A year later, the residential real estate market has cooled substantially (with talk of "bubbles bursting" in select areas), marked by rising interest rates (and foreclosures). According to the U.S. Commerce Department, sales of new homes in July fell 21.6% from the record monthly high set in July 2005, and, on a year-to-date basis, new home sales were down 14.2% compared with the first seven months of 2005.
But the good news is, a slow down in new home sales has only a minimal impact on the decorative paint market.
"Slowing sales of new homes, in and of itself, should not be cause for too great a concern. The vast majority of architectural paint sold in the U.S. is for maintenance or repaint," said Scott Detiveaux, senior consultant with Orr & Boss, Inc.
However, recent reports on existing home sales-a significant influence
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