Housing markets in 54 out of the approximately 350 metro areas nationwide returned to or exceeded their last normal levels of economic and housing activity, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/First American Leading Markets Index (LMI).

With home prices and household formations rising and household balance sheets healing, the ongoing housing recovery is expected to gain momentum next year even as challenges remain, according to economists participating in the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Fall 2013 Construction Forecast Webinar.

Builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes rose six points to 57 on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for July. This is the index’s third consecutive monthly gain and its strongest reading since January 2006.

A total of 255 metropolitan areas across 49 states and the District of Columbia qualified to be listed on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) for July. This is down slightly from June, but is more than triple the number of metros that were on the list in July 2012.

Spending by consumers on home improvement projects is expected to accelerate as the year progresses, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Global insulation consumption is forecast to rise more than 5 percent annually to approximately 29 billion square meters of R-1 value in 2016, a substantial acceleration from the 2006-2011 rate, according to “World Insulation to 2016” from ReportsnReports.com.

September and October are always busy traveling months for those of us in the HVAC trade press. It makes sense as most associations hold their meetings during these months to get the highest attendance since this is typically one of HVAC’s shoulder seasons.

An improving housing market and record low interest rates are driving projections of strong gains in home improvement activity through the end of the year and into the first half of 2013, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Housing starts in the United States rose by 6.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 760,000 units in June, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Census Bureau. This is the fastest pace of new home construction since October 2008.

Single-family housing production increased for a third consecutive month and builders pulled more permits for both single- and multifamily construction in May, according to the latest figures released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau.