Buyer Confidence Hits Record High

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes jumped six points to a level of 71 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the highest reading since June 2005.

“Builders are buoyed by President Trump’s actions on regulatory reform, particularly his recent executive order to rescind or revise the waters of the U.S. rule that impacts permitting,” said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas.

“While builders are clearly confident, we expect some moderation in the index moving forward,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Builders continue to face a number of challenges, including rising material prices, higher mortgage rates, and shortages of lots and labor.”

Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for 30 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.” Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.

All three HMI components posted robust gains in March. The component gauging current sales conditions increased seven points to 78 while the index charting sales expectations in the next six months rose five points to 78. Meanwhile, the component measuring buyer traffic jumped eight points to 54.


Looking at the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, the Midwest increased three points to 68 and the South rose one point to 68. The West dipped three points to 76 and the Northeast edged one point lower to 48.

Tips For A Spring-Ready Lawn

Spring is one of the most important times to perform maintenance to your lawn. By following these steps you can help prevent your beautiful lawn from being overtaken with weeds, stressed by drought, and heat. 

1. Remove any debris that has accumulated. This is a perfect time to also rake up any matted areas of the lawn, which can harbor Snow Mold. Raking these areas and removing debris will encourage better air flow throughout the turf grass and prevent any disease and insect infestation. It will also allow new grass blades to grow without struggle.
2. Applying a pre-emergent crabgrass control in early spring is very important! Timing is critical as it must be applied prior to the soil temperatures reaching 55-60 degrees. After this point the weed seeds will have begun to germinate and the pre-emergent will no longer be effective. An important thing to note is that crabgrass is VERY difficult to get rid of once it has germinated.
3. Fertilizing in the spring jump starts your lawn from its winter slumber. It provides a nutrient build up that will give it the strength to withstand heat stress and drought through the summer months.
4. Core aeration is a great thing to do to your lawn in the spring. It is important, because it allows water and air to reach the root zone faster. Resulting in new growth and increased root development. In the spring however it is important to core aerate before the soil temperature reaches that 55-60 degrees, because after this point the voids created in the lawn will only be an invitation to aggressive weeds seeds.
5. Winter can wreak some havoc on our lawns and come spring there may be some repairs needed to areas damaged by salt and snow plows. If weather permits spring can be a great time to re-seed any damaged turf areas, however if you are applying a pre-emergent weed control there is care to be taken. The pre-emergent weed control is non-selective, so it will prevent ANY seed from germinating. Our turf specialists recommend that if the weather permits, hold off the crab grass control to the latest point possible.  Then perform the turf repairs needed as early as possible so that the seeds have enough time to germinate and somewhat establish prior to the pre-emergent being applied. If this is not possible, don't skip the pre-emergent weed control. It is better to wait until fall to perform any turf repairs.

Housing Data Speaks to Economy's Resilience

U.S. homebuilding jumped in February as unseasonably warm weather boosted the construction of single-family houses to near a 9-1/2-year high, suggesting the economy remained on solid ground despite an apparent slowdown in the first quarter.

The economy's fundamentals were further strengthened by other data on Thursday showing a drop in the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week amid a tightening labor market. Though factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region cooled this month, manufacturers reported growth in new orders and difficulties finding qualified workers.

The data came a day after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the third time since the 2008 financial crisis. Fed Chair Janet Yellen told reporters that the U.S. central bank was sending a message that "we have confidence in the robustness of the economy and its resilience to shocks."

"The reports painted a mostly upbeat picture of the economy," said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

Housing starts increased 3.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.29 million units last month, the Commerce Department said. Homebuilding was up 6.2 percent compared to February 2016, suggesting housing would contribute to growth this year.

Single-family homebuilding, which accounts for the largest share of the residential housing market, surged 6.5 percent to a 872,000-unit pace, the highest level since October 2007.

Single-family starts in the Midwest soared 20 percent to their highest level since October 2007. Groundbreaking activity jumped more than 16 percent in the West and Northeast, but fell 2.6 percent in the South.

"Single-family homebuilding usually goes dormant throughout much of these regions during the winter months, but has held up better this year due to, up until recently, much milder winter weather," said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Starts for the volatile multi-family housing segment fell 3.7 percent to a 416,000-unit pace. A robust labor market is supporting the housing market, helping it to buck weakness in other parts of the economy.

Further gains in single-family construction are likely as building permits increased 3.1 percent last month. A survey on Wednesday showed homebuilders' confidence jumped in March to its highest level since June 2005.

U.S. financial markets were little moved by the data as investors digested the Fed's decision on Wednesday to raise its overnight benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 0.75 percent to 1.00 percent. The U.S. central bank also forecast two more rate hikes this year.

A Useful Cleaning Schedule For Your Home

You probably do the basic stuff when you clean your home, like wiping down counters and washing sheets, but some things undoubtedly get forgotten. This visual guide can help you establish a regular cleaning schedule for the stuff that tends to fall by the wayside.

The guide, from housewares provider Moshells, shows you the parts of a home that often go neglected, and how often you should actually give them some attention. For example, garbage disposals should be cleaned out once a week, bath mats should be washed every two weeks, indoor trash cans need to be rinsed every couple months, window screens should be tidied up once a year, pet bowls are best washed daily, and even children’s toys could use a wipe down or wash once a month. The guide also tells you the best way to go about caring for each area. You can check out the full graphic below.

Home Sales in Southwest Reach 6 Month High

WASHINGTON (AP) — A buying spree in the Southwest spurred new U.S. home sales last month to the fastest pace since July.

The Commerce Department said Friday that new-home sales in November rose 5.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate 592,000. It was the fastest pace since July's 622,000. Sales were up 16.5 percent from November 2015.

Sales in the Southwest shot up 43.8 percent, the region's biggest monthly increase since October 2012. Sales were up 7.7 percent in the West and flat in the Northeast.

The median price of new home sold last month was $305,400.

Demand for houses has been strong this year, helped by a healthy job market and low mortgage rates. The unemployment rate is at a nine-year low 4.6 percent, and most workers enjoy job security.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that Americans bought existing homes last month at the fastest pace since February 2007.

But the cheap loans that have supported stronger sales may be vanishing. Long-term mortgage rates have quickly risen since the election. The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.30 percent this week, the highest level since April 2014.

Investors have bid rates higher because they believe President-elect Donald Trump's plans for tax cuts and higher infrastructure spending will drive up economic growth and inflation. And last week, the Federal Reserve, citing improvement in the U.S. economy, raised short-term U.S. interest rates for only the second time in a decade.

More people are at risk of being priced out of the housing market because rates are rising at a time when there is a shortage of properties for sale, driving bids higher.

"Housing demand clearly continues to be strong," Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpoint Securities, said in a research note. But he noted that the November sales numbers mostly came in before the sharp rise in rates: "Higher mortgage rates could produce renewed caution heading into next year."