Making Sense of The Stimulus Package

By Jessica Tobacman, NARI marketing & communications coordinator

To help the economy turn around, the federal government passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (a.k.a. the Economic Recovery Act) earlier this month. Your clients will be pleased to learn that the list of tax credits for qualified energy-efficiency improvements has been expanded and that the deadline for applying for them has been extended through the end of 2010. Helping to educate consumers about tax credits in the bill is likely to increase their spending and, in turn, to help you get back on your feet. KEEP READING

Demand for small remodeling projects on the rise; energy efficiency among motivations for renovations

by Dan Meisler Ann Arbor Business Review
Smaller, less expensive projects are driving the remodeling industry right now, but pent up demand promises increased activity when the economy recovers. KEEP READING

Home Remodeling Permits Holding Their Own

Residential permits have increased more than 10 times in the past 3 years!
By Justin HarrisBusiness Development Director

Residential remodeling is taking on a larger portion of the local construction industry. Building permits issued in the Southern Utah area from Iron & Washington counties indicate that in the last 3 years, the percentage of market attributed to the remodeling industry has been increasing. Keep Reading

Home improvement projects decline with sagging economy

By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY
After a surge in home renovations during the housing boom, new studies show homeowners are significantly curbing spending on such projects — adding to the unemployment facing construction workers and hurting home improvement businesses. KEEP READING

Podcasts

Don't forget, new NARI Radio podcasts are posted the 1st and 15th of each month: http://tinyurl.com/a5t9hs.

NARI has a YouTube channel!

If you haven't watched any of the videos here, please do. We will be adding more soon. http://tinyurl.com/bmv8dt

Homeowners go green to save money, not the planet

A new study from the Shelton Group is more evidence the green consumer movement is shifting from saving the world to saving the wallet. According to the study, 71 percent of respondents cited saving money as the reason to buy energy efficient products, compared to 55 percent of those who said they wanted to protect the environment. According to the group, this is a shift from the last two years when protecting the environment was the top reason people said they wanted to go green.This confirms what I found talking to remodelers for our ...Read More

Existing-Home Sales Rise 5% In February

WASHINGTON -- March 23, 2009 -- Existing-home sales increased in February, reversing losses in January. Even so, sales activity remains relatively soft, reflecting additional layoffs and buyers waiting for housing provisions in the economic stimulus package to take effect, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 4.72 million units in February from a pace of 4.49 million units in January, but are 4.6 percent below the 4.95 million-unit level in February 2008. Seasonal adjustment factors are more volatile in winter months, but sales rates over the past few months show dampened sales activity. KEEP READING