Tag Archives: economy

The number of homes sold in the U.S. and their median selling prices increased in June, up from 2014 and setting the highest selling pace since 2007. Completed sales transactions on existing homes increased to 573,000, which is growth of 13.2 percent from a year ago, …

Nearly 23,000 new retail jobs were added in June, but not in the building materials category, according to the National Retail Federation. Total retail employment – excluding car dealerships, gas stations and restaurants – increased by 212,000 jobs on a year-over-year basis, according …

Americans spent less on home improvement and garden products in June than in May, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Shoppers reduced their home improvement spending by 1.3 percent in that period. The June 2014 to June 2015 drop was 1.4 percent. Overall retail …

Independent We Stand, an organization that supports locally owned businesses, is taking to the road today to visit independents from Detroit to Boston – and the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) is along for the ride. During the trip, Independent We Stand and NRHA …

Existing-home sales were up in May, increasing by 5.1 percent from April and jumping 9.2 percent year over year. About 5.35 million existing single-family, townhouses, condominiums and co-ops sold in the U.S. in May, according to the National Association of …

U.S. retail and food services sales increased in May, up an estimated 2.7  percent from May 2014 — but the home improvement industry’s numbers were even better. Building materials and gardening supplies sellers saw retail sales go up by 4.8 percent year over year, and …

Home builder confidence increased in June, hitting its highest point since September, according to survey data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). “Builders are reporting more serious and committed buyers at their job sites and this is reflected in …

Recently, a local newspaper in Indianapolis, where the North American Retail Hardware Association is headquartered, published a story about an independent hardware store that’s closing its doors. The story also talked about the tough times the independent hardware retailing industry …