Housing construction plunges 10.6 percent in October, building permits fall 4 percent

Home construction plunges 10.6 percent in October

Fla. insurer flip-flops, to renew homeowners policy for house built with bad Chinese drywall

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida’s public insurance company reversed course this week and said it will cover a couple’s Gulf Coast retirement home, after previously telling the homeowners their policy wouldn’t be renewed because of the home’s tainted Chinese drywall.

Housing construction likely posted modest gain in September but recovery still bumpy

Ahead of the Bell: Housing Starts

WASHINGTON — New home construction likely inched higher in October as builders seized on the promise of more orders due largely to a federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers.

Thousands living in flooded homes in West Africa after torrential rains

FASS MBAO, Senegal — The only piece of furniture that survived the most recent flood in Fat Dione’s house is her bed. It’s propped up on cinderblocks and hovers just above the water lapping at the walls of her bedroom.

Neighbors: Wells Fargo exec. moved into beach home surrendered to bank by Madoff-duped couple

MALIBU, Calif. — A Wells Fargo & Co. executive who oversees foreclosed properties hosted parties and spent long summer weekends in a $12 million Malibu beach house, moving into the home just after it had been surrendered to Wells Fargo to satisfy debts, neighbors said.

Construction of US homes rises in July, giving the economy a boost

WASHINGTON — At least the market for new homes isn’t getting worse anymore, and that’s the first step to getting better.

Construction of US homes rises in July, but apartment building drops 13 percent

WASHINGTON — Construction of new single-family homes rose for the fifth-straight month in July as more buyers walked into model homes ready to sign contracts, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Housing begins to reverse 3-year recession in every US region, but 2nd half looks rocky

It was — note the past tense — the worst housing recession anyone but survivors of the Great Depression can remember.

Communities confront ‘ghostbox’ buildings when big-box retailers leave

BISMARCK, N.D. — Hundreds of anxious shoppers watched as city officials used power saws to cut 2-by-4s during Home Depot Inc.’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for its 102,700-square-foot building center in Bismarck. Less than three years later, the home improvement retailer shuttered the underperforming store, leaving a big orange empty eyesore on the outskirts of town.

Former Iraq ambassador Ryan Crocker building home in Spokane Valley

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker says he’s enjoying a much quieter life in the Spokane Valley.

Global meltdown pushes India’s textile workers back into poverty, threatens future generation

COIMBATORE, India — The trouble began far away from the leaky concrete house and stand of banana trees that Sakunthala Radhakrishnan calls home.

Gazans build mud-brick homes as Israel refuses to allow materials into blockaded strip

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — The dirt under Yousef Hamida’s feet has become an unlikely resource: He is using it to build a home, a result of Israel’s refusal to allow construction materials into the Gaza Strip.

The Edge’s plan to build 5 eco-friendly homes in Malibu riles residents

MALIBU, Calif. — A few years ago, U2 guitarist The Edge went for a hike, and there in the golden hills overlooking Malibu’s cerulean waters, he finally found what he was looking for.