-
Three years ago, Star Development Corp. decided to try modular housing rather than continue with stick building for its infill projects. Since then, the Ann Arbor, Mich.–based company has purchased more than 200 homes from modular housing manufacturer Genesis Homes.
Alan B. Levan of Levitt Corp is profiled as part of the 2006 Builder 100.
Jerry Starkey is CEO of WCI Communities, the 40th ranked company in the 2007 Builder 100.
Kim Shelpman is CEO & President Holiday Builders, the 28th ranked company in the 2007 Builder 100.
Ara Hovnanian is CEO of Hovnanian Enterprises, the 6th ranked company in the 2007 Builder 100.
-
Next 100 builders did not fare as well in the soft housing market as their larger brethren in the 2007 BUILDER 100.
-
The top 100 builders from 2006.
As the cooling-off period in the housing market continues through 2007, conditions may improve for mergers and acquisitions among the nation's leading home builders, say industry experts.
Dan Ryan started Frederick, Md.–based Dan Ryan Builders in 1990, so the recent downturn in the housing market was his first. During the boom that preceded it, Ryan says his company, like many others, “threw our mission statement to create the best value for buyers out the window and priced [our...
FROM HIS VACATION HOME amidst snow-covered pines in Telluride, Colo., Toll Brothers CEO Bob Toll reflected on 2006, saying it was “not bad.” Toll Brothers increased its revenues 5.7 percent to $6.12 billion, though its closings fell 1.9 percent to 8,601 units, placing the Horsham, Pa.–based builder...
-
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2002, THE TOP three companies on the BUILDER 100 list traded places. While D.R. Horton remains on top, Lennar Corp. rode a 7,209-unit closings increase to become the new No. 2, and tightened the gap on the list leader to just 3,842 closings. Pulte Homes shifts back to third...
-
For the first time since 2002, the top three companies on the Builder 100 list traded places. While D.R. Horton remains on top, Lennar Corp. rode a 7,209-unit closings increase to become the new No. 2, and tightened the gap on the list leader to just 3,842 closings. Pulte Homes shifts back to third...
PEDESTRIANISM BY DESIGN has become a mandate for most urban planners, but certain assumptions about what makes a neighborhood walkable haven't been empirically challenged—until now. A recent study by the RAND Corp. confirmed that pedestrian activity increases in areas featuring grid street patterns...
-
WHEN ONTARIO, CALIF.–based Frontier Homes finalized its $29 million purchase of the real estate assets of bankrupt builder Turner-Dunn in February, it not only established its first beachhead in Arizona, but possibly set the stage for further growth in the Southwestern U.S.
-
EARLY NEXT MONTH, THE NAHB RESEARCH Center in Upper Marlboro, Md., will throw the switch on its new 42,000-square-foot laboratory and market research facility. The new facility will allow the Center to test products and systems under simulated real-world conditions.
-
- Data from the National Association of Realtors show that single women accounted for 22 percent of home sales nationally in 2006—up from 14 percent in 1995.
- Recent survey finds that ranch-style houses are gaining in popularity.
- State politicians in California, Connecticut, and New Jersey...
- Faulty plumbing fittings cause legal morass in Las Vegas area.
- Data from the National Association of Realtors show that single women accounted for 22 percent of home sales nationally in 2006—up from 14 percent in 1995.
- TNDs have sparked a revival of classical elevation styles in recent...
-
Between spec homes that didn't sell, investors who canceled due to market conditions, and move-up home buyers who couldn't sell their existing homes, builders got stuck with a lot of inventory in 2006.
-
There's a curse of obscure origin that goes: “May you live in interesting times.” Someone must have slipped that message into Sam Rashkin's fortune cookie, because Mr. Rashkin has been having two very interesting years.
-
When you're building in an infill environment, neighbors inevitably become part of the design equation. To avoid putting on a show for the adjacent house, this handsome bath features an oversized picture window, the bottom half of which is obscured glass. “This feature lets light in and maintains...
BECAUSE OF THEIR (USUALLY) diminutive size and their single-loaded views, condos are challenging spaces to renovate and brighten, especially the kitchen area. Fortunately for architect William L. Feeney, this condo in a 1950s building had features he could work with.
DESIGNER DEBRA TONEY DESCRIBES the exterior elevation style of this Denver spec home as Asian-influenced Arts and Crafts. It's an aesthetic that clearly set the stage for a succession of serene, zen-like interiors. The professional-grade kitchen, for example, is a study in restraint, eschewing bold...
-
Gutting a space and starting over from scratch is one thing. Integrating new materials with elements preserved from a kitchen's former life is another story. That's what the design/build team at Streeter & Associates was up against in the remodel of this 1908 home.
THIS 1960S KITCHEN SUFFERED some of the typical ailments that usually afflict out-of-date spaces—low ceiling, lack of adequate natural light, poor access to the outside (both visual and physical)—but a series of simple interventions by architect Stephen Varenhorst brought the space into the 21st...
FROM THE OUTSIDE, THIS SECOND home on Martha's Vineyard looks traditional, insofar as its building forms hark back to the agrarian structures that once occupied the land. Inside, however, the design takes some delightful and unexpected turns.
This D.C. kitchen proves that a well-organized small space is much more efficient than a poorly designed large one. Located in a 1,670-square-foot row house, the new kitchen was reduced by one-third, but better circulation, abundant light, and architectural details help the space live large.
IS IT RETRO? IS IT CONTEMPORARY? This heavenly, 340-square-foot master bath defies any one label, proving that eclecticism can be stunning when its done right. “The entire house was designed to resemble a farmhouse that evolved over time, so mixing different elements and genres in the bath felt...
SECONDARY PREP KITCHENS—I.E., backstage zones where mess can be corralled during parties—are all the rage in luxury homes on big lots. But doubling up on culinary space wasn't an option in this slender urban row house measuring just 19 feet wide. Although the owners were happy to forgo a formal...
-
You can always count on the wet areas of a home to serve as laboratories for experimentation and as harbingers of what's hot in residential design. Clean lines and contemporary finishes continued to make inroads in this year's Watermark Awards, even in homes whose exteriors ring traditional.
-
It's good to be an apartment developer again. Rental builders across the country breathed a collective sigh of relief last year as the once red-hot condo market began to cool. They took advantage of the long-awaited marketplace shift and broke ground on a large number of rental units in 2006.
WHY IT WORKED: This project, near Chicago's Loop and lakefront, is the only new construction in the area, which has seen a population boost in recent years. A wide variety of options—townhomes, walk-up condominiums, and duplexes—give buyers plenty to choose from.
WHY IT WORKED: These homes were just what buyers wanted, priced to sell—even when the pool of interested prospective homeowners began to dry up. Irving Gill–inspired architecture helped make Shea Homes' first attached product at Windingwalk a success with first-time buyers, empty-nesters, and...
-
Orland Park Crossing, 30 miles southwest of Chicago, has lots of what its target market—young professionals and downsizers—wanted, including good commuting options, top-notch interior features, and proximity to a new redevelopment area in the Village of Orland Park.
In a year when the country's new-home sales fell precipitously, by around 17 percent, the BUILDER 100, as a group, more than held its ground, dropping its total closings by a scant 1 percent over 2005's totals. That difference in year-end numbers leads to an even more amazing conclusion—that the...
-
The Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) may be half the size of the International Builders' Show-in attendees, exhibit space, and in the sheer number of exhibitors, but for a products editor it is not any easier to cover. Why? Because the concentration of cool stuff to see at KBIS is staggering.