The way people buy houses has gone digital. Buyers scroll listings, take virtual tours, watch recorded open houses, and attend online events before they ever set foot on a property. The convenience is real, but it moves the hard work later in the process: the home itself still has to be inspected in person, and […]
Every month the Census Bureau releases new figures on housing permits and construction starts, and builders who follow them get an early read on demand for the months ahead. When the numbers move, so do material orders, labor schedules, and lot prices. Recent reports show housing permits and construction starts decline as market signals tighten
February trade publications for the lumber industry lead with housing data, and for good reason: the numbers released that month tell builders whether the recovery is gaining speed or stalling. Housing starts and permit counts move lumber demand, labor planning, and land acquisition months before foundations are poured. When starts run well above prior-year levels,
Housing prices have climbed for thirteen consecutive quarters. Inventory sits at historic lows, interest rates hover near zero, and the average price of a new home keeps rising. A CNBC report shared that prices would not fully recover from the recession until 2025, with demand climbing through that whole period. Yet the industry still struggles
The February issue of a merchant trade journal for the lumber and building material industry arrives with the first clean housing data of the year. Holiday shutdowns are over, permits are flowing, and builders get an early read on the spring market. In one recovery cycle, February housing starts ran 35 percent above the prior
The February 2023 edition of The Merchant Magazine landed in the middle of a housing market that was climbing out of a deep hole. Headlines from the month pointed one direction: housing starts up 35 percent from 2011, a marker of how far the housing recovery had come in a dozen years. For builders, the
Rural home projects lean on local building supply dealers the way city projects lean on big-box stores. A hardware and lumber yard with knowledgeable staff, delivery trucks, and community ties can move a renovation forward faster than an online order, because the people behind the counter know the local codes, the local soil, and the
Downsizing happens for many reasons: the kids have left, retirement is visible on the horizon, the existing house demands more maintenance than anyone wants to take on, or life simply feels better with less space and fewer expenses. Whatever the trigger, the goal is a smaller home that still delivers quality. Timber frame construction suits
An accessible timber-frame home in northwest Ohio began with a specific problem: the owner uses a wheelchair and wanted a two-story dream house, not a ranch. The couple’s answer was a barn-style timber frame with a wheelchair ramp hidden behind low stone walls, an elevator between floors, wide halls, and a kitchen designed for seated
A spec home is built without a waiting buyer, and a guest-focused version carries a design brief that starts with entertaining: every room has to work for a crowd from the first open house. The owners of one such home in a private ski community near Big Sky, Montana, decided to build the kind of
