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The pandemic housing boom is over. Welcome to the housing recession. That was the message from the National Association of Home Builders on Monday. The NAHB/Wells Fargo housing market index unexpectedly dropped six points to a reading of 49, below the breakeven point indicating a deteriorating market. This is the eighth straight monthly decline for the index of homebuilder sentiment. Apart from a brief period at the start of the pandemic, this is the first below 50 reading since 2014.

Earlier this month, we told readers, “Lumber Prices Slump As Historic Boom Hits A Wall,” as sawmills were catching up with the flurry of demand from North American homebuilders amid supply chain issues, which created massive supply constraints, which propelled lumber prices to record highs. Ole Hansen, Saxo Bank’s chief commodity strategist, said the plunge in lumber prices might spiral down some more as speculators exit their positions and supply catches up with demand. Lumber futures on Chicago Mercantile Exchange are down more than 2% on Thursday. Prices have fallen 44% since May’s record high of over $1,700 per thousand...

There are two kinds of people in this world - builders and destroyers. Be a builder and reject the destroyers in November. There are two kinds of people in this world - builders and destroyers. You know who you are. Our forefathers were builders who rejected monarchy in favor of limited government and the challenge of self-rule. Our forefathers understood the difference between servitude and citizenship. They chose freedom and built a more perfect union - a government of the people, by the people, for the people. The building of the United States of America was the most successful experiment...

This is an actual letter sent to a man named Ryan DeVries regarding a pond on his property. It was sent by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Quality, State of Pennsylvania . This guy's response is hilarious, but read The State's letter before you get to the response letter. State of Pennsylvania 's letter to Mr. DeVries: SUBJECT: DEQ File No.97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec 20; Lycoming County Dear Mr. DeVries: It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced parcel of property. You have been certified...

The Novena Heirloom is a limited edition custom enclosure system I built for use with the open-source Novena computer designed by Bunnie Huang and Sean Cross. It was crowd funded in cooperation with Portland, Oregon-based Crowd Supply. Several prototype concepts were developed for the campaign. After consulting with Huang, we decided to forgo an easel design in favor of a more traditional clam shell laptop. The requirement for user access to the internal components argued for a removable keypad and drove the final result. The thrust of the design concept is informed by, and hopefully serves as homage to, the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Crammed into conference rooms with pizza for dinner, some programmers building the Obama administration's showcase health insurance website were growing increasingly stressed. Some worked past 10 p.m., energy drinks in hand. Others rewrote computer code over and over to meet what they considered last-minute requests for changes from the government or other contractors. As questions mount over the website's failure, insider interviews and a review of technical specifications by The Associated Press found a mind-numbingly complex system put together by harried programmers who pushed out a final product that congressional investigators said was tested by the government...

U.S. builders broke ground on homes last month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.04 million, the highest level since June 2008. The gain, driven by a surge in apartment construction, showed continued strength in the housing market at the start of the spring buying season. According to the US Census Bureau, privately-owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,036,000. This is 7.0 percent above the revised February estimate of 968,000 and is 46.7 percent above the March 2012 rate of 706,000. Single-family housing starts in March were at a rate of 619,000;...

In October, median new home prices plunged to $194,900 from an upwardly revised September figure of $226,300. While revisions for the previous three months show that pricing was firmer than previously expected, October's plunge in new home prices renews concerns about the stability of the new homes market. The 13.9% monthly drop in new home prices last month is the highest on record. Median new home prices are now at their lowest levels since October 2003. Median new home prices are down 9.4% from this time last year and down 8.6% from this time two years ago. This is the...

Some home builders already struggling in Florida's dismal housing market are facing another headache: The Chinese-made drywall they used is causing unpleasant odors and possibly leading to electric problems in dozens of homes constructed during the housing boom.

Most everybody here rails against the Farm Bill, Corporate welfare etc.. However the one industry that has always enjoyed a tax break is the housing and mortgage industry. Why should home owners (of which I am one) get relief for their mortgage payment, but renters get no relief? Is that not the same as a marriage tax, inheritance tax, basically behavior driven tax relief. I understand that home ownership is a major driver for the economy, and in many people's minds, it brings some ingrained satisfaction that you are accomplishing the American Dream. However, there are many people that should...

...Until now, most of the damage to banks from the housing crisis has come from homeowners defaulting on their mortgages. But amid a dismal spring sales season for new homes, loans to home and condo builders are looking increasingly shaky. Banks have begun to dump them at what will likely be steep discounts, setting the stage for billions of dollars in fresh losses. ..."As long as the housing market is on a downward path, as long as those prices continue to fall, I think there's a risk that the losses could continue to mount on a variety of loans," Federal...

he hunt continues! A couple of weeks ago we discussed the various types of Realtors one is likely to come across. Now it is time for the loan officers to be exposed. Once again, this post is littered with stereotypes and generalizations, but we all know we have run across these folks at some point in our lending careers so don't get all politically correct on me. It would be wise for consumers to figure out which one they are dealing with. The Gangster: Maybe you haven't heard, gangs and street thugs have figured out that mortgage fraud is a...

Excavations reveal ancient Egyptians were master dam builders 2007-12-03 06:47:01 New Delhi, Dec 3 (ANI): Archaeologists have discovered the remains of an ancient dam, dating back to some 4,000 years, in Upper Egypt, proving theories that ancient Egyptians were master dam builders. Discovered by an Egyptian-French archaeological team, which has been working in Luxor since March, the ancient dam was found a few meters away from the Karnak Temple in the city, some 500 km south of Cairo. "The 230-meter long dam was built during the age of the Middle Kingdom (of ancient Egypt) to protect the temple from the...

SACRAMENTO -- The skids seemed greased for one of environmentalists' top priorities this year: legislation forcing the construction industry to reduce pollution, which enjoyed strong support among environment-friendly Democrats. But the measure died suddenly last week when another frequent ally -- labor unions -- weighed in against it. The bill would have required construction firms bidding for certain public contracts to retrofit pollution-spewing diesel equipment. Unions, which spend millions on Democratic campaigns ... said they feared the regulations would make construction work too costly and result in lost jobs. The Democrats, who dominate the Legislature, need labor's help on an...

Stonehenge builders' houses found The village would have housed hundreds of people (Image: National Geographic) Archaeologists say they have found a huge ancient settlement used by the people who built Stonehenge. Excavations at Durrington Walls, near the legendary Salisbury Plain monument, uncovered remains of ancient houses. People seem to have occupied the sites seasonally, using them for ritual feasting and funeral ceremonies. In ancient times, this settlement would have housed hundreds of people, making it the largest Neolithic village ever found in Britain. The dwellings date back to 2,600-2,500 BC, the same period that Stonehenge was built. "In what were...

A recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding eminent domain has Realtors and others in the housing industry on alert as advocates for individual property rights. In what has been called a surprise ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, sided with local government at the expense of private property owners in a highly visible case, Kelo v. New London, Conn. While the ruling is based on what is allowed in Connecticut law and doesn't set a federal standard, it has raised important property rights issues because it is viewed as weakening the definition of "public use."...

FRAMINGHAM -- Two Framingham High seniors arrested in January after they were ordered off high school property because they were building a snow fort were found guilty yesterday of trespassing. Jenna Schroeder and Jason Osorio, both 18, now face a maximum of 30 days in jail after the two-day trial in Framingham District Court. The jury of three men and three women deliberated for about three hours before they reached a verdict. Judge Douglas Stoddart will sentence the pair May 16. Although punishable by a maximum of 30 days in jail, according to Massachusetts General Law, an offender can also...

Two months after Sacramento County enacted one of the nation's most aggressive affordable housing policies, the Building Industry Association of Superior California filed Monday to scrap the plan, calling it an unfair and unnecessary tax on developers that would drive up housing prices. During the two years county officials spent drafting a plan to provide housing for the poor, building industry officials resisted the plan and tried to loosen its stringent requirements. Affordability plan for low-income residents is called unfair tax that hurts others. The building industry's suit filed in Sacramento Superior Court reiterates those same arguments. "Is it fair...

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration said Friday it will allow developers to complete construction and other projects even after belated discoveries that the work could endanger protected species. The new rules from the Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service restore a Clinton-era initiative known as "no surprises." It will let federal agencies give blanket assurances to home builders, timber and mining companies and other developers that they won't have unforeseen requirements to protect rare species once a project has begun. A federal judge had blocked the rules last June, telling the government it needed to hear more ideas from the...

<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) - A key element of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign plank for new growth in older cities may be on the ropes, potentially leaving California farther behind national efforts to redevelop blighted industrial sites.</p> <p>Environmentalists aim Monday to block a developer bill that would relax standards to build new housing and stores on dormant industrial sites, typically in older neighborhoods. The bill is one of three on the Legislature's agenda Monday and Tuesday regarding an estimated 90,000-100,000 such sites in California.</p>