Builder Magazine

Rally The Troops

At 9 A.M. on any given Monday morning, new-home sales associates across America are picking through trays of bagels and drinking lukewarm coffee before their weekly sales meeting. The sales manager might come in at 9:10, look hopefully at everyone and say, “So, how's traffic?”
One Door Closes, Another Opens

For most people, losing one's job can seem like the end of the world. To be discarded after spending years in dedicated service to a company can be extremely demoralizing. And the job market can be a very uninviting place for those in their late 40s or early 50s.
Bright Spots

The housing market is hurting everyone, and 2007 will surely go down as the year many builders crashed and burned. But there are a few Teflon ventures that have managed to defy the odds and rack up healthy sales in an otherwise weary landscape. And they aren't necessarily using incentives or gimmick...
Facing Fire

When the June 2007 Angora Fire burned its way into the residential streets of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., firefighters were ready. The neighborhoods, unfortunately, were not.

Putting Politics Aside

Even before the Federal Reserve cut the Federal funds rate by 50 basis points on Sept. 18, President George W. Bush stepped in front of the White House press corps and offered his prescription for housing and the mounting number of foreclosures.

Heads Above Water

Water is a central element in the site plan development of BridgeWater, which was built on reclaimed phosphate-mining land and includes five deep, crystal-clear lakes. As a result, 90 percent of the lots in the community have a lake view. In brainstorming names for the lakes, the sales and marketing...

Top Shelf: November 2007

This month's top shelf products include the sleek Aspire three-speed fan control from Cooper Wiring Devices, M-Shield paperless multilayer reflective insulation, and the Stone Veneer Mortar from Sakrete.

Warm Front

As many heating costs rise, heating a home is becoming increasingly expensive for your buyers. Good insulation and an efficient furnace or heat pump can help, but you can also give your buyers an energy-efficient supplemental heat source that will not break the bank: a pellet stove or insert.

Poised to Grow

The downturn has left little room for good news, but the story of James Otis, a partner in Accord Development in Glenwood Springs, Colo., reminds us that there's always housing activity somewhere.

Everything You Need

The International Builders' Show (IBS) is the one place in the world a home builder would expect to find “Everything You Need Under One Roof,” and that's exactly how the February 2008 show in Orlando, Fla., is being billed.

Skin Deep

Q: Times are tight. How can we cut back on the number of floor plans we offer without losing curb appeal and creating streetscapes that look monotonous?

Uncertainty Reigns

Football coaching legend Vince Lombardi once said, “Confidence is contagious and so is lack of confidence, and a customer will recognize both.”

Warwick, N.Y.

Cloth, whiskey, and $350 in cash bought the 101,000 square feet of land that the town of Warwick, N.Y., now sits upon. Granted by the governor in 1703, the exchange was secured by 12 colonial speculators from 12 Munsee Indian chiefs. Located in Orange County—named for William III of England, the Pri...

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