GLG News Analyses of the following article:

State of the Nation's Housing 2008

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Published at: www.jchs.harvard.edu

Rod MacKenzieOwnerGreen Building Resources

Small Expectations - The Coming Market Shift in New US Residential Construction

December 23, 2008

Market forces are emerging that will change new home buyer mentality in the US.  Home buyers will revise their plans to the new housing market realities.  Builders, manufacturers and suppliers all need to understand this market shift.  

Rod MacKenzieOwnerGreen Building Resources

Vinyl Siding - Poised for Growth

December 8, 2008

Vinyl siding has lost market share over the past few years.  Many factors account for this but the US economic meltdown is bringing frugality back to homebuying and homeowning.  A higher percentage of smaller, affordable and "greener" homes are expected to be built in the future.  And existing homeowners will seek more cost effective (and recoverable) residing options in the future.  Since vinyl is the cheapest siding option available, it emerges as the odds-on favorite to win more and more siding jobs. 

Rod MacKenzieOwnerGreen Building Resources

A Shot in the Arm for Building Products Wholesalers

December 3, 2008

The growth years of US home building in the early part of this decade allowed many residential construction supply firms to subvert wholesale distribution and buy direct from manufacturers.  Direct purchasing put the wholesaler's business model in jeopardy as more and more products were being bought around them.  But the severe contraction in the US home building industry has forced the construction suppliers to forgo direct purchasing and buy only what they need to meet their immediate needs - and this type of market "spoon feeding" plays perfectly into the hands of the wholesale distributors.