FEATURES

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    What (Single) Women Want

    Single women now represent 22 percent of home buyers, up 14 percent from a decade ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. So what exactly do they seek in a home?

     

  • House of Cards

    When 1,300 members of the NAHB made their annual trek to Capitol Hill on June 6, they checked their usual swagger—which came from representing what once was the country's primary growth engine—at the door. That engine was sputtering and could seize up entirely if foreclosures kept mounting. So the b...

     
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    Crunch Time

    For builders, the current market conditions are no game and the stakes are nothing less than survival. You can't afford to drop the ball because there just aren't that many opportunities right now to put points on the board. That's why it's critical to master the fundamentals of the business: hiring...

     

INSIDE STORY

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    Build It Yourself

    MENARDS, THE THIRD-LARGEST HOME improvement retailer in the United States, is more than 75 percent through the build-out of 164 single-family homes in a subdivision it is developing in Yorktown, Ill. The Eau Claire, Wis.–based dealer has received approval for phase two of this development, which wil...

     
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    Ponying Up

    Move over, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. The names that have lent bragging rights to many an upscale golf community are about to see some stiff competition. In March, Lake City, Fla.–based developer Bradley Dicks broke ground on The Oaks, a 1,222-acre parcel slated to become the world's first “O'...

     

SUCCESS STORIES

  • School Ties

    When you live and work in College Station, Texas, it's pretty hard to ignore the teeming number of Texas A&M students who make this college town—and its neighbor, Bryan Station—their home. After all, there are more than 45,000 Aggies attending A&M. Unfortunately, the university only has room for 10,...

     

TOP SHELF

  • Top Shelf: August 2007

    This month's top shelf products include the heavy-duty Contractor Series Fold-A-Cart from Fold-A-Tools, the Professional Ladder Utility System from Creative Sales, and the energy-efficient APEX Block.

     

PRODUCTS

  • Keep an Ion Lithium

    Once upon a time, power tools came with a cord and life was good. Then came cordless, and life got better. Today, as more manufacturers adopt and perfect lithium-ion battery technology, tool users can be downright giddy at the prospects.

     

TECH TOOLS

  • Tech Tools: August 2007 no. 2

    - Mark Systems and QlikTech offers users an Executive Dashboard—a system that gives builder owners a fast snapshot of their business. - BuilderMT's Trade Portal to home builders continues to grow in popularity.

     

  • A Welcome Return

    DANIEL ZINMAN, GENERAL manager for Markham, Ontario–based Constellation HomeBuilder Systems' new BuildSoft group, is quite aware of what he's up against in reviving the old guard software brand.

     
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    Tech Tools: August 2007

    - IT systems offer home buyers the information they need at the point of sale. - Constellation's plan to revive BuildSoft is on a slow-but-steady course. - Mark Systems and QlikTech offers users an Executive Dashboard—a system that gives builder owners a fast snapshot of their business.

     

NATIONAL BEAT

  • Safe Guard

    THE NAHB RESEARCH Center and the National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association (NOMMA) are partnering to conduct an independent study on guardrail safety in relation to young children. In contrast to past industry studies focused on jobsite fall protection, this study's goal is to analyze t...

     

  • Justice Prevails

    The NAHB's first venture before the U.S. Supreme Court as a named party resulted in a great victory for members earlier this summer. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled in favor of our position that the EPA did not need to consider listed endangered species when handing Clean Water Act permitting aut...

     

  • NAHB Briefs: August 2007

    - Online registration is now open for the 2008 International Builders' Show. - The NAHB urges lawmakers not to abandon efforts to overhaul the nation's immigration laws. - The NAHB produces two new products to increase jobsite safety and reduce the chance of job-related accidents.

     

SEIDERS ECONOMY

  • Are We There Yet?

    THE DRAMATIC DOWNWARD CORRECTION IN U.S. housing markets has been underway for roughly two years. In this regard, the NAHB's single-family Housing Market Index (HMI) hit a current-cycle low of 28 in June, down from a high of 72 in mid-2005. The HMI was down by more than 50 percent in all four region...

     

HOUSE CALL

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    Waste-Pipe Trade-offs

    My town has recently started allowing plastic waste-pipe instead of cast iron in residential construction, and a lot of my competitors are making the switch. What are the big differences between the two kinds of pipe?

     

MARKET SMARTS

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    Smart Sense

    New marketing and sales techniques with proven results.

     

THE NUMBERS

  • High and Rising

    While foreclosures were down 7 percent from May to June, they were up 87 percent in June of this year compared to June 2006, according to RealtyTrac, an online service that tracks foreclosure activity and acts as a marketplace for foreclosed properties.

     

WALKTHROUGH

  • Georgetown, Colo.

    Breaking free from their mining party in Central City, Colo., miners George and David Griffith set out to find gold. Within two days, on June 17, 1859, the pair spotted a glimmer in Clear Creek on the site of what is now Georgetown. The town was officially recognized by the territorial legislature i...

     

HOUSE BLEND

  • House Blend: August 2007

    Home Depot to reassess how to capture more business from pro customers; the housing industry loses two highly respected analysts; and Florida remains the top location for retirees.

     
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    Down-Payment Woes

    In yet another tightening of mortgage lending, HUD has proposed the elimination of seller-funded down-payment assistance programs for loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

     

OTHER ARTICLES

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    Move-Up Appeal

    WHY IT WORKED: These semi-rural estate homes, located in an established community that borders one of the region's largest open-space preserves, have been especially popular with move-up buyers. They like having more square footage and a bigger yard without having to leave a quality school district.

     

  • Conceptual Thinking

    HUD IS HOPING THAT THE ENERGY-efficient concept home it built in Omaha, Neb., will be a blueprint for the future of American housing.

     
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    Reading the Tea Leaves

    Looking back at news reports on the housing industry over the course of the last year, patterns emerge that were difficult to discern while in the thick of things. After talking about soft landings for quite a while, this time last year analysts were starting to admit that a harder landing was under...

     

  • American Home Mortgage Lays Off Majority of Staff

    American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. announced Thursday night that, in light of the liquidity issues occurring in the secondary mortgage market, the company will significantly reduce its operating structure by laying off 6,250 employees (reducing the company base to 750) on Friday. In addition, t...