Are you looking to purchase a new home or remodel an existing one? Before you do, check out these latest lists of the best and worst cities to live in.

Everyone knows how bad 2009 was for the housing market, and the woodworking industry’s close relationship with that market meant tanked sales for many secondary wood products manufacturers. While the results of a new study to be released this summer by Vance Publishing, Virginia Tech and the USDA Forest Service highlight the validity of that statement, there is some positive news to be gleaned.

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose two points to 17 in February as favorable home buying conditions and signs of healing in the job market helped boost the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released Feb. 16.