013 edged down 0.1% from 2012 to $80.8 billion. Source: DOOR & WINDOW MARKET MAGAZINE DWM recently published a story on 25 ways to supercharge your sales, but wait, there’s more. Following are 25 more ways to boost your sales, according to Peter Ebner, sales trainer. If you missed the first 25 tips, read about them here.
Source: DOOR & WINDOW MARKET MAGAZINE Any door and window dealer would want to know how to supercharge their sales, or any sales professional would welcome these tips. Peter Ebner, sales trainer for the printing industry, offers 50 tips to supercharge sales but says, “It doesn’t matter what you are selling and where you are selling. It doesn’t matter if it’s a $5,000 job or $60,000 job. The tips work anywhere. The only thing different is the pace–the techniques and strategies are the same. If you implement these 50 tips you will notice a dramatic increase in sales.”
Source: Door and Window Market Magazine Sales of doors and windows in China are expected to rise 8.1 percent per annum to 570 billion yuan in 2017 according to a new study. “Advances primarily will be driven by strong increases in both residential and nonresidential building,” says Freedonia analyst Toni Niu. Product upgrades and increasing concerns about energy efficiency will also contribute to window and door demand.
December represented the end of a three-month winning streak for nonresidential spending growth. According to a Feb. 3 release by the U.S. Census Bureau, nonresidential construction spending fell 1.3 percent on a monthly basis and 1.1 percent on a yearly basis in December. Spending for the month totaled $573.07 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis.
The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) has published an updated standard for acoustical performance. AAMA 1801-13, Voluntary Specification for the Acoustical Rating of Exterior Windows, Doors, Skylights and Glazed Wall Sections describes the use of sound transmission loss test data to calculate Sound Transmission Class (STC) and Outdoor-Indoor Transmission Class (OITC) ratings.
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