South region leads in home sales

With many buyers rushing to take advantage of the federal home-buyer tax credit set to expire in April, sales of newly built single-family homes surged 26.9 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 411,000 units, the Commerce Department reported today. Sales increases were posted in all four regions of the country.

Regionally, sales increased a leading 43.5 percent in the South, compared to 35.7 percent in the Northeast, 4.3 percent in the Midwest, and 5.7 percent in the West.

“Undoubtedly, the tax credit is working,” said Bob Jones, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “Builders are seeing a growing optimism among consumers.”

“The near record-breaking 27 percent increase over February was the result of home buyers taking advantage of the tax credit as well as a carryover of demand that was held back by unusually bad weather in February,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.

“The increased sales are very welcome news and sales will continue to improve, although we expect them to plateau in late spring and early summer when the credit expires. Following that, the housing momentum will be carried forward by low interest rates, pent up household formations, excellent affordability conditions and a budding employment growth,” Crowe added.

The nationwide inventory of new homes on the market dropped a negligible 0.8 percent in March, to 227,000 units as builders continued to maintain small inventories. With the increased sales pace and low inventory level, the month’s supply of new homes for sale dropped from 8.6 in February to 6.7 in March.

Make plans to attend the 2010 21CBEC

Registration for the Southeast’s premier home building tradeshow, the 21st Century Building Expo & Conference, is officially open. We invite builders, remodelers, subcontractors, realtors and other industry professionals to attend the 21CBEC in Charlotte, N.C. September 15-17.

The 21CBEC is your chance to see a large array of the products and services available from the industry’s leading manufacturers and suppliers. In addition, a three-day educational conference includes a line-up of more than 50 general session seminars, North Carolina Builder Institute courses and NAHB Education classes.

There are three types of registration:

-- Expo floor only—FREE. Simply register before Sept. 14, and you can visit the exhibit hall filled with more than 200 exhibits showcasing products and services. The Expo floor will be open September 16 and 17.

-- Full Delegate—$75. Register as a full delegate and attend an unlimited number of our carefully selected general session seminars. Learn about trends in home building, how to keep your business successful, new marketing techniques, and much more during these insightful seminars taught by nationally-recognized speakers. The $75 fee also includes conference lunches on Thursday and Friday and Expo floor access. Fee increases to $100 after Sept. 14.

--NCBI/NAHB Course—Fee varies depending on course. If you are working on an NAHB or NCBI designation, the 21CBEC offers three days of courses to help get you well on your way. Course fee includes course materials, unlimited general session seminars, conference lunches on Thursday and Friday, and the Expo floor.

Online registration is easy. Go to www.21buildingexpo.com and click on Attendees.

Interested in exhibiting at 21CBEC? Get your product in front of more than 5,000 industry professionals. Contact Tracie Garrett at tgarrett@nchba.org or 800.676.7129 to sign up now!

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