Professional Remodeler wants to know how you think 2011 will go. Will the market improve or slip for remodelers?

Results of the survey will be used in a future issue.

A survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed a major increase in the number of first-time home buyers in 2010. The 2010 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers surveyed consumers who purchased a home between July 2009 and June 2010. Fifty percent of purchasers during that period were first-time buyers, up from an average of around 40 percent during the last decade.

Major U.S. drywall produces plan to raise prices by up to 25 percent in the next month, according to a report by The Philadelphia Inquirer. USG Corp. announced the price increase Nov. 3., followed by similar price increase announcements from CertainTeed Corp., National Gypsum Co., Lafarge, and Temple-Inland Inc.

Nearly half of the metropolitan areas tracked by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed modest increases in single-family home prices compared to last year. NAR’s latest survey showed that 77 of 155 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) had higher median existing home prices in the third quarter of 2010 than the third quarter of 2009. Eleven of those had increases in the double digits.

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) and the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Assocation (CEDIA) announced last week that they formed the Remodeling and Home Technologies Council. The new council’s mission is “to advance home technology aware within the remodeling industry and to expand business opportunities via partnership between CEDIA and NARI member,” according to a press release on NARI’s website.

ServiceMagic.com, a website that connects homeowners to prescreened, customer-rated contractors nationwide, released its annual Home Modeling & Repair Index for the third quarter of 2010. The company used its own data, plus surveys of service providers and consumers, to measure trends in home improvements.

The results of Tuesday’s elections could have a major effect on the 50-state probe into the country’s foreclosure issues. Two of the investigation’s key proponents, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and Florida Rep. Alan Grayson, lost their bids for re-election, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. homeownership rate is at its lowest level since 1999, said a report by the Wall Street Journal. According to the Census Bureau, 66.9 percent of households owned their homes. In 1999, the rate was 66.7 percent.

American homeowners may not spend significantly on home improvements in the near future, according to report by the Wall Street Journal. Americans tend to spend more on home improvement as home prices rise, since they are likely to see a return on their investments.

When many contractors around the country are struggling to stay in business, Tod and Kristin Sakai have seen their three-year-old design/build company, Sockeye Homes, grow robustly. They expect Sockeye sales volume this year to nearly double 2009’s volume, reaching $2.5 million.