NAHB recently asked builders about their reactions to the rising and volatile lumber prices in its April 2021 survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

Low interest rates and strong consumer demand fueled a solid increase in new home sales in March, despite the ongoing building materials challenges impacting the industry. Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 20.7% from an upwardly revised February number, to a 1.02 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Cutting-edge, advanced products and services from Boston and Ontario, Canada, and a wellness sanctuary in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, were recently recognized as NAHB’s 2020 Global Innovation Award winners.

The Federal Reserve believes an uptick in inflationary costs will be temporary, and that as supply-chains unwind, inflationary forces will be dampened. This would be the favorable outcome, especially for the building industry.

Multifamily permits were robust across the country in February compared to last year, from a large gain in the West (22%) to a modest 5.4% increase in the Midwest.