It is April, and at Architectural Record, our thoughts turn to houses—the beautiful, innovative custom dwellings, featured in the pages ahead, where architects experiment with form and materials on a domestic scale and push design ideas in often radical new directions.

But before we get to RECORD Houses—and the best designs of the year—let's pause to look at the broader scene for quotidian residential building in the U.S. today. With the bursting of the housing bubble now behind us, and the economy continuing to brighten, has the residential market bounced back? Not quite, according to Dodge Data & Analytics, which predicts new housing starts will not return to pre-recession levels anytime soon.