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A PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMER WALKS INTO A NEW-HOME SALES center. A sales consultant is sitting at a desk, talking on the phone. He looks up from his call, covers the mouthpiece, and says, “Brochures are on the counter, and the models are to the left. If you have any questions, just let me know.”
Special Focus: Interior Architechture.
BEST POWDER ROOM—REMODELED HOME
BEST MASTER BATH IN A CUSTOM HOME
BEST KITCHEN IN A SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED CUSTOM HOME—3,000 TO 5,000 SQUARE FEET
BEST KITCHEN IN A SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED REMODELED HOME—LESS THAN 3,000 SQUARE FEET
BEST KITCHEN IN A SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED REMODELED HOME—3,000 TO 5,000 SQUARE FEET
BEST KITCHEN IN A SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED CUSTOM HOME—OVER 5,000 SQUARE FEET
BEST KITCHEN IN A SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED REMODELED HOME—LESS THAN 3,000 SQUARE FEET; SPECIAL FOCUS—CUSTOM DETAILS
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Make no mistake about it. if the winners of this year's Watermark Awards are any indication, the official rules that once governed the “wet areas” of the house are no longer. We're talking wood floors in a master bath (gasp!). Traditional kitchen cabinetry schemes deconstructed and rearranged to accommodate views of the outdoors. Green materials rivaling the swankiest of substrates in both performance and style. And islands that incorporate more tricks and gadgets than a
The BUILDER 100 companies weren't the only builders growing quickly during 2005. The average Next 100 company closed 495 homes during the year, up from 469 in 2004, and grossed $192 million, $42 million more than its 2004 take. Next 100 builders are well seasoned, too, averaging 23 years in business and 288 employees. But 2005 wasn't a great year for gaining on the BUILDER 100. The top 100 grew closings an average of 16 percent and revenue an average of 28 percent compared with 12 percent and 22 percent, respectively, for the Next 100.
A quick looks at the 2006 Builder 100.
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Without a doubt, 2005 was the year to be a condo developer. Just look at the Novare Group's year-end performance. The Atlanta-based condo developer set a company record with 1,486 starts, breaking ground on four significant properties. “In 2005, we were in ramp-up mode, working on a lot more projects than we were in 2004,” says Jim Borders, Novare's president.
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“You hate to win that way,” says one HUD-code producer, summarizing the sentiments of many manufacturers who saw a bounce in HUD-code unit orders in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The FEMA orders for temporary housing totaled approximately 20,000, boosting manufacturers' numbers for 2005 to 146,735 units shipped, a 12.2 percent increase over last year.
When it closed 250 homes two years ago, Altmann-Ott Homes ranked as Reno, Nev.'s fifth-largest builder. But this western market of 200,000 people, which issues around 5,000 permits per year, has since become a magnet attracting national builders, several of which “are finding ways to get 500 homes on the ground,” says Dan Ott, co-owner of Altmann-Ott, which closed 200 units and generated $75 million in revenue last year.
During his 20 years with Jim Walter Homes, Lane Caves has observed the builder's ups and downs, including a leveraged buyout, a bankruptcy reorganization, and several acquisitions. Jim Walter Homes' calling card has been on-your-lot construction, although recently it has diversified into land development, something that Caves, president of its Jackson, Miss.–based South-Central division, wants to see more of.
Alan Goldsticker likens his Indianapolis division to a “good, solid growth fund.” Old reliable, he calls it.
In the late 1980s, Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Co. was delivering 5,000 homes per year. But over the next several years, the Federal Way, Wash.–based company would undergo a downsizing transformation that, in retrospect, put it in a better position to expand today.
When Barry McCarron started with Hovnanian in 1984, the company was using a mere eight floor plans in New Jersey to build townhomes and two- to three-story condominiums.
Jeff Mezger built his first house when he was about 12 years old. He got the wood and steel from his dad, a Chicago-area builder.
For Pulte, the 1990s were characterized by the company's feverish expansion of its geographical footprint. In that decade, Pulte's market total went from about 15 to 40. COO Steven Petruska's career path reflects that expansion.
With home building operations in 77 markets across 26 states—which generated 51,383 new homes last year—D.R. Horton can get a good read on the health of the housing market. “There are pockets of weakness. For certain, 2006 will be a more challenging year for the industry and for D.R. Horton,” says Don Tomnitz, the company's president and CEO. “But I don't see overall weakness at all. I see just the opposite, with a strong economy and strong job growth.”
It seems safe to say that an increase is no longer in doubt. When that story was written, the BUILDER 100's market share stood at 24 percent. Today it's 36.57 percent, with the top 10 builders capturing nearly 21 percent on their own. Some prognosticators think that the largest 10 will soon account for more than half of all for-sale starts.
Over the years, more than a thousand home and apartment building companies have ranked among the top 100 builders in our annual list. But just 11 have made the cut every year: Centex Corp., Hovnanian Enterprises, Jim Walter Homes, KB Home, Lennar Corp., M.D.C. Holdings, NVR, Pulte Homes, The Ryland Group, Standard Pacific Corp., and Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Co.
THE MCMANSION IS dead! Long live the Jewel Box! Or so the housing industry tea leaves read to those looking beyond the next gated community. Whether driven by rising construction costs, shrinking lot sizes, increased urban infill, or aging baby boomers demanding high style in smaller footprints, the average size of a new home is holding steady at 2,400 square feet ... and is expected to pretty much stay there through the next decade.
WHY IT WORKED: Located in the much-coveted West Bloomfield school district, Harbor Village exudes the easy charm of a small town in otherwise bustling Oakland County, Mich. The only TND in Keego Harbor, the community has broad appeal to first-time buyers, empty-nesters, and families.
WHY IT WORKED: Deriving its name from the Spanish word for enchantment, this handsome enclave of 37 semi-custom homes is nestled amid rolling hills on the first and second fairways of a par 70 golf course. With year-round balmy weather and proximity to San Diego's prime beaches, it's the stuff that dreams are made of.
Q: My building department says that parts of my house plans—such as the walls next to the garage-door openings—don't meet wall-bracing rules. How can I address these requirements?
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THE RED-HOT HOUSING MARKET HAS DEFINITELY lost some of its sizzle. That's confirmed by the latest American Institute of Architects (AIA) Home Design Survey billings index, which tracks quarterly business conditions in 600 U.S. residential architecture firms.
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THE CITY OF MIAMI HAS BEEN working with local builders and developers on an innovative land-exchange program aimed at making a dent in the market's affordable-housing shortage, which a new study claims is spreading throughout South Florida.
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ONE DRAWBACK OF A TRADITIONAL PLUMBING store or big-box retail outlet is that a buyer cannot actually see how a toilet or a faucet works. Plumbing giant Kohler has changed that: The company has opened its first freestanding store in the Chicago Merchandise Mart's LuxeHome.
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IN AN UNUSUAL MOVE FOR A home builder, the Washington division of Brookfield Homes has told Prince William County, Va., officials that it will finance in excess of $100 million in road and railroad repairs in exchange for project approval of a mixed-use development near the Nissan Pavilion in Northern Virginia.