It might just be that the weather this year is keeping the housing market from being hotter than it already is. It’s not just about whether you can apply a fresh coat before putting your house on the market — it’s about construction. As Sherwin-Williams announced weak earnings, the CEO explained that a lot of it has to do with the rain. With record rainfall in May, June, and July in many states, construction is lagging. As this blog reported, residential permits are up 25% year-over-year; however, actual residential starts are only up 5%. Maybe the market would be even hotter if it weren’t so damp.

It’s still only July, so we still have quite a few hot days ahead of us. That’s good news for those who enjoy fun in the summer, but we should also take a minute to refresh ourselves on some common dangers and how to avoid them. The National Safety Council provides some good, basic tips that everyone should follow. It may be a little late for their “practice firework safety” advice, but “how to beat the heat” and “water safety for kids” are still particularly apropos. Go out, have fun, get a tan, but stay safe this summer!

Searching for mortgage rates on Google news continues to be a source of amusement, with every other article saying they’re increasing or decreasing. In fact, as the Dayton Business Journal points out, this is the fourth straight week where rate movements have changed direction. This latest change appears to be connected to a drop in U.S. Treasury yields, which, in turn, seems to be connected to publicly traded companies failing to meet earnings expectations. Perhaps they’ll reverse again now that Amazon has announced a surprise profit?

This blog has already covered the fact that the U.S. housing market has fully recovered, and is now above previous highs from 8 years ago. Also, it’s been mentioned that conditions are different now, and while predicting the future is dangerous outside of parlour games, it seems unlikely that we’re in a bubble. Yesterday, Matt Phillips published an article on Quartz that not only confirms the previous reasoning about why we’re not in a bubble, but adds some analysis of lumber and wood employment, and the building industry in general, which seem to indicate there’s still room to run.

A few months ago, Amazon rolled out Amazon Home Services in a few select markets. It was only a matter of time before they expanded, and now they have. But not only have they expanded where they’re offering the service — they’ve expanded what they’re offering as well. Which services are available where still varies, but in some markets they’re offering as many as 900 different professional services! So, if DIY isn’t your thing, Amazon is coming to the rescue. With the number of service providers increasing four-fold in the last quarter, it won’t be long before they’re offering everything, everywhere.

Just found a great article from back in April that will always be appropriate. Trent Hamm pulled together these 19 money saving tips for The Simple Dollar, and with the possible exception of “Install LED or CFL light bulbs”, which may violate your personal aesthetics, they’re all spot-on. Better still, they’re almost all one-time things, like checking the temperature setting on your hot water heater. His final tip is to create a home maintenance checklist, and if you decide to do that, there are great, seasonal maintenance checklists elsewhere on this blog. Just search for the one you need (e.g., “summer maintenance checklist”).

This blog reported on Friday that the Housing Market Index beat estimates in July, and is near a record high. The U.S. Commerce Department also released data that both housing starts and building permits are substantially up  year-over-year. However, with Millennials finally entering the race, the pressure on supply is strong. We need about 1.5 million new units of housing per year, in order to balance the supply and demand curves, and at a seasonally adjusted 1.174 million, we’re still about 22% behind where we need to be.

The National Association of Home Builders report released yesterday shows that the Housing Market Index has come in at 60 for July. That’s tied with the highest it’s been since it hit 61 in November, 2005, and ahead of projection of 59 from economists. That, combined with a decrease in claims for State unemployment benefits for the first time in 3 weeks. Combined, these factors seem to indicate that the economy is strong enough to support an interest rate hike this year. The strength of the dollar is a contributing factor as well.

I bet you didn’t know there was one, did you? Sure, we all know about agricultural colleges, but who really thinks scientifically about their lawn? Thankfully, the University of Illinois has done that thinking for you. These three simple tips will help get you through the summer heat, including details on proper lawn-mower height (be honest, you’ve never adjusted your lawn mower, have you?), watering amount and frequency, and when to do the rest of your maintenance, like fertilizing, weed killing, and thatch control.

Sure. You’re an adult. You’re busy. OK. Fine. But believe it or not, we’re already almost a month into summer. If you haven’t started having fun yet, it’s time to get on the ball. To help you along, here’s something a little different for today: 33 DIY Ways To Have The Best Summer Ever. These home hacks are a great way to ensure that you’re having as much fun this summer as possible. And they’re from Buzzfeed, so you’re know they’re worth it. Male, female, young, old — it doesn’t matter. There’s something in here for everyone.