Summer Full Swing

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:21:51 -0600

Summer is in full swing. New homes are underway. This is the time of year where the building industry is full steam ahead. But the thing to remember is it is not too late to still get started.

With the development of various building products the building season goes beyond summer. Depending on your specific site, you can probably build year round. The build season use to be spring, summer, and early fall. More and more people build throughout the year. Planning for your area is key. Areas that have heavy snow falls or have roads that are hard to travel on during the winter are best suited to have homes that are dried in before the snow flies. Other areas allow for the foundation to be poured in the dead of winter.

In either case, prudent planning is key. It pays to get to know your area well. Find out the annual precipitation and what the highs and lows are year round. Also, find out if builders in your area offer better rates during the winter vs. the summer. Some builders, in order to stay busy year round, use a reduced margin on winter builds vs. summer builds.

New housing starts are up

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:01:19 -0600

Many of us have been eagerly watching the housing market as of late. In the current economic times, new housing starts have been down. Way down. Part of the current recession has been due to the housing market crash, and many of us have been measuring the health of the economy based on what the housing market does.

Apparently, things are changing. A change many economists didn't see coming. According to cnbc.com, construction of new homes rose 22.2 percent since January. Applications for new building permits also rose by 3 percent in February. Economists had predicted a drop in new construction applications.

Maybe it is the fact that it is almost spring time. I was running some errands with my wife the other day, enjoying the warm weather and commenting on the amount of people also out driving around. The roads seemed to be packed with people out shopping or just "getting out" on an unseasonably warm late winter/early spring day. My wife pointed out that this means people were out spending. She had a really good point that I had not thought of. Maybe people were tired of being cooped up waiting to see what was next in the economic crunch and it was time to get out.

With spring right around the corner, with the weather getting a little warmer and the days getting a little longer, it is traditionally the time of year for the seeds of growth to be planted. If February's new home starts are any indication of what is to come, then maybe, just maybe, this year may still turn out to be bountiful yet.

Caribou Creek Log Homes News

Summer Full Swing

New housing starts are up