Table of Contents

FEATURES

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  Passionate Pursuits

  The home building business takes an extraordinary amount of drive and dedication, so it's not surprising that most builders eat, breathe, and sleep housing. But life is composed of so much more than what happens at work, and without the balance of a life well-lived, the challenges of the business ca...

   

• Stacked Deck

  In the past, The Corky Mc-Millin Cos. would almost always sell to other builders and developers parcels within its master planned communities that were zoned for attached-home construction. Not anymore.

   
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  Local Leaders: Winning At All Costs

  Builders around the country were forced last year to ask what, exactly, market share meant if holding onto it required giving away the farm. Saddled with cancelled contracts and unsold homes, many builders saw their only solution as doing whatever it took to lower their inventories through mortgage ...

   

INSIDE STORY

• Asbestos Case Win

  IN A CASE THAT HAS BROAD IMPLICATIONS for base closure redevelopment projects, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that four Colorado builders are entitled to be reimbursed for asbestos remediation they paid for at the former Lowry Air Force Base in Denver.

   

• An Inconvenient Truth

  As former House Speaker Tip O'Neill was known to say, “All politics is local.” Such has been the case for former Vice President Al Gore, who, in April, got the green light to install 33 photovoltaic panels on the roof of his Nashville, Tenn., home following lengthy city council negotiations that cul...

   
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  Reviving the FHA

  In an attempt to give home buyers a safe alternative to subprime lenders, Congress this year is considering two bills to modernize the FHA. Representing the largest mortgage insurer in the world, FHA lenders offer qualified buyers a low-interest, fixed-rate mortgage backed by the mortgage insurance ...

   

TOP SHELF

• Top Shelf: June 2007

  This month's top shelf products include the 1950s retro-style range from Elmira Stove Works, indoor-outdoor connection doors from Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork, Co., and the QuietRock 510 wallboard from Quiet Solution.

   

PRODUCTS

• Productwatch: KBIS 2007

  Every spring, about 50,000 people gather together for one reason: to see the hottest new products for the kitchen and bath. The Kitchen/Bath Industry Show (KBIS) is not as large as, say, the NAHB International Builders' Show, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in quality.

   

TECH TOOLS

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  Tech Tools: June 2007

  - New software help builders focus on the many details of the housing business. - A Philly-area builder sees results from a business process management tool. - A construction brokerage reports that 90 percent of new-home warranty claims are preventable when the homeowner does proper maintenance.

   

NATIONAL BEAT

• High Energy

  AT A TIME WHEN THE HOME building industry is stepping up its efforts to address rising fuel and energy costs by improving the energy efficiency and performance of new homes, the EnergyValue Housing Awards (EVHAs) present an opportunity for environmentally responsible builders to share their best pra...

   

• Inventory Overload

  IN MY MARCH 2007 COLUMN (“BEWARE THE VACANT Overhang,”), I talked about serious deficiencies in standard measures of housing inventory and pointed out that comprehensive government information regarding vacant housing units on the market showed development of a historically heavy overhang by the end...

   

• Now's the Time

  Since its inception more than six decades ago, the NAHB has focused its efforts on a single mission—serving members' needs. Sometimes fulfilling that goal is as simple as answering a telephone call and providing information. At other times—such as during today's difficult housing market—serving memb...

   

• NAHB Briefs: June 2007

  - The NAHB calls on Congress to enact legislation to reform and revitalize the FHA's single-family mortgage insurance programs. - Winners announced for this year's winners of the Pillars of the Industry Awards. - The NAHB and the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association partner to creat...

   

GROUND BREAKERS

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  Sound Decisions

  Before Colin Brandt began work on designing a house overlooking Washington state's Puget Sound for Barbara and Peter Bradfield, he spent an afternoon on the Bradfields' boat. Brandt, his wife, and another architect from his Seattle-based firm, The Brandt Design Group, joined the Bradfields on their ...

   

THE NUMBERS

• Recovery in 2007? Not Likely.

  Coming into 2007 the home building industry's leading economists were projecting that the downturned market would begin its comeback by the middle or end of the calendar year. Then they adjusted their estimates to incorporate the massive over-supply of new homes on the market, then adjusted estimate...

   

WALKTHROUGH

• Bloomington, Ind.

  In 1816, amidst the rolling hills of Southern Indiana, the newly elected President James Monroe established a seminary. Located on a trading route and possessing abundant natural resources ranging from limestone to lumber, the area was ideal for development. Within seven years, it was home to roughl...

   

HOUSE BLEND

• Sad Reality

  LAST YEAR SAW THE HIGHEST number of housing discrimination complaints ever filed in the U.S. in a single year. According to HUD's annual fair housing report, the federal agency and state and local government agencies received 10,328 such complaints in 2006. Race and disability, the report says, made...

   
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  From Bad to Worse

  BUSINESS IS BAD ENOUGH, SO it's understandable that builders in Virginia's Prince William County and nearby Loudoun County were upset when the board of supervisors in both counties passed resolutions saying they would take 12 months before approving any new residential project.

   

• Open House

  MODEL HOMES ARE ESSENTIAL MARKETING tools for many builders. But these homes can also be among the more vulnerable elements on jobsites, which are often susceptible to illegal entry and theft.

   

• Promising Products

  MOLD-RESISTANT GYPSUM and concrete made with waste from coal-fired power plants are among the top 10 home building technologies for 2007, according to the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH). PATH, a program run by HUD, says the 10 technologies are the future of home building and ...

   

• Artificial Inflation

  We've all heard it from industry analysts and experts: Builders are slashing their prices. People are buying new homes for less than they paid a year ago. And builders are continuing to cut prices in 2007, trying to move their unsold inventory before prices fall even further.

   

OTHER ARTICLES

• Solar-Powered Sales

  In the suburb of Rocklin, outside of Sacramento, Calif., solar-powered home sales are doubling the sales of standard homes according to San Jose-based SunPower Corp., a solar-electric technology manufacturer. Families who purchase the solar-powered homes are reportedly saving up to $120 a month.

   

• 2007 Gold Nugget Awards: Fields of Gold

  They are greenfields, brownfields, grayfields, and desert outposts. The 44th annual Gold Nugget Awards celebrate Western projects that transcend the norm and reshape the housing landscape as we know it. Don't look now, but the showy castles that dominated housing competitions in the not-so-distant p...

   
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  Points of View

  BUILDER's annual Local Leaders ranking of the top 75 markets in the country, based on numbers of permits, and the top 10 builders in each, based on numbers of closings, proves correct once again the old saw of location, location, location. But this time around, the aspects of the location that appea...

   

• Breaking Into Your Dream Industry When You Lack Superstar Skills

  You want all the perks associated with a job in your favorite niche but your background isn't an ideal fit. Here's how to turn the odds of success in your favor.

   

• 2008 Americas Best Builders Awards Call For Entries

  For more than a decade, BUILDER Magazine, the leading publication in the housing industry, and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) have recognized the best builders in the country.