Construction spending — Dec. 1

The Commerce Department will release October's construction spending data on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Last month, the department reported spending grew 0.6% between August and September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.094 trillion — the highest level since March 2008.

Construction spending has been steadily rising, with September's increase marking the 10th-straight monthly rise in spending. Will October's results continue the upward trend and offer more positive news for the industry?

CoreLogic Home Price Index — Dec. 1

CoreLogic will release its October Home Price Index on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Last month, CoreLogic reported that U.S. home prices, including distressed sales, rose 0.6% between August and September and 6.4% between September 2014 and September 2015. That small gain was significantly lower than the 1.2% rise between July and August and the 1.7% increase during the previous month. 

In its September report, CoreLogic said it expected the home price slowdown to continue, as it predicted prices will slightly fall between September and October.

Residential industry experts have largely welcomed a slowdown in prices, as sky-high costs have kept first-time buyers from jumping into homeownership. However, CoreLogic cautioned that the current pattern of home price growth has led to more markets becoming "overvalued" — when their home prices are more than 10% higher than the long-term sustainable level — which could endanger the sustained growth in the residential industry.

Check back Tuesday to find out if the report affirms CoreLogic's prediction last month of a price growth slowdown.

Top renovations feature article — Dec. 1

Last week, we looked at a report listing four renovations that contractors should avoid in order to help preserve a customer's home value. This week, we're examining the other end of the spectrum to find out the top renovations for contractors. What do homebuilders and contractors see as the best projects to add value to a home? Check back on Tuesday, Dec. 1 to find out which renovations get the most bang for their buck.

Winter weather's impact on construction projects feature article — Dec. 3

In early 2015, harsh winter weather was cited as one of the main reasons for the slowdown in construction activity. As winter is coming to the U.S., we'll take a look at what kind of preparation construction companies should do for the winter, what work they can still perform successfully outside in winter conditions, and how the mild November has affected operations. We'll answer these questions and more in our feature article on Thursday, Dec. 3.

Highway bill deadline — Dec. 4

Both the House and Senate have passed multiyear highway funding bills that include six years of spending policy, but only three years of funding. The chambers are still negotiating a combined version of the two long-term measures. At the end of November, the House and Senate sent another two-week funding extension to President Obama, as they needed more time to work out the details of a combined bill. That extension expires on Friday, Dec. 4.

We'll keep you updated on any new developments in the seemingly never-ending saga of highway funding legislation.