Other stories by S.Z.

  • Pricey Neighbors

    Home builders in the Charlotte, N.C., area maintain that a neighborhood design program in Monroe, N.C., that has specific parameters for builders drives up the cost of new housing.

  • Trend 19

    TELECOMS AND CABLE companies will spend much of 2006 trying to convince builders and developers that they can deliver voice, data, video, and even wireless service in bundled packages that make moving into a new home easier and life better for home buyers.

  • Trend 13

    PETE HARRIS OF Harris Homes may be a lone wolf in Nashville, Tenn., an area not known for technology innovators, but more home builders may be on the same sheet of music as the year moves on.

  • Trend 7

    IF YOU WALKED THE FLOOR OF LAST SEPTEMBER'S CEDIA show, everywhere you turned there was a vendor talking about an iPod feature.

  • Sprinkler-Free

    The HBA of Central Arizona successfully defeated measures in the Phoenix-area towns of Goodyear and Avondale that would have required fire sprinklers in all new houses. The builders were concerned that mandating sprinklers would add about $1 per square foot to the cost of a new home, pricing some...

  • California Crunch

    California building industry leaders report that the $500,000-plus median cost of a new home prices about 81 percent of Californians out of the housing market. Builders are asking for tax relief on government fees that on average add $20,000 to the price of a new home. In some communities in the...

  • Unfriendly Designs

    Active adult projects do not have enough features that promote ease of use and safety, according to a study that won the 2005 Graduate Student Research Award, given by the American Society on Aging. The student, Glenda Andes, recently received a Ph.D. in housing and interior design at Virginia...

  • Viva Hispanics

    Builder Homesite, a consortium of 35 of the industry's largest home builders, now reports that more than 1,500 new-home communities are listed on Casasnuevasaqui.com, a Web site of new-home listings in Spanish. The company underscored the need for the new Web site by pointing out that 65 percent of...

  • Labor Shortage

    A shortage of skilled construction workers is causing delays in completion and delivery of new homes in the Tucson, Ariz., area, according to the Southern Arizona HBA. The trade group says demand for new homes is outpacing supply and that a primary reason is a lack of skilled workers.