News You Can Use

Consumer Confidence Index Surges in April
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index™, which had posted a slight increase in March, improved considerably in April. The Index now stands at 39.2, up from 26.9 in March. The Present Situation Index increased to 23.7 from 21.9 last month. The Expectations Index rose to 49.5 from 30.2 in March.


New Single Family Home Sales Edge Down in March, But So Do Inventories
Sales of new one-family houses in March 2009 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 356,000, according to estimates released last Friday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 0.6 percent below the revised February rate of 358,000 and is 30.6 percent below the March 2008 estimate of 513,000.


2009 Annual Rankings of Housing's Giants Now Available
Professional Builder has released its annual list of the largest homebuilders. This year's list contains the top 350 companies.

Check it out now at housingzone.com


Activant Announces Next Generation LBM Business Management Solution
Activant Solutions Inc., a leading provider of lumber and building materials business management solutions, has introduced Activant Catalyst™ technologies, business management solutions that provide larger Lumber and Building Materials (LBM) dealers quick and easy access to the tools and information they need to effectively run their businesses. These new solutions combine Activant's functionally rich LBM business applications with Microsoft's easy-to-use .NET framework. The Activant Catalyst solution offers LBM dealers an intuitive user interface and advanced workflow in a tightly integrated package.


Is It Time to Load Up on Homebuilder Stocks?
Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine recently ran an article that discusses whether the timing (and pricing) is right to buy homebuilder stocks. The story urges caution, but lists the builders with the brightest prospects.
Read the story here