A debate about oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood has significant relevance that affects your business.
What builders choose to do after their non-compete agreement ends is very much a function of age.
The vast majority -- 88 percent -- of builders surveyed said that their customers are more design conscious than buyers five years ago.
Within the next three years, builders will expand their use of the Internet and wireless technology to create valuable relationships with customers.
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Experts blame material cost increases on the convergence of rapid global growth, unbalanced trade tariffs, and localized disasters.
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Builders who, until recently, bought only finished lots have started development arms to capture the middleman costs, while others have begun to hire employees who are devoted to hunting for ground.
Behrokh Khoshnevis, a professor at the University of Southern California, has a vision for our industry that will stop the heart of even the most tech-savvy home builder: Khoshnevis plans to use a robot to build a single-story, 500-square-foot home in one day.
At the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, many manufacturers unveiled prototype products and ideas that indicate slower but steady advancement into the future.
many forward-thinking builders and architects are actively pursuing projects that revolve around an edgier set of buzzwords: Affordable. Urban Infill. Green/Energy-Efficient. Nature. Good design is a consistent theme across the board.
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THE FUTURE IS AS EXHILARATING AS IT IS frightening. In a few short years, builders will offer bathrooms with Internet connections built into the mirrors, letting homeowners check the weather and plan their day before they leave for work in the morning. Wireless technology like Ultra-Wideband will free builders from worrying about installing all the technology before the drywall goes up, thus freeing designers to focus more on how people live as opposed to where the gear is situated. Sensors will track every aspect of the home.
The story of La Costa illustrates the difficulties of development in a hot market such as San Diego and the mixed blessing it can be for builders.
Today's sophisticated consumer is not only asking about frills such as mood lighting to softly illuminate a home theater but also about enhancements for the kitchen and security-based features.
Housing industry officials are anxious that the two agencies could wind up under the regulatory yoke of the U.S. Treasury, which hasn't been shy about expressing its antipathy toward Fannie Mae's and Freddie's Mac's expansion.
Builders and developers that have paid attention to their community intranets report some excellent results.
Detail can make all the difference in winning the battle for a buyer's heart. The high school colors and information about nearby activities immediately give the customer a vision of life in the house and the community.
ONLY THE WEALTHIEST CHINESE people can afford to live in the Western-style subdivisions rising from the ground around cities such as Shanghai and Beijing. But with billions in foreign investment pouring into the country, the number of well-off Chinese is growing, as is their demand for new homes. American companies that have begun doing business in China see that demand as an opportunity for U.S. home builders, especially in managing construction projects and training the Chinese to build to U.S. standards. Builders looking to do business in China should prepare for a protracted learning curve, however. Building in Shanghai is very different from building in Sacramento, Calif.
WITH PRE-ELECTION POLLS FLUCTUATING daily, it's anyone's guess which candidate the public will elect next month. But most builders are pretty clear whom they would like to see as the next president. Based on two surveys Builder conducted this year, nearly three out of every four builders will vote to re-elect President George W. Bush.
Meet thee judges for the 2004 Builder's Choice Design & Planning Awards.
As far as influence goes, these 50 people certainly have proven adept at making things -- big things -- happen in home building.
act! 2005 offers contact management, incidence tracking, document management, and sales/warranty automation in an inexpensive, customizable, and easy-to-learn package.
AS A SELF-PROCLAIMED “PROPELLER-HEAD,” Jonathan Smoke, Chief Information Officer of Beazer Homes, has spent the past few years immersed in new technology initiatives.
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- Avad now offers a special program that pairs home builders with home technology integrators.
- Liquid Breaker of Carlsbad, Calif. develops new hub for in-house water sensors.
- Front15 Secure Technologies offers an online options selection system.
Intuit has managed to introduce some useful new user-requested features to Master Builder 10 without taking existing users out of their comfort zones.
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“I am confident that our members are committed to ensuring proper sales practices in their businesses. To do this they must stay current on all aspects of the laws relating to home sales and must comply with those laws. Through our University of Housing, the NAHB offers various courses that help educate members on this important issue.
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Think that bias doesn't occur in any of your company's sales centers? Builders who say
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WHY IT WORKED: The Lanes is the first of three neighborhoods available at Tapestry, an innovative mini–master planned community that features a wide variety of floor plans and plenty of amenities the whole family can enjoy.
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The NAHB has created Green Home Building Guidelines to move environmentally friendly home building concepts further into the mainstream home building marketplace.
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HOUSE PRICES SURGED IN 2004 AS FALLING mortgage rates and rising employment and household income energized home buyer demand. Several major Wall Street media outlets (including Fortune and Barron's) argue that speculators piled onto the process, bidding up prices with the intention of “flipping” the properties in short order for quick gains. They also argue that use of adjustable-rate mortgages with interest-only repayment schedules fueled the speculative process.
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- Housing officials from the United States and Mexico endorse a landmark agreement to increase cross-border housing opportunities.
- The cost of building materials is expected to go down in 2005, according to analysts.
- New NAHB Web-based publication provides expert, in-depth analysis of economic and housing market trends and the latest housing economic statistics.
NAVIGATING YOUR WAY THROUGH the sea of new products at the International Builders' Show (IBS) is like looking for a black cat in a dark room: You may find something interesting but only if you stop at every booth. This, we know, is next to impossible—and unnecessary. Instead, let us do the job for you.
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Mortgage fraud takes one of two forms: fraud for property, committed by buyers, and fraud for profit, which is usually committed by such industry insiders as appraisers, mortgage brokers, and loan originators.
In testimony to the depth of their creativity, and the limitless possibilities in residential design today, each architect designed a completely different home in a different architectural style, with a novel floor plan and innumerable touches worthy of imitation.
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New home buyers are more satisfied than ever with their builders, even as the number of units built and the average price of a house increases
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A BIPARTISAN GROUP OF FOUR LEADING HOUSING authorities recently published a housing policy treatise that calls for the political parties to put partisan politics aside to solve the nation's affordable housing crisis.
Residential construction could be curtailed if police, fire, and EMS response times and staff levels fail to meet targets between now and the end of 2006.
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ONE OF THE BIGGEST OBSTACLES to jobsite recycling has been finding the organizations that accept drywall, carpet, asphalt roof shingles, appliances, and other demolition byproducts. Now, by logging on to the Construction Waste Management Database Web site (www.wbdg.org/ccbref/cwm.php) you get a one-stop reference to help rid yourself of tons of landfill-bound debris, while at the same time doing less environmental harm.
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One San Francisco–based real estate agent says 33 percent of buyers snapping up $3 million-plus homes still put their children in the same bedroom. The parents say it's to keep from spoiling their kids and to help them learn to share. This is despite 37 percent of new homes having four or more bedrooms and married couples having fewer than two children.
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TREND WATCHERS TELL US THAT HOMEOWNERS are entertaining more. It's only logical then that they are looking for homes that make it easier to have those events. Realizing the relationship between good design and efficient entertaining, plumbing giant Kohler built a demonstration home to show what the ideal home for entertaining might look like.
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The 47 percent home-ownership rate among Hispanics considerably lags the national average of 68 percent, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute says that is due to obstacles that keep Hispanics out of the housing market—such as high prices, low incomes, and the complexity of the home buying process. Moreover, many Hispanic buyers are unable to save for a down payment, as much of their money is sent to relatives outside of the country.
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Pulte Homes now has its own professorship, courtesy of a $1.5 million gift to the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The pledge is the largest gift ever given to the college and will fund the endowed pro fessorship in the college's building construction program. The professorship will allow the program to offer more classes, foster greater teacher–student interaction, contribute to its research efforts, and provide an ambassador for the school at national industry events.
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More than a dozen residents of Coconut Grove, Fla., frustrated by the trend of replacing tear-downs with monster homes, have joined together to form NAMBIES United, LLC, an acronym for Neighbors Against McMansions: Big Invasive Eyesores. The group of 16 pooled resources to buy a local home that it will rebuild. It ran a competition to choose the replacement design. The parameters of the contest called for a four-bedroom, three-bath home with a kitchen, dining room, and living room, space for a pool, and a price tag of $500,000. Against the rules: fake trim or cutting down protected trees.
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Existing-home prices increased 9.36 percent from the second quarter of 2003 through the second quarter of 2004, according to the quarterly House Price Index, published by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). That gain, says Patrick Lawler, OFHEO's chief economist, is the largest year-over-year increase in 25 years. No doubt it was buoyed by double-digit jumps in some areas of the country: Prices in Las Vegas were up nearly 25 percent.
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Engle Homes has acquired Phoenix-based Artisan Homes, which specialized in high-density urban infill construction. Eric Brown, founder of Artisan, will continue on as regional manager for Engle's Artisan Homes Collection and will develop new infill projects for the company. “Now, I have capital and resources behind me. This gives me a chance to continue to grow the product line,” says Brown, who says he looks to expand beyond Phoenix in coming years. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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A notice and opportunity to repair (NOR) bill that passed the House and Senate in Missouri was successfully vetoed this year by Gov. Bob Holden. Gov. Holden's veto was upheld when an override attempt in mid-September fell short by two votes in the state Senate, effectively killing the bill for the year. The NOR bill would have required homeowners to notify a builder of an alleged defect before filing a lawsuit. A state Senate source expects NOR proponents to reintroduce the bill when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.
On Oct. 2, Pulte Homes made waves when it reduced its prices across Las Vegas by about $70,000 per home.
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Spyware Alert!
The message is clear: Spyware is a threat to all industries and home PC users, and home builders are not immune. If anything, builders are more at risk, since so many builders don't always put computers issues on the front burner. Here's how to fight the spyware plague.
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The message is clear: Spyware is a threat to all industries and home PC users, and home builders are not immune. If anything, builders are more at risk, since so many builders don't always put computers issues on the front burner. Here's how to fight the spyware plague.
Minneapolis-based Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity adjusted its business plan when the scattered lots for its single-family homes began drying up.
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Florida has been in OSHA's "to do" spotlight lately.
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In 1992, Habitat for Humanity made international headlines when all of its houses in the path of Hurricane Andrew survived the storm. When Hurricane Charley hit Southwest Florida on Aug. 13, Habitat houses once again held up against the deluge. In Fort Myers, Habitat reported that only two of more than 500 houses sustained major damage. One house was hit by lightning, and the other had a tree go through the roof. In Charlotte County, which bore the brunt of the storm, many of the affiliate's 65-plus houses were damaged, but all remained structurally sound. Habitat attributes its success to its volunteers, who aren't punching a clock or trying to cut corners to save money. They treat each house as they would their own and basically overbuild it. And, of course, they're all built to code.
A FIRE INDUSTRY COALITION IS USING A $600,000 grant from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to educate the home building industry on how installing fire sprinklers in new homes can reduce fire deaths.
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A report challenges the long-held belief that sustainable building costs significantly more than traditional construction.
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Maryland is taking a look at its real estate holdings and is thinking about selling some of its parcels. Earlier this year, the state hired Addison, Texas, real estate advisors Staubach Co. to catalog its assets and make suggestions on what to do with them. All together, the state owns almost 500,000 acres, valued at just under $8 billion. About $3 billion of that is land; the rest includes more than 5,200 buildings and improvements.
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More owners of Class B office buildings in Boston are touting their properties as the ideal investment for developers looking for residential conversion opportunities. A glut of office space and a need for more housing have created an environment in which developers can buy and convert former work spaces into rental units and condos.
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A Santa Fe, N.M., developer hopes to create what may be the first openly gay retirement community, aimed at the special needs and interests of gay men and lesbians. Rainbow Vision Santa Fe closed on a 12.7-acre parcel in the Santa Fe City limits last year and is now preselling and pre-leasing 146 units to be built on the site. These will comprise 40 condominiums (starting at $250,000) and 106 independent and assisted living rental units.
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Can carpentry and home renovation serve as a metaphor for rebuilding your life? That's the premise of Mark Clement's new novel, The Carpenter's Notebook. Clement, a first-time novelist and a fellow editor at Hanley Wood, hopes the book will appeal to the wide do-it-yourself movement, while simultaneously telling a compelling story about love, struggle, and one man's efforts to make sense of the world “with every swing of the hammer.” Order a copy at www.TheCarpentersNotebook.com.
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BIG CHANGES ARE UNDER WAY AT THE NATION'S 3,100 public housing agencies. A new rule is changing both the criteria by which they receive money and how they operate.
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A Web-based training program that delivers weekly five-minute mini lessons to a salesperson's desktop.
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A J.D. Power and Associates poll ranked Pulte, one of the nation's biggest residential builders, No. 1 in customer satisfaction. The Bloomfield Hills, Mich.–based builder also ranked No. 1 in 14 of the 25 U.S. housing markets. Dallas-based Centex ranked No. 2.
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National builders moved to shore up their market share in both Washington and Jacksonville, Fla., at the end of the summer. Hovnanian Enterprises bought McLean, Va.–based Rocky Gorge Homes for an undisclosed amount of cash. Last year, Rocky Gorge delivered 79 homes with an average sales price of $481,000. M.D.C. Holdings bought Watson Home Builders of Jacksonville with an eye on becoming a top-three builder in the market in 2005.
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Authorities in a Howard County, Md., circuit court recently turned to a chocolate Labrador–mix named Barney to solve a puzzle. Except Barney's case wasn't a crime: He helped them find mold lurking in the walls of the courthouse. Barney is one of dozens of canines trained in mold detection. A former pound puppy, he received close to 1,000 hours of training at the Florida Canine Academy. His handlers, David and Rondra Marcelli, were certified after a 60-hour class. About 50 dog handlers in the United States are certified in mold-detection services.
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The NAHB estimates that building a new home will cost $5,000 to $7,000 more starting this fall, due to the nationwide shortages of cement and other building materials such as steel frames, insulation, and gypsum wallboard. The median cost of building a new home is $210,000, according to the association.
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Legitimate builders and developers have been quietly investigating the potential post-hurricane opportunities in a county that lies between the higher-priced Sarasota and Naples markets.
Builders who can get a broadband connection installed in a sales model or a job trailer can use readily available equipment from companies such as Cisco and D-Link to provide a WiFi signal throughout a community.
Corrigo's warranty management module lets supers assign service requests in the field over the BlackBerry 7510 to in-house technicians or subs.
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The latest in builder technology - November 2004.
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With features built into Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft SharePoint Services 2003, the software giant has plugged into the next evolution of personal computing: collaboration that integrates a user's Microsoft Office applications with the Internet.
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The president cites home builders as a major contributor to America's Strength
Smarter tool management can help builders retain up to 96 percent of their tools and save 40 cents per hour for every person in the field.
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Two federal offices have come to radically different conclusions about the fiscal impact of the Zero Downpayment Act of 2004, a proposed law that would authorize the FHA to insure mortgages for first-time home buyers who can afford a house payment but lack a down payment. The Office of Management and Budget reported earlier this year that the program would generate almost $200 million a year in FHA premiums. This summer, however, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported the act would cost the federal government more than $100 million a year, based on a prediction that a high percentage of the borrowers would default on their loans. Supporters of the bill (H.R. 3755) admit the report doesn't help its chances of passage and are asking the CBO to take another look at its numbers.
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Boise to spin off paper, forest products, and timberland assets for about $3.7 billion.
VectorWorks Architect has all the industry-specific features that builders expect: wall panel design, roof framing, automatic windows and doors, and a stair modeler with an automatic railing generator.
Modeling software calculates the impact of the trusses on the beams and headers.
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- InterActiveCorp (IAC) aquires Service Magic, an online portal connecting home buyers with home builders, contractors, real estate brokers, and lenders.
- New-homes portal American Home Guides joins forces with online lead tracking and prospect management service BeHomeWise.
- Fiber-to-the-premises gear maker Alloptic and optical-fiber cable company OFS partner to deliver broadband services.
- Supply-chain automator ChanneLinx emerges from bankruptcy.
Perfect customer relationships can be damaged in a hurry if their new homes are not delivered defect-free and warranty-service requests are not handled efficiently.