Each Monday, we'll let you know what's coming in the week ahead, including important residential and commercial report releases, as well as our own feature articles.
Homeownership rate — Oct. 27
The Census Bureau will announce the homeownership rate for the third quarter on Tuesday, Oct. 27. In July, the bureau found homeownership in the second quarter of 2015 fell to 63.4% — its lowest level since 1967.
If the rate slips just a little further, it will reach a new record-low since the U.S. government began tracking homeownership in 1965, when the rate stood at 63%. After the July report, many housing industry experts predicted the rate would continue to fall and soon reach that record-low percentage.
Recent reports coincide with those predictions, as sky-high rents and student debt concerns combined with growing home prices have kept potential buyers away from diving into ownership. Last week's existing home sales report also showed that first-time buyer share fell to 29% in September after reaching its highest percentage of 2015 the previous month.
Homebuilders and residential experts will look to Tuesday's announcement as an indicator of whether demand for single-family homes, rather than rental properties, will continue to grow.
Smart home products feature article — Oct. 27
Smart home technology has snatched the headlines recently as new reports and lists come out about the coolest innovations. What are some of the best products in the pipeline? Check back on Tuesday, Oct. 27 for our feature article about some of the most interesting new smart home technology products, which are sure to give builders an edge when trying to reach buyers.
Pending home sales — Oct. 29
The National Association of Realtors will announce September's pending home sales results on Thursday, Oct. 29. Last month, the NAR reported pending sales dipped 1.4% between July and August due to a tight supply of available properties and rising home prices.
Thursday's report is one of the last in the string of housing reports for September. Last week, reports found that September housing starts surged 6.5%, existing home sales rose 4.7%, and builder confidence rose 3 points to its highest level since October 2005.
Will the Thursday announcement keep the positive streak alive for September housing reports?
Different types of construction contracts feature article — Oct. 29
Construction contracts, and especially disputes that arise from them, have been in the spotlight recently as new studies and high-profile project problems are raising questions about the best type of contract.
In Massachusetts, for example, critics have cited the maximum price contract with consortium White-Skanska-Kiewit as the reason the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line extension project is up to $1 billion over budget and now further delayed.
The MBTA used the "construction manager/general contractor" procurement process for the rail extension contract, which involved the officials selecting a construction firm based on its performance on past projects. The building process was divided into phases, and the chosen contractor offered a maximum price for each of those phases. This type of contract differs from the traditional process that involves choosing a construction company based almost entirely on their bid for the total project.
In a different debate, questions about design-build vs. design-bid-build contracts have popped up, as a Construction Financial Management Association report examining public project disputes released last month found that, surprisingly, design-build contracts did not have a greater chance of winning a court decision when compared with the traditional design-bid-build process.
Design-build contracts are often considered a more streamlined way to complete a project, but they change the way owners, contractors, and other invested parties interact.
What are the pros and cons to these various contract types? We ask the legal experts and delve deep into the subject in our feature article on Thursday, Oct. 29.
