Construction activity surged in April by the largest amount in nearly a decade. The unexpected gains could mean the hardest-hit
sector of the economy is starting to recover.
A drop in building permits, a gauge of future activity, along with the expiration of a government tax credit for home purchases
suggest the construction gains could fade soon.
Renovation of apartment building owned by the Indianapolis Housing Agency will have to wait, after it failed to receive the
necessary federal backing to fund it. Three other IHA projects, including Caravelle Commons, will move forward, however.
The Carmel-based company said its decision to consolidate machining activities at a plant in Tennessee is driven by weak retail
sales and a sluggish housing market.
A court-appointed receiver can begin selling the assets of troubled home builder Hansen & Horn Group Inc., after a judge approved
its liquidation on Wednesday.
Construction spending fell for a third straight month in January as a slight rebound in housing was not enough to offset widespread
weakness in a number of commercial areas.
Hall & House Lumber Co. in Westfield will become part of one of the largest distributors of lumber and building materials
in the nation, once the purchase of its parent is completed next month.
Farmers who might have worried about losing their livelihood
to new homes or retail have gotten a little breather.
Central Indiana’s housing market is on track to notch gains in the number of homes sold and the average sales price in 2010.
Home builder hopes to sell as many as 200 houses in region this year. Fischer, which entered the Columbus, Ohio,
market in 2008 after buying subdivisions from retreating builders, is using the same strategy to establish a foothold in Carmel,
Westfield, Zionsville and Avon.
The Commerce Department said Wednesday morning that construction of new homes and apartments rose 8.9 percent in November.
The Commerce Department said Wednesday that construction of new homes and apartments fell 10.6 percent in October, to the
lowest level since April.
Construction spending in September posted a better-than-expected performance, powered by the largest jump in housing construction
in more than six years.
Applications for home-building permits, a gauge of future construction, fell in September by the largest amount in five months.
The number of building permits issued in the nine-county Indianapolis area fell 20 percent in September from the same time
last year, marking 23 consecutive months of declines.
Housing construction rose in August to the highest level in nine months as a big surge in apartment building offset a decline
in single-family activity.
Indiana Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman plans to announce the first awards of $164 million in federal stimulus money to build low-
and moderate-income housing across the state.
Zionsville Town Council members have until Nov. 17 to decide whether to appeal a judge’s decision last month that invalidated
the town’s park-impact fee.
Buyers in Seattle, Milwaukee and even Bloomington have snapped up new cottage homes in developments that
turn the McMansion trend on its dormer-decorated head. But will Indianapolis buyers have a similar appetite
for the tiny energy-efficient homes clustered around community greens? A local developer is betting they
will.
At the market’s peak, builders churned out more than 12,000 new homes a year in central Indiana. In the current slump, new-home
production has dropped to fewer than 7,000 per year, leaving builders with no choice but to slash prices, eliminate hundreds
of jobs, and look to unload huge chunks of office space.
