New Home Sales Up in September
Sales of newly built single-family homes turned upward in September, posting a 2.7 percent gain to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 units, according to U.S. Commerce Department numbers released today. The report also indicated that builders are making substantial progress in winnowing down the months’ supply of unsold units on the market.
“It’s great to see some upward movement in new-home sales, particularly in light of the strong efforts that home builders have been making to bring supply and demand back into balance by limiting new construction and offering substantial price- and non-price incentives on already-built units,” said NAHB Chairman Sandy Dunn, a home builder from Point Pleasant, W.Va. “Of course, it’s too soon to say the market has stabilized, and we still have a very difficult road ahead that will require additional government action to speed the recovery of housing and the national economy.” (Continued…)
David Crowe named NAHB Chief Economist
David Crowe, who has been the Senior Staff Vice President for Regulatory and Housing Policy at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) since 2002, has been named the association’s Chief Economist, effective November 17. He replaces David Seiders, who recently announced his retirement after serving as NAHB’s Chief Economist for more than 20 years.
“Dave Crowe is uniquely qualified to fill this demanding position,” said Jerry Howard, NAHB’s President and CEO. “Not only is he a highly regarded economist, he has extensive experience in housing finance and housing policy. Given today’s turbulent economy and rapidly evolving housing finance environment, this combination of skills will be invaluable to NAHB as efforts to stabilize the housing and financial markets move forward.”
Crowe, who has held several senior level positions in economics, housing policy and housing finance since he joined NAHB in 1989, holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Kentucky. Prior to joining NAHB, (Continued…)
Downtown Development Day in Atlanta
The speakers have been announced for this year’s Development Day in Atlanta. So, make plans to attend on Thursday, November 6th in order to discover the new and exciting changes Downtown Atlanta has in its pipeline. Registrations starts at 7:15 a.m. at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis off of Peachtree Center Avenue - this is the venue for the entire day’s events. Some heavy hitters in the Atlanta real estate industry will be sharing their expert opinions on informative topics like: Downtown: Tourism Central, Accessing the Opportunities and Entrepreneurs of Downtown Real Estate. These panel discussions will fill the afternoon while different breakout sessions and the downtown development expo are featured in the morning. You can order your tickets online before October 31st, as well as save $10 in the process, but tickets will also be available at the door. Don’t miss this annual event that will give you an edge in Atlanta development over all of your colleagues; it’s also a prime opportunity to do some important industry networking. Here is a list of the speakers for the event, all of which you will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with: (Continued…)
Atlanta Home Building Industry Has Significant Impact on Economy
As we all know, home building generates economic benefits such as income and jobs for local residents and revenue for local governments. It also typically imposes costs on local governments, such as the costs of providing primary and secondary education, police and fire protection and water and sewer service. Not only do these services require annual expenditures for items such as teacher salaries, they typically also require capital investment in buildings, other structures and equipment that local governments own and maintain.
During these tough economic times, it’s been more important than ever to illustrate the benefits of the home construction industry to the public and media. With that in mind, over the summer, the Greater Atlanta HBA commissioned a study from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) to illustrate the economic impact of home building in metro Atlanta. (Continued…)
Foreclosure Help for Homeowners
Homeowners — Avoid Foreclosure on your home!
If you are one of the many homeowners that has an upside-down mortgage, foreclosure assistance is available for refinancing your home to a fixed-rate plan. Called Hope for Homeowners, this program created by The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, provides insurance through the Federal Housing Administration for qualified homeowners to get a traditional fixed-rate 30-year mortgage.
Those eligible: Homeowner who currently occupy their home and bought it after January 2008. Monthly payments must exceed 31-percent of your income.
Avoid Homeowner foreclosure, counseling is available at 1-888-995-4673 or through the (Continued…)
