Conservation Pros, Asheville and all of Western North Carolina

Allergy Season is a major pain in the Aspiration!

Couple a vicious winter and a hot summer and what do you get?  Allergens!  And lots of them!

1.  Clean, clean, clean!  Aside from just cleaning your house, you need to clean everything else, too.  Be sure to take a shower before bedtime, as pollen and mold spores will stick to your hair and skin.

Housing down. Recovery? What recovery?

While the news may be all sunshine and roses about economic recovery, the truth is somewhat short of that.  Housing starts and permits, one of the leading indicators of recovery and market health, are dropping as you read this post.

Home construction sinks, building permits down

By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer Alan Zibel, Ap Real Estate Writer

WASHINGTON – Home construction plunged last month to the lowest level since December and building permits also fell, the latest signs that the construction industry won’t fuel the economic recovery.

Builders are scaling back now that government incentives have expired.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that construction of new homes and apartments fell 10 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000. April’s figure was revised downward to 659,000.

The results were driven by a 17 percent decline in the single-family market, which had benefited earlier in the year from federal tax credits of up to $8,000. It was the largest monthly drop in single-family construction since January 1991.

Applications for new building permits, a sign of future activity, also fell. They sank 5.9 percent to an annual rate of 574,000, the lowest level in a year.

In a separate report, the Labor Department said wholesale prices fell for a second straight month in May, reflecting big declines in energy costs. The 0.3 percent drop in May was pulled down by a 7 percent drop in gasoline prices and a 7.4 percent decline in home heating oil prices. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food, rose 0.2 percent in May and is up just 1.3 percent over the past 12 months.

The continued absence of inflationary pressures means that the Federal Reserve, which meets next week, can keep interest rates low to provide support for the economic recovery.

The housing report missed Wall Street expectations by a wide margin. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had predicted that housing construction would only fall to seasonally adjusted annual rate of 650,000 and had forecast that building permit applications would increase to an annual rate of 630,000.

In a typical economic recovery, the construction sector provides much of the fuel. But that hasn’t happened this time. Developers are trying to sell a glut of homes built during the boom years. And they must compete against foreclosed homes selling at deep discounts.

Homebuilders are feeling less confident in the recovery now that government incentives for buyers have expired. The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday its housing market index fell in June after two straight months of increases.

Builders had been more optimistic earlier in the year when buyers could take advantage of tax creditsof up to $8,000. Those incentives expired on April 30, although buyers with signed contracts have until June 30 to complete their purchases.

Experts anticipate home sales will slow in the second half of this year. In addition, high unemployment and tight mortgage lending standards have kept buyers away.

Carl Donovan develops curriculum for NC-SBC and DOE

Carl Donovan, Conservation Pros’ founder, recently travelled to Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina to present programs on "How To Start a Weatherization Company" and "How To Position Your Weatherization Company".

The program was a project sponsored by the North Carolina Small Business Network and Paid for by the Department of Energy, facilitated by Jill Sparks, of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.

Carl Donovan with Matt Mittan and Agnes Cheek

Carl Donovan, founder and managing member of Conservation Pros, had an opportunity to be on the radio with the one and only Matt Mittan and the lovely Agnes Cheek, from their hit radio show, Take A Stand with Matt Mittan.  They were there to do a show about the success of the Small Business Incubator and the entrepreneurs that have run their businesses through it.

The show is three hours long and the entire thing is here but, if you’re just here to hear Carl, he’s in hour three.

April 21, 2010 Hour 1 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:34:32 -0400 Matt and Agnes are live at AB tech for the third leg of their 2010 Spring tour.    Download  To download the podcast, right-click "Download" and select "Save Target As" from the menu. iPhone users: Press and hold the Download link until the iPhone asks if you want to open, open in a new page, or copy. Choose "Open in New Page" to listen.

April 21, 2010 Hr 2 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:33:51 -0400 Live from AB tech talking with students about the Early College curriculum and their graduation projects.    Download  To download the podcast, right-click "Download" and select "Save Target As" from the menu. iPhone users: Press and hold the Download link until the iPhone asks if you want to open, open in a new page, or copy. Choose "Open in New Page" to listen.

April 21, 2010 Hr 3 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:32:44 -0400 Matt Mittan and Agnes Cheek talk with Carl Donovan of Conservation Pros.    Download  To download the podcast, right-click "Download" and select "Save Target As" from the menu. iPhone users: Press and hold the Download link until the iPhone asks if you want to open, open in a new page, or copy. Choose "Open in New Page" to listen.