Smaller companies are finding creative ways to give customers the personalization they crave, while minimizing the organizational burdens that can drain staff and siphon profits.
Just what are the critical elements of a successful launch? What falls under the category of .must-do. and what can fall by the wayside as merely an option?
Manufactured stone has been around for several decades now, but in recent years, the cement-based material has come of age, both in terms of technology and in its warm reception by residential designers and builders.
-
Last year was an amazing year for home builders in the country's top 50 metropolitan areas.
-
In real estate, some regions constantly pay off for builders, while others struggle to break even.
Multifamily builders kept -- and keep -- building, increasingly so, even in some areas where demand has been lackluster.
In the last couple years, the "monsoon" of bad news hitting manufactured home builders has been especially devastating.
Numbers provide only a partial picture of the Next 100 companies, many of which are more dynamic, creative, financially sophisticated, and profitable than one might expect.
-
While the overall housing market increased just 8 percent, as measured by total starts, the BUILDER 100 delivered 393,178 U.S. homes, a 14 percent increase over 2002.
-
Last year, with war looming and the economy slumping, everyone expected builders' luck to shift, just slightly, after a string of stellar years. But housing stayed hot.
AT FIRST GLANCE, IT'S HARD TO SEE HOW THE Carneros Inn in Napa, Calif., could have any connection to the tenets of new urbanism. The 27-acre, $57 million resort property boasts the first of two dozen for-sale homes, 96 guest cottages, a spa, and a first-class restaurant. Instead of the usual alley-loaded garages, front porches, and other new urbanism signatures, the site is marked by swaths of lavender and hilltop views of the Napa River, neighboring vineyards, and the Mayacamas Mountains. And forget the average amenities of most planned communities. Here, homeowners have full access to everything the resort has to offer, plus in-home catering, wine tastings, and maid service.
Structured wiring provides the infrastructure and solid backbone, and wireless provides flexibility.
There are some very high-quality home theater packages available for under $10,000 that can generate high gross margins for builders.
-
Use these tips for a FAST implementation:
-
FULTON HOMES IN PHOENIX HAS ONE OF THE more forward-thinking visions for how builders can use enterprise, resource, and planning software FAST.
-
EVERY BUILDER WANTS TO TOUT A HIGH RATING on a customer service survey as a selling point to a potential customer. The problem for smaller builders is that most don't do enough annual volume to be considered by large national builder surveys such as J.D. Power and Associates.
-
The latest in builder technology - Aprril 2004.
-
A wireless standard called 802.15.4 establishes a low data rate network that lets wireless home-control appliances communicate with each other.
-
You may think you know everything about doing battle with the big guys, but, as Sun Tzu says, sometimes you've got to know when to hold them, when to fold them, and when to run.
-
A NEW STUDY IN BRITAIN SUGGESTS THAT CONSTRUCTION workers are at far more risk of developing repetitive strain injuries (RSI) on the job than office workers. In fact, the study by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy found workers on construction jobsites are five times more likely to suffer from neck pain and upper limb disorders such as tennis elbow than people who sit at a computer station all day.
-
The St. Johns Housing Partnership and World Island Builders have teamed up to build 32 houses using energy-efficient and green building techniques to make the homes healthier and to minimize the effects of development on the environment. Located in St. Augustine, Fla., the single-family homes will be priced between $103,000 and $117,000. Low-income buyers will benefit from $20,000 to $25,000 in down payment assistance from the housing partnership.
-
CITIMORTGAGE'S NEW MORTGAGE program may not sound as catchy as sister Citigroup subsidiary Citibank's “live richly” ad campaign, but it means good news for builders.
-
WHEN BUILDER REPORTED ON SKYROCKETING plywood and OSB prices in November 2003, the pundits urged calm. They predicted that wood prices would level off by January 2004, and they were right.
-
The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce has rejected the Proposition J initiative that was designed to create more middle-income housing by offering incentives to city developers. Supporters had hoped that the initiative would keep middle-class workers such as teachers and firefighters from leaving the city for less-costly destinations. Opponents, however, said the proposed housing would not be affordable enough.
-
According to the NAHB, a total of 18,887 eco-friendly homes were built between 1990 and 2001. In 2002 alone, the number of green homes built totaled 13,224.
CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS AND THE RISING cost of land have combined to make cities a red-hot place to live these days, which means the notion of infill is gaining ground among builders. And where there is talk of infill there is, naturally, talk of teardowns. Here's a look at two resources for niche builders interested in infill.
-
Here are some of the reasons workforce housing has become a hot-buttom issue...
-
THE NAHB HAS FORMED AN AMBITIOUS PARTNERSHIP with mortgage finance company Fannie Mae to deliver workforce housing to some 1,000 communities nationwide.
-
Suffolk County, New York has appointed a commission to tackle the workforce housing issue. A recent report released by the county found that home prices increased more than 80 percent in the past four years, while incomes have risen only 14 percent. County executive Steve Levy directed the commission to create an inventory of potential sites, streamline the permitting process, and recommend the needed zoning changes and incentives to builders. The median price of a single-family home in Suffolk County is now $326,000—more than double the national median.
-
The Harvard University Distribution Study is continuing its research on the changing residential building supply chain. The first round focused on pro dealers and other distributors of building products. The study shows that a variety of market pressures have forced dealers to adopt new strategies in regard to the range of products carried; customer focus; areas served; and the services offered to their customers.
-
TORONTO-BASED AAREAS INTERACTIVE HAS developed a new Web-based tool that allows consumers to search and select builders' homes on the Internet and reserve units and condos with a credit card. “The Web Store helps builders to better market and organize their sales process,” says Angela D'Amico, marketing coordinator for Aareas. The Web Store lets builders do targeted marketing, she says, since builders will know who is searching the site and who is serious about buying a home.
HOME BUILDERS IN FLORIDA HAVE JOINED forces with bankers, real estate agents, and low-income housing advocates to fight Gov. Jeb Bush's plan to eliminate the state's affordable housing trust fund and roll it into the general fund.
-
Nextel's massive ad blitz has hit Las Vegas, where the wireless carrier most used by builders plans to build a 15,000-square-foot technology showcase at the Convention Center stop on the new Las Vegas Monorail. Scheduled to open a few months after the Monorail finally starts running this spring, the new facility will show off Nextel's latest wireless innovations to the 35 million people who annually travel to Las Vegas for trade shows. Nextel plans to target vertical markets as industries come to town, so any construction-related shows will be targeted for builders and the trades.
-
Ever wonder how best to deal with bad builders who drag the industry's reputation through the mud? Apparently, the Australians play a rough-and-tumble game. When a kitchen company started by George Jorgensen of Brisbane failed financially this year, the authorities yanked his license—forever. That's right: Under new laws, a builder cited for a second financial failure can be banned from the industry for life. What's more, he becomes a major liability. No company in which he serves as a director, secretary, or “influential person” can hold a license, due to his proximity. Now that's what we call tough love, mates.
-
Georgia-Pacific has found a buyer for its building products distribution business. In March, the Atlanta-based company announced that Cerberus Capital Management, a private investment firm, will purchase the distribution unit for $810 million. Also in March, public builder Lennar announced it was expanding its presence in Texas. The Miami-based company bought the real estate assets of San Antonio builder Connell-Barron Homes, which closed 130 homes last year, with an average sales price of $244,000.
-
Attendees at a recent Urban Land Institute forum said that though infill development is popular, developers are hindered by a variety of factors that prevent them from acquiring separate tracts of land from different owners. Contributing factors include soaring costs, low land inventory, long chains of title, and the need for time-consuming zoning revisions. As a result, building farther out remains cheaper and easier.
-
According to a recent report from the Washington-based Center for Women's Business Research, the number of construction companies owned by females increased 35.5 percent between 1997 and 2002. And, of nearly 279,000 women-owned businesses that posted revenue of $1 million or more in 2002, about 13.4 percent were construction firms.
-
A new study released by the California BIA maintains that the state's complex and uncertain governmental regulations have led to a cumulative shortfall of 500,000-plus homes and apartments since 1995. The study, conducted by Bain & Co., found that there is only a 6 percent probability that a California development will be approved without modifications—compared with Texas and Arizona, where projects are approved 75 percent of the time without modifications.
Immigrants followed a predictable path as they arrived in the United States, living first in densely populated urban neighborhoods and eventually moving to the outlying areas. A new study on immigration patterns, though, shows that this tradition is shifting as more immigrants bypass the cities to settle in the suburbs.