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The figures showed that by 2000, 66.2 percent of Americans owned their homes, the highest homeownership rate ever recorded. "That growth could continue apace if mortgage rates remain low and the economy keeps from falling off a cliff," says John Martin of Martin and Associates, a market analysis...
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Most of the permits issued within core cities were for single-family development. "But the demand does not seem to be for more rental housing, but, in fact, for more homes for sale," Lang says.
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Most (three-quarters) of the interior West of the United States, defined as 12 states east of the Sierras and west of the Great Plains, has a sparse population, with fewer than six people per square mile. But in about 10 percent of the 247 counties of the Old West, the New West has come calling.
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More than a half-million immigrants born in each of the following countries currently live in the United States: Cuba, India, El Salvador, Germany, Russia, Vietnam, and the Dominican Republic.
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Long before September 11, builders had begun to suspect that Hollywood's depiction of America might be a hoax. But as the latest U.S. census results come under closer scrutiny, it becomes clear that Hollywood assumptions range from the half-true (homes are getting larger, but the need for...
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Many retailers point to the fact that today's aboveground pools are built with more durable materials and more interesting designs. These changes make abovegrounds capable of having many of the same bells and whistles that ingroundpool owners enjoy. The changes go beyond the surface as well:...
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The industry's leading diving board manufacturer is taking steps to rekindle both consumer and industry interest in the boards. Fearing lawsuits, many builders, pool operators and service technicians have been reluctant to sell and/or install diving boards, or even work on pools that feature them.
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A survey of 14 Home Depot stores in Michigan between June 2001 and January showed that between 15 percent and 55 percent of all items for sale didn't have individual price tags, Granholm said. The state's pricing law requires retailers to mark individual items with a price tag. The Atlanta-based...
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BOISE, Idaho, March 26, 2002 (AP) -- Boise Cascade Corp., a major timber company, says it is ending the logging of old-growth forests in the face of opposition from environmentalists. "We don't think they can yet claim the mantle of green forestry," Michael Brune of the Rainforest Action Network...
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Jim Previti wondered for a while how he would keep busy after selling Forecast Homes. "Having $240 million will give you a lot of confidence," says Previti, CEO and chairman of Empire Capital, his new company, located in Ontario, Calif.Previti signed a non-compete agreement with Forecast not to...
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According to a company spokesperson who asked not to be identified, Greenpoint (NYSE: GPT) wanted to slash its credit risks and to remove a "negative perception" associated with HUD-code housing. The $850 million of on-balance sheet MH loans have been sold to undisclosed Wall Street firms.Other...
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Home builders can breathe a small sigh of relief -- recently finalized wetlands regulations will ease nationwide permit requirements. And the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will no longer require builders to provide documentation of compliance with FEMA standards, reasoning that local regulations...
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Part of Weyerhaeuser Co.'s Northwest holdings, the Snoqualmie Forest just east of Seattle, Wash., has long been the object of affection for conservationists. Weyerhaeuser gets $185 million for 104,000 acres in the Snoqualmie Forest, and the trust gets control over future development -- or the...
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At a time when most builders are trying to get bigger, Larry Webb, CEO of WL Homes, says the time is right to have less leverage in the market place. After months of rumors, three of WL's nine divisions -- Nevada, Utah, and Washington, D.C. -- are officially on the market. The three divisions...
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The last time KB Home started a division from scratch was in 1997 in Austin, Texas, where it is the largest builder. Last year, Tampa issued more than 11,000 single-family permits. KB Homes expects to sell 600 homes in Jacksonville in 2002, and 23,000 homes as a company, including in France.Top...
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Less than a week after The Rottlund Co. announced it will buy back its outstanding shares and take the company private, the home builder finds itself named in a lawsuit filed to stop the self-tender offer.The plaintiff is James Biglan, a shareholder. He contends that the takeover breaches...
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In what promises to give Beazer Homes a foothold into a new market, its first in the Midwest, the Atlanta-based builder has signed a merger agreement with Crossmann Communities in Indianapolis for $610 million. The combined operation will deliver more than 15,500 homes yearly.
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Towns, school districts, and farms already have taken advantage of wind as a free energy resource. Larger turbines are more cost effective: They can work at one-fifth the cost of smaller systems, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
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Comfort Zone: Creating a Middle Ground for Green Building and Great ProfitsFinancing has often been the missing piece in green home sales. Nationally, Fannie Mae offers an energy-efficient mortgage, which allows a lender to use the estimated monthly utility savings to increase an applicant's buying...
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Cost considerations, along with the desire to make an environmental statement, led the Spirit Lake, Iowa, Community School District to turn to wind energy. The results prompted the district to put up a second larger and more efficient turbine.
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To assess the wind power (expressed as wind speed) in an area, you can either estimate or take a precise measurement, which will cost more.
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Comfort Zone: Creating a Middle Ground for Green Building and Great ProfitsWith mold a top concern for buyers and builders alike, green builders may want to consider adding an upgrade to their option list: the "healthy house.""We've had some remarkable testimony from families with asthma and...
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As president and co-owner of Hedgewood Properties in Cumming, Ga., Pam Sessions has directed the company's transition from conventional builder to one that builds exclusively green, producing 300 energy-efficient homes annually in a resource-efficient manner.
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It was a seminar by a Lockheed Martin engineer on the principles of lean thinking that got Robert White thinking about his offices in Marietta, Ga. With 40-some employees packed into 6,000 square feet of space on three floors, it didn't take him long to conclude that the workspace was far from...
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Can Internet marketing save the retail world? Well, no, despite claims to the contrary. But it can generate more and better qualified sales leads, cut sales cycle time, build prospect lists for e-mail marketing, create efficiencies throughout the sales process, and build the foundation for future...
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Getting fit is never easy, but it's a must for out-of-shape salespeople used to a fatter and happier time. Some builders beat the downturn to the punch with a new training regimen that began as long ago as last spring. Strong sales in the second half of 2001 were the payoff.
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The days of public builders being unappreciated and undervalued may be coming to an end. It's not time to break out the balloons and whistles, but after watching Wall Street turn its back on the home building industry over the past decade, analysts are cautiously optimistic that the Street may be...
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Builders in the Centennial state are finding that having a Built Green designation offers them more than just an add-on "save the earth" label. The six-year-old program, run by the builders' association of metro Denver, provides a powerful differentiator, say members. Bob Bowell, vice president of...
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Compared to the usual hurdles facing proposed projects -- public acceptance, environmental requirements, and such -- getting a road built would seem to be the least of a developer's challenges.That wasn't the case in Novi, Mich., where plans for a 296-acre new urbanist community failed after a...
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The notion of what constitutes a master planned community has evolved tremendously in recent years.
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Last year, Forecast Homes sent out the word via a press release when California gave the company a green building award. There's value in those bragging rights.Roberta Maynard, Editor, e-mail: rmaynard@hanley-wood.com BIG BUILDER Magazine, March 2002
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Production builders have often designed to the nostalgic idea of the nuclear family, but that's a minority now, points out Roberta Feldman, director of the City Design Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago. And more children are coming home to live with their parents after college, notes...
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Now they are looking for relief in the form of lower property assessments. Oceanport's mayor, Gordon Gemma, warns the plan could backfire. If that's the case, Gemma said, the town will appeal to adjust the values upward.
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As their stock values soar, multifamily builders get assistance from federal budget incentives to help first-time home buyers.Though often hampered by costly class action lawsuits for alleged product defects and rapidly increasing entitlement restrictions throughout the nation, multifamily housing...
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All for-profit builders or lot developers are eligible as either individuals or companies for the Hearthstone Builder Lifetime Public Service Award. BUILDER will begin accepting nominations starting March 15, 2002. To request a nomination form, contact Loretta Williams at 202-736-3455 or via e-mail...
Builder Phil McCafferty just couldn't pick a favorite on our list of historic homes. They are all wonderful," says McCafferty of Delcor Homes, Milford, Mich. But asked to pick the homes that have most influenced him, without hesitation he named Tulsa, Okla., architect Jack Arnold's designs for...
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How a house lives is just as important, if not more important, than how it looks. The vice president of architecture and director of design at Don Gardner Inc., in Greenville, S.C., says that it's the perfect frame of reference for what to do and quite often, what not to do. "Designing my own house...
This house was a pioneer in the open floor plan revolution and was a perfect fit for the clients."It was the most sophisticated ranch house I've ever seen," says Goff, president of Domus Design in Reno.
No matter what the style, proper scale, proportion, and details can turn a good elevation into a great one. The residential designer, originally from Baton Rouge, La., favors Southern architecture flavored by influences from Spanish, French, and West Indies styles.
This is an example of how fine materials and craftsmanship can really make a difference in the final product. It was the first time Kalman had worked with an architect of Gund's caliber, and the difference was immediately apparent.
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Judges of the 2001 National Sales and Marketing Awards
We sent our first annual Reader's Choice survey to more than 1,000 builder and architect readers. Below are the results of the top 10 ranking, with Falling Water as the overwhelming No. 1.
Built with indigenous natural resources, these structures reflect and enhance their surroundings."Taos Pueblo and homes in the Italian countryside" have most influenced builder Deborah Malone.
Villa epitomizes the ideas that majesty can be inviting and beauty comfortable. Lorenzo Bernini designed what guidebooks call "the outstandingly beautiful Villa Rospigliosi" for Giulio Rospigliosi who became Pope Clemente IX.
"I felt I was in heaven," says architect William J. Reese of the time from 1978 to 1982 he lived in one of the 12 Pueblo Ribera apartments.Architect Rudolph M. Schindler designed the one-bedroom La Jolla, Calif., apartments to be built as economically as vacation rentals.
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What homes have had the most influence on builders and architects? Our first annual Reader's Choice Survey finds out.The results were as varied as the more than 1,000 builders and architects polled.
"The look and tone of the Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe Web site is designed to mirror all our print ad campaigns," notes Bob Jackson, marketing director for local builder HCC. "But we made sure the site sold the romance of the community and its intrigue while also serving the shopper with detailed...
This is an early example of a "not so big" home, which lives large in detail rather than cubic footage. "It stopped me in my tracks emotionally," says builder Perry Bigelow of a house designed by Sarah Susanka (now well-known for her books on "not so big houses") featured in Fine Home Building...
The home is the ultimate example of how to integrate a project into the landscape and play off the site's natural materials.As a student at the Yale School of Architecture, Dominick was inspired by the lectures of professor and architectural historian Vincent Scully, which brought the Sonoran...
Considering the site and natural context sets the tone and is the building block for a project. St. Joe, Mich., architect John Allegretti always knew he'd end up in the family profession, and it all started with the vacation home he helped his architect father build.
The San Francisco architect's father admired Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian houses. "I lived in a home with south-facing glass filled with Charles Eames furniture," Baker says.
The home demonstrates leading-edge details and as encyclopedic design vocabulary.Jonathan Fels says he still borrows the design techniques and inspiration he learned from building houses designed by Miami architect Barry Sugerman.
It shows the results--on a grand scale--of the importance of a great builder/architect collaboration."It's obvious that the well-seasoned architect Richard Morris Hunt, famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, and the very young Vanderbilt were all consumed with a love of architecture,"...
Even with the popularity of stainless steel in the kitchen and simple designs throughout the bath, buyers are still looking to make a bold statement, even if only by creating a small focal point in the room. But as trends trickle down, don't be surprised to find yourself installing a bright red...
With homeowners cocooning more than ever, the bathroom remains their great getaway. For consumers looking for the spa treatment without the time or expense, manufacturers are incorporating steam units into showers and chromotherapy--an alternative healing method that uses color--into tubs.
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The Hearthstone BUILDER Public Service Honor Roll. Judges, Criteria, Call for Nominations
Philadelphia home builder constructs safe, secure home for homeless mothers and children.When "Lawanda" first came to Project Rainbow at Drueding Center in hardscrabble North Philadelphia, all she owned was "the air in [her] lungs" and a fervent desire to get clean of drugs.Until the Sisters of the...
These builders give their time, money, and love--and inspire the rest of us to do likewise.We'd probably all be surprised to know just how many home builders have a lifelong commitment to community service. Making a difference, not only in business but also in communities and individual lives is...
"We're seeing a demand for different faucet finishes," says Rick Kilmer, general manager of Kallista. Popular looks like Venetian bronze and Tuscan brass provide an Old World feel without skimping on modern performance.
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These five hot trends in kitchen and bath products can help you sell big in the new era of home as sanctuary. Americans, already bogged down by hectic schedules, are facing ever more emotional challenges. The dulling economy and concerns about security have homeowners looking for an escape route...
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By BUILDER Magazine Staff Though often hampered by costly class action lawsuits for alleged product defects and rapidly increasing entitlement restrictions throughout the nation, multifamily housing builders, managers, and owners have seen their stock values dramatically increase over the past...
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Top builders post fourth-quarter earnings growth of 28 percent on average as the housing industry roars into 2002.Home building analysts believe the housing industry is poised to help lead the economy out of the woods and into sparkling new subdivisions of well-built, attractively priced new homes.
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Builder Eric Brown is a self-described maverick who thought "that in a city of more than two million there ought to be 40 who would want something different." He was more than right. Brown, president of Artisan Homes, has found far more than 40 Phoenicians with an appreciation for urban lofts...
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In an amazing run, the U.S. real estate market roared through the twin deflators of recession and large wealth losses caused by declining equity values.Not so fast, says economist Ian Morris of HSBC Securities USA, author of a newly released report, "The U.S. Real Estate Cycle: The Other Bubble?"...
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Builders are still learning how to deal with Internet leads. As recently as last year, for instance, many of the leads Boca Raton, Fla.-based Engle Homes was getting from online referral services like American Home Guides and Homebuilder.com were getting lost in the shuffle. "The leads came in...
The HBA of Northern California recently completed construction of the East County Family Transitional Center. Built in cooperation with Contra Costa County, the city of Antioch, and Shelter Inc., the center was the HBA's first project through its charitable arm, HomeAid of Northern California. The...
Last year was a dreadful year for the U.S. stock market and corporate earnings. In January, the NAHB conducted a survey of about 400 single-family home builders to find out how profit margins (per house) had changed from 2000 to 2001. David F. Seiders, Chief Economist, NAHB More than three-fourths...
Regulatory changes for wetlands development activities recently announced by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) are disappointingly inadequate. And since they fail to provide a federal wetlands regulatory program with a streamlined permitting process, as mandated by Congress under the...
By BUILDER Magazine StaffThe NAHB is disappointed in the final regulations issued in January by the National Marine Fisheries Service for protecting habitat of commercial fish species. "The new regulations fail to address the concerns of home builders whose projects are near protected waters," says...
By BUILDER Magazine StaffThe market for new homes ended the year on a high note, with a 5.7 percent increase to a 946,000-unit rate in December," says Bruce Smith, former NAHB president. "That's the fastest sales pace since March 2001 and signifies a complete rebound to pre-recession activity...
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By BUILDER Magazine StaffThe NAHB is among the 26 housing and community development groups of the Community Homeownership Credit Coalition pushing for enactment of a federal homeownership tax credit to increase the quantity of affordable housing. The program, modeled after the Federal Low-Income...
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A new report issued by the NAHB shows housing accounts for about 14 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product, or about one out of every seven dollars spent in the United States each year. "New-housing construction and remodeling are powerful drivers of the nation's economic engine," says...
Change orders and on-site costs can be reduced with better documentation and more communication.
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Ceiling fans have become a mainstay of virtually every new home. After five years of research, Danny Parker, at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) developed "The Gossamer Wind" ceiling fan, a high-efficiency fan that uses less electricity to move more air than traditional fans. To get the...
What if a group of A-list international architects got together, and each designed a home in a speculative subdivision? Well, New York developer Harry J. Brown Jr. and architect Richard Meier assembled such a team to build The Houses at Sagaponac, a 34-home community near Bridgehampton, N.Y., one...
But the river was at peak flow and populations radically smaller when Colorado River water was originally distributed among the Western states. Recently, Mexico asked that enough Colorado River water be apportioned to restore the once lush river delta that flowed into the Sea of Cortez. In Colorado...
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The Washington-state study "Smart Growth and Housing Affordability," adds to the growing body of evidence that growth management does add to housing costs.
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There were several exemplary residential projects among the 34 American Institute of Architects 2002 Honor Awards winners. Charles Rose Architects' New Barn at Straitsview Farm in San Juan Island, Wash., is an example of sculptural architecture using the timber-frame tradition of the region. The...
Three Congressmen introduced legislation to block banks from entering real estate sales, stating that Congress never intended it as an option when it passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in '99. and Steven C. LaTourette (R-Ohio), and their bill, H.R. 3424, have attracted the support of 125 other House...
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Are you a fast-growing powerhouse? If so, you need to be on our fourth annual Fast Track list of the nation's fastest-growing companies. Published in September, this compilation is the most consulted list of companies to watch! Survey respondents are eligible for editorial coverage in future issues...
Mark J. O'Brien officially took the reins as president and CEO of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Pulte Homes, the nation's largest home builder. "Pulte Homes enters 2002 with tremendous momentum and with opportunities to build on the results of 2001," O'Brien says. In his 18-year tenure with Pulte...
It was a tough year, but the housing industry rose to the challenge.In a year of rampant layoffs and negative economic growth, housing starts rose 2 percent. In the space of a year, Alan Greenspan went from being the builder's favorite whipping boy--can we forget that the Fed systematically raised...
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An Indiana company has patented a method that lets any geothermal heat pump use the municipal water supply as its working fluid. "The water utility is a huge geothermal system already in place," says Jim Hardin, president of the Indianapolis-based Hardin Technologies, which owns the patent. Hardin...
Beazer customers should now have an easier time finding a home they love. Clicking on the "Advanced Search" button on Beazer's home page brings up the new Home Finder option, an online matchmaker that lets users rate up to 10 qualities they consider important in a home: price, number of bedrooms...
Ten years ago I coined the phrase "CAD-Assisted Estimating" to describe early attempts by CAD vendors to provide take-off and bill-of-materials functionality. Now, using CAD to automate the take-off process can be a reality. Most builders will still need to tweak results in a spreadsheet or...
It had to happen sooner or later: a high-tech modular home for pampered baby boomers. Genesis Homes, a nationwide modular home manufacturer, unveiled its 2,595-square-foot Bainbridge at the International Builders' Show in Atlanta last month. Cost of the above is about $200,000, not including the...
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Builders who install high-efficiency HVAC might get a marketing boost from a recent consumer study. People who bought super high-efficiency equipment were nearly five times more likely to be extremely satisfied than standard-efficiency purchasers. The report might help contractors convince buyers...
No online bidders won homes in the first-ever live house auction simulcast on the Web. But Oakland, Calif.-based iBidCo (www.ibidco.com) and Internet giant eBay, who teamed up to run the auction, both declared it a success. iBidCo conducted the auction, while eBay's Live Auction technology let...
While home systems installers have been around for years, most work with high-end custom builders. Two such companies are the Charlotte, N.C.-based Lifestyle Technologies, and My Home Technology in San Diego. According to Lifestyle president Glen Barrett, builders fear that the time required to...
Though the amount of money paid to electricians, framers, plumbers, and other trades is significant, focusing on price to the exclusion of other substantial issues, like quality construction and cycle time, overlooks a rich opportunity not only to reduce price, but also to develop an effective...
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Formica Corp., the maker of laminated countertops and flooring, has filed a petition for voluntary bankruptcy reorganization and has secured $78 million in credit to cover operating costs and other needs.
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Most builders are just beginning to understand the full ramifications of the Internet, according to Scott Campbell, vice president of equity research for Raymond James and Associates, a St. Petersburg, Fla., home building research operation. But Campbell says public builders' use of advanced...
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Whirlpool Corp. expects first-quarter earnings will be up at least 15 percent from last year, exceeding analysts' estimates. Its stock climbed more than 8 percent.