home builders – News Stories About home builders - Page 1

OPINION

Dec 19, 2023 12:26 PM CST

We Are Building Our Homes Wrong

Binyamin Appelbaum makes the case for factory-built modular homes

(Newser) - Pretty much every home built in America these days is built "the old-fashioned way," writes Binyamin Appelbaum in the New York Times . Meaning, by hand, with a crew of workers on site—the same way most homes in the US have been built for more than a century....

Chinese Drywall Trouble Went Unreported

investigation

Jun 1, 2010 4:54 PM CDT

Chinese Drywall Trouble Went Unreported

Home builder, manufacturer knew of problems for 2 years

(Newser) - An East Coast homebuilder knew about problems associated with tainted drywall from China two years before the issue erupted on a national level, reports ProPublica . Instead of alerting authorities, the parties involved—including the construction company, the Chinese manufacturer, and the US distributor—dealt with the problems like foul odors...

CPSC Links Chinese Drywall
to Toxic Fumes

Nov 24, 2009 3:56 AM CST

CPSC Links Chinese Drywall to Toxic Fumes

Owners of some 100K homes told to spend more time outdoors

(Newser) - Americans who live in homes containing Chinese-made drywall should start spending more time outside in the fresh air, the Consumer Product Safety Commission warned yesterday. The commission's investigators found "a strong association" with the imported drywall and the corrosion of metal and wire in homes, and with raised levels...

Battle Heats Up Over
Green Building Codes

Jul 18, 2009 7:44 AM CDT

Battle Heats Up Over Green Building Codes

Better construction seen as best chance of saving energy

(Newser) - Authorities are trying to hammer together tighter nationwide building codes to save energy and combat climate change, the New York Times reports. Experts say requiring buildings to be more efficient will do more to save energy than any other single policy move, but codes remain weak to nonexistent across half...

March New Home Sales Down 0.6%

Apr 24, 2009 11:09 AM CDT

March New Home Sales Down 0.6%

But that's good news: Numbers are actually better than expected

(Newser) - New US home sales dipped slightly last month but still beat expectations as builders start to see long-awaited encouraging signs about the housing market—including a dip in the inventory of new homes for sale. Sales fell 0.6% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 356,000,...

Toxic Drywall May Be
Sickening Homeowners

Apr 11, 2009 4:43 PM CDT

Toxic Drywall May Be Sickening Homeowners

Chinese-imported materials used in more than 500,000 homes

(Newser) - Something’s rotten in the state of American homes: Chinese-imported drywall, which emits a sulfurous odor and could sicken homeowners, AP reports. More than 500 million pounds of the material was imported during America’s housing boom, when domestic supply was scarce and expensive, and it could line over 100,...

Foreclosures Undercut Builders

Mar 11, 2009 11:00 AM CDT

Foreclosures Undercut Builders

(Newser) - Foreclosures and other vacant homes make this a tough time to be a builder, the Wall Street Journal reports. Consider Pulte Homes, which is selling a new, four-bedroom home in Las Vegas for $214,990—while a short sale nearby offers a similar Pulte-built home for $149,999. “We...

Construction Theft Is Building Concern

Aug 28, 2008 9:33 AM CDT

Construction Theft Is Building Concern

$5B in annual losses drive home prices up by as much as 10%

(Newser) - Increasing theft of building materials from construction sites, especially residential projects, is driving up the cost of homes to consumers as much as 10%, the New York Times reports. Experts say as much as $5 billion a year is being lost to thieves looking to profit from skyrocketing prices for...

Critics: Senate
Plan Not Enough

Apr 3, 2008 11:55 AM CDT

Critics: Senate Plan Not Enough

Housing legislation doesn't do enough to help homeowners, they say

(Newser) - The Senate’s first major step toward trying to make sense of the US mortgage mess is a needed salve to businesses caught in the chaos, but it doesn’t go far enough to help homeowners, critics say. Lawmakers contend the plan is a start toward addressing a multitude of...

Financials Drag Dow Down

MARKETS

Dec 3, 2007 3:38 PM CST

Financials Drag Dow Down

Good vibes on mortgage deals steady markets

(Newser) - Bad news in the financial sector today meant the first bearish day for the market in five sessions, as Deutsche Bank’s negative prediction for fourth-quarter earnings pushed Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and Lehman Brothers downward. The Dow fell 57.15 to 13,314.57, the Nasdaq slid 23.83...

CA Fires Won't Harm Economy in Long Term

Oct 24, 2007 12:15 PM CDT

CA Fires Won't Harm Economy in Long Term

Rebuilding will give a boost to sagging home building sector

(Newser) - California’s runaway wildfires are not likely to do longterm damage to the state’s economy, the Los Angeles Times reports—in fact the disaster could be a boon to some sectors. One of those is construction: In the first nine months of the year, construction jobs were down 3%...

Top Chicago Homebuilder Goes Bankrupt

Oct 24, 2007 5:16 AM CDT

Top Chicago Homebuilder Goes Bankrupt

Neumann becomes second largest builder to fall in subprime collapse

(Newser) - Neumann homes, a top Chicago homebuilder, will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Chicago Tribune reports, making it the second-largest builder felled by the dive in the housing market. The company has laid off all but 20 of its 110 workers. “I’m not overly optimistic about the...

Market Down, But News Is Good

Oct 3, 2007 3:48 PM CDT

Market Down, But News Is Good

Tech stocks drop, but new signs crisis is ending

(Newser) - Stocks fell today as the tech sector dragged the Dow down 79.26 points to 13,968.05—but the mood was upbeat nonetheless, as a jobs survey fueled hopes that payrolls began to rebound in September. All eyes are on a key hiring report coming out Friday; good news...