WASHINGTON (National Association of Home Builders) – Builder confidence in the new single-family home market edged higher for a third consecutive month in September, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released Wednesday.

The HMI rose one point to 19 this month, its highest level since May 2008.

The HMI gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.”

The index gauging current sales conditions rose two points to 18, while the index gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose one point to 17. Meanwhile, the index gauging sales expectations for the next six months declined one point to 29.

Specifically, the Southern region of the United States posted a two-point gain to 19.

WASHINGTON (National Association of Home Builders) – Twenty-six percent of home builders have seen lost sales as appraisals come in significantly below the contract sales price, according to a study conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

“Home builders are increasingly concerned that inappropriate appraisal practices are needlessly driving down home values. This, in turn, is slowing new home sales, causing more workers to lose their jobs and putting a drag on the economic recovery,” said Joe Robson, NAHB chairman.

According to Robson, construction of 100 single-family homes generates 324 local jobs, $21.1 million in local income and $2.2 million in taxes and other revenue for local governments in the first year.

Of the builders surveyed, 60 percent claim that inadequate appraisals are creating major problems in the market. Fifty-four percent of those reporting appraisal problems saw appraisal amounts less than the cost to build.

Robson blames the surge of faulty appraisals partly on foreclosure and distressed sales.

WASHINGTON (Forbes) – Several Texas cities are poised for a quick recovery from the national recession, according to Forbes.

Austin–Round Rock ranked first on the magazine’s recent list of ten cities most likely to bounce back quickly.

Meanwhile, San Antonio ranked fifth, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington seventh and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission ninth.

To compile its list, Forbes looked at estimates from Moody’s Economy.com of the projected gross domestic product of metropolitan areas across the United States, as well as unemployment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and home prices, incomes and affordability data from the National Association of Home Builders.

Forbes also put together a list of ten worst cities for recession recovery. No Texas cities made that list.

WASHINGTON (National Association of Home Builders) – Five Texas markets were among the ten most affordable housing markets in the south during fourth quarter 2008, according to housing opportunity index (HOI) data compiled by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo Housing.

In Sherman-Denison, 87 percent of new and existing homes sold during the final quarter of 2008 were affordable to middle-income earners, ranking the city third in the region.

Wichita Falls ranked fifth at 82.6 percent, San Angelo seventh at 79.8 percent, Fort Worth–Arlington eighth at 79 percent and Beaumont–Port Arthur ninth at 77.5 percent.

Nationally, 62.4 percent of all new and existing homes were affordable to families earning the national median income of $61,500, up from the previous quarter’s 56.1 percent and the 46.6 percent from the end of 2007.

WASHINGTON (International Code Council) – Residential builders and other professionals now have a set framework for green construction that stipulates the necessities a home must have to be considered environmentally friendly.

The International Code Council (ICC) approved the National Green Building Standard, known as ICC-700, Jan. 29. The new standard provides guidance for safe and sustainable building practices for residential construction, including both new and renovated single-family to high-rise residential buildings.

This is the first and only green standard that is consistent and coordinated with the Code Council’s family of I-Codes and standards.

The International Code Council and National Association of Home Builders developed the standard with input from the green building community.

To learn about the standard’s rating system and criteria, as well as ICC-700 training and the Code Council’s Green Building Technologies Certification program, see ICC’s press release.

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