Twenty-four months ago, PlyMart, the pro dealer based in Norcross, Ga.

Larry Mizel, chairman and CEO of M.

Consumers are keen on green kitchen and bath products, but demand for high-end appliances and many luxury features appears to be waning in the face of less than exuberant market conditions, according to the most recent Home Design Trends survey by the American Institute of Architects.

Illinois-based Kimball Hill Homes disclosed yesterday that it would exit the Florida market, its smallest, over the next 10 months.

Centex chairman and CEO Tim Eller outlined the six elements of a market trough this morning to kick off the Wachovia Home Building and Building Products Conference in Las Vegas.

The Federal Reserve now estimates that the country's gross domestic product will expand "sluggishly" over the next two years, according to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who warned members of the Senate Banking Committee this morning that "the risk to this outlook remains on the down side" because the housing market might continue to slide and prices for oil and food might continue to rise.

Big builder Toll Brothers, which was one of the few public builders to make money in 2007, had a rough start to its fiscal first-quarter, reporting a $96 million net loss.

The stock market got a slight lift today amid all the bad housing news when the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) opted to remove the portfolio loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In nearly three hours of testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman Benjamin Bernanke told Congress that many of the challenges the economy faces stem from the contraction of the U.

The bad news continued for the housing industry as sales of new homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 588,000 units in January 2008, a 2.

The U.S. Senate could vote on a major bill today aimed at rescuing troubled homeowners from foreclosure.

The industry's two largest home improvement retailers, The Home Depot and Lowe's, this morning and yesterday reported far weaker sales and profit for fiscal 2007, which each company attributes primarily to the ongoing downturn on home buyer demand.

The National Association of Realtors reports that existing-home sales slid 0.

Seattle builder bets on area's job growth; Housing starts edge up in january; Kimball Hill prepares a restructuring plan; Builder confidence rises slightly; BUILDER Online catches you up with the news you might have missed.

NEW YORK - Treasury prices fell after the latest report on existing home sales met expectations, suggesting to some that the battered housing sector may be obtaining a measure of stability.

In the first two weekends of February, Murray Franklyn Family of Communities, which is based in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, Wash.

In the first two weekends of February, Murray Franklyn Family of Communities, which is based in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, Wash.

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered its projection for economic growth this year, citing damage from the double blows of a housing slump and credit crunch.

For the second day in a row, the housing market received a bit of good news as HUD and the Census Bureau reported that total housing starts in January were at 1,012,000 units, a 0.