Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000 units in March, according to newly released figures from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The National Fenestration Rating Council approved changes to its NFRC 100 and NFRC 200 standards, allowing certain shading devices to be rated for U-factor and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is working on new building standards after discovering previously unknown indoor air pollutants.
The first group of Passive House-certified homes called the Stables will be ready for occupancy in spring 2013. The row of Passive House single-family townhomes is being developed by Onion Flats group with Domani Developers.
“The first dozen or so attempts to build net-zero [homes] in Oregon fell short because they missed the mark on efficiency and performance,” says Sam Hagerman, co-owner of Hammer & Hand and president of the Passive House Alliance US.
The pace of housing starts in March tipped a milestone, posting an annual rate of 1.04 million units, an increase of 7 percent from February and up 47 percent from a year earlier.
The New Mexico State Court of Appeals struck down an attempt to repeal energy-efficient building codes. The original decision to roll back the building codes came from a suggestion by Gov. Susana Martinez’s small business task force.
William Lyon Homes became the latest home builder looking to cash in on the housing recovery when the company filed on April 9 with the SEC to raise up to $200 million in an initial public offering.
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taylor Morrison raised $526 million in its initial public offering of 28.6 million shares. Analysts say interest in the home builder's shares indicates investors’ demand to cash in on the nation’s housing recovery.