WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — Spurred by a modest reduction in mortgage interest rates and favorable home prices, nationwide housing affordability in the first quarter of 2016 posted a slight increase, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released today.

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes remained unchanged in May at a level of 58 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

On average, regulations imposed by all levels of government account for 24.3 percent of the sales price of a new single-family home, according to a new study by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Builder confidence in the single-family 55+ housing market remains in positive territory for the first quarter of 2016 with a reading of 56, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. Despite the five-point dip from the previous quarter, this is the eighth consecutive quarter with a reading above 50.

Markets in 119 of the approximately 340 metro areas nationwide returned to or exceeded their last normal levels of economic and housing activity in the first quarter of 2016, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Leading Markets Index (LMI) released today. This represents a year-over-year net gain of 45 markets.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA) today released a new report, detailing how household formation by Millennials and the shift of many potential homeowners to a rental market during the depths of the Great Recession combined to create the current affordability crisis in rental housing

Ed Brady, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill., issued the following statement regarding Freddie Mac reporting a first quarter loss

Whole house remodels and additions are regaining market share according to a survey of remodelers released by NAHB Remodelers, the remodeling arm of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The survey, released today to kick off National Home Remodeling Month in May, revealed the most common remodeling projects in 2016, compared to historical results of the survey

Ed Brady, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill., issued the following statement regarding a report that the U.S. Department of Labor is proposing to lower its new overtime threshold from $50,440 to $47,000.

Steady job growth, affordable home prices, attractive mortgage interest rates and pent-up demand will help the housing market continue on a gradual upward trajectory in the year ahead, according to economists who participated in yesterday’s National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Spring Construction Forecast Webinar. However, supply side headwinds led by a shortage of construction lots and labor, along with tight access to acquisition, construction and development (AD&C) loans, continue to hamper a more robust recovery

Sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 1.5 percent in March from an upwardly revised February reading to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 511,000 units, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 54 in the first quarter of 2016, dipping four points below the previous quarter but remaining in positive territory above 50.

Nationwide housing starts fell 8.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.089 million units in March, according to newly released data from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. Overall permit issuance was also down 7.7 percent.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today urged Congress to take action to keep the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) new silica standards from taking effect.

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes remained unchanged in April at a level of 58 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

“Builder confidence has held firm at 58 for three consecutive months, showing that the single-family housing sector continues to recover at a slow but consistent pace,” said NAHB Chairman Ed Brady, a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill. “As we enter the spring home buying season, we should see the market move forward.”

The home building industry celebrates New Homes Month in April by sharing the top features that will be seen in typical new homes built in 2016. Once again, builders are responding to what home buyers want by offering greater efficiency in the design and function of the home

Eight construction industry organizations filed a petition for review of the final crystalline silica rule by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today. Petitioning groups included: Mississippi Road Builders’ Association, American Subcontractors Association of Texas, Pelican Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Louisiana Associated General Contractors, Associated Masonry Contractors of Texas, Distribution Contractors Association, Mechanical Contractors Associations of Texas and Texas Association of Builders

The Department of Labor’s new union persuader rule violates business owners’ First Amendment rights, making it nearly impossible to consult with legal counsel when facing union organizing, said the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is now seeking proposals to speak at the 2017 NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS). The show, to be held Jan. 10-12 in Orlando, Fla. is the largest annual light construction show in the world, drawing attendees from all facets of the housing industry

Chapman is a home building veteran who started his own custom home building firm, Jim Chapman Fine Homes, in 1998. From 1998 through 2005, his firm primarily built custom homes in Buckhead and Alpharetta, Ga., and Highlands, N.C. In 2005, he began to also build and develop an active adult portfolio under the brand of Jim Chapman Communities. Currently, he is building under both his Jim Chapman Fine Homes brand and his Jim Chapman Communities brand throughout Buckhead, Vinings, Cobb, Forsyth, Fulton, Cherokee, Paulding and Douglas counties.