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ROMANCE, JEALOUSY, GREED, BETRAYAL ... AND an explanation of prime versus sub-prime mortgages? These are the necessary ingredients for a killer made-for-TV drama about Hispanic life in the U.S. At least mortgage giant Freddie Mac is banking on it with the launch of Nuestro Barrio, a 13-episode...
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RECYCLED WATER, KNOWN AS effluent, has joined oil, gas, lumber, and real estate as commodities to be auctioned to the highest bidder.
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HABITAT FOR HUMANITY HAS STUMBLED on a system that could help build better homes: a carbon fiber–reinforced precast concrete panel.
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REAL ESTATE FINANCE PIONEER and philanthropist James Z. Pugash died on Sept. 20 at his Sonoma Valley, Calif., estate, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 55.
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FACED WITH HIGH LEVELS OF INVENTORY and contingency buyers and a sluggish resale market, builders are becoming increasingly creative in helping customers sell their existing homes.
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STATE POLITICS INJECTED ITSELF INTO LOCAL planning issues in Loudoun County, Va., earlier this year when Gov. Tim Kaine directed the Virginia Department of Transportation to issue a study on a proposal to build an estimated 33,000 homes on the 9,200-acre Dulles South tract, near Dulles...
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IRVING, TEXAS–BASED HANSON Pipe & Precast says it has developed a lightweight precast concrete wall system that could revolutionize the home building industry, particularly in coastal regions that are susceptible to strong winds and flooding.
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LOWE'S, THE NATION'S SECOND largest home improvement retailer, has finalized an exclusive licensing agreement with New York designer Marianne Cusato to carry the house plans and related building materials needed to construct Katrina Cottages.
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FACING A FEDERAL LEGAL CHALLENGE, THE CITY of Hazleton, Pa., in September adopted a significantly revised version of its Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which penalizes employers and landlords for hiring or housing illegal immigrants and makes English the city's official language.
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- The Wisconsin state legislature passes a law that requires home buyers, not builders, to pay impact fees.
- California awards $210.7 million in housing grants to 42 counties.
- Global Green USA and actor Brad Pitt have announced that Workshop APD has won the Sustainable Design Competition for...
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GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER PULLED OFF an election-year coup late last summer by signing a new law that puts home builders at the forefront of developing solar power usage in the Golden State.
House size is a tricky thing. Some folks want a feeling of space that's expressed in volume—soaring foyers, three-car garages, and cavernous master suites come to mind. Others, to quote Goldilocks, want spaces that are “just right,” with rooms that work for their particular lifestyle.
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What a difference two years makes. The industry has officially cooled since 2004, when BUILDER debuted its list of the 50 most influential people in home building. Builders who couldn't keep up with the demand for their product then are now scrambling to sell aging inventory. In 2004, home builders...
In the spring of 2005, Taylor Woodrow's Irvine, Calif.–based Western region found itself “in a tighter box,” where it was being squeezed by competitors that are “smart and great at what they do,” and where buyers were having trouble telling the difference between Taylor Woodrow's product and...
About two years ago, Vienna, Va.–based Kettler (formerly known as KSI Services), one of greater Washington's largest developers, was looking for ways to enhance the buying and living experiences for residents of its rental and owner-occupied properties and communities.
It took C.P. Morgan Communities 18 months of research before it chose Charlotte, N.C., as its second home building market. But once it arrived in Charlotte, in January 2005, Morgan was ready to start cranking out houses almost immediately.
Walk a jobsite at Woodland Village—Lifestyle Homes' community 18 miles outside of Reno, Nev.—with Jon Delaurentis, the builder's former president, and he inevitably brings up how “clean” the site is: no wasted materials or equipment lying around, no mud being traipsed into houses under construction...
On a sunny afternoon in late August, Kent Olsen, an assistant supervisor for MBK Homes, warmly greets Felecia Ash at Briar Rose, the builder's neighborhood at Ladera Ranch in Mission Viejo, Calif. As MBK's quality assurance auditor, Ash is there to check out whether imperfections she spotted during...
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The
WE ALL KNOW THAT time is money, making it easy to see that time wasted is money lost—and there may be no industry where that point is made more plainly than in home building.
It's a curious thing. At the same time that houses are getting bigger and bigger, lot sizes keep on getting smaller and smaller. Just look at the numbers: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average size of new homes increased from 2,095 square feet in 1992 to 2,434 square feet in 2005.
The industry does not like the popular phrase “mobile home” —it reserves that term for units built before the federal government began regulating its product. Until 1976, house trailers were not subject to any building code. Since 1976, the industry has been covered by a federal rule known as the...
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WHY IT WORKED: A golf course is often a big draw for a community, but one designed by Tom Fazio is almost irresistible for the links-obsessed. Throw in well-priced homes, good amenities, and proximity to Amelia Island and you've got a winner.
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WHY IT WORKED: Buyers flocked to the well-priced homes at North Village, one of four initial neighborhoods at Harmony on the Lakes, a 630-acre master planned community that will eventually feature more than 1,400 homes, 100,000 square feet of retail and office space, and a day-care center.
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WHY IT WORKED: These sophisticated loft homes offered an alternative to the area's more expected choices, high-rise condominiums and same-style single-family developments. Their contemporary lines and innovative floor plans are a welcome break from the usual sea of red tile roofs and faux...
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The chief advertising officer for one of the Internet's most successful business sites details his company's approach to the Web -- and how the Internet is changing advertising habits.
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IN 1630, WILD STRAWBERRIES GROWING IN GREAT ABUNDANCE on the shores of the tidal estuary known as the Piscataqua convinced a small British scouting party to settle there. Calling their little camp “Strawbery Banke,” the new residents began building homes from the towering white pines that...
BUILDERS WHO THINK branding matters only when you're selling coffee, cars, and sneakers haven't been paying attention, says Mark Stevens, a White Plains, N.Y.–based marketing expert and author of Your Marketing Sucks. The added value of a builder's brand can be summed up in one instantly...
WHEN CHRIS AND Meghan Driggers of Athens, Ga., were shopping for their first house in the fall of 2004, they spent hours with their real estate agent looking at neighborhoods. One day, the agent mentioned a new community, Milford Hills, where one of the other agents from his firm was selling houses.
FOR MANY OF THE HOMES HE DESIGNS FOR THE SUN VALLEY RESORT area, Idaho architect Rich Childress is asked to find wood flooring that has been purposely (and recently) distressed to look old, presumably so that it conveys character and authenticity. “It would be more authentic to put in a new wood...
ALMOST SINCE THE DAY HE FOUNDED his firm in 1991, Mark Scheurer has been a fixture on the Builder's Choice leader board, winning 19 of the awards for custom homes, production detached and attached units, and community design, including the 2002 Project of the Year for The Sentinels.
MARK MCINTURFF IS A BUILDER'S kind of custom architect in that he doesn't let his ego get in the way of designing great houses that suit, if broadly, the character of their surroundings.
THE LIST OF CREDITS FOR THE 18 Builder's Choice Awards Taylor Woodrow Homes has won since 1991 reads like a who's who of milestone projects and design partners, including fellow inductees Walt Richardson and Mark Scheurer. And, it underscores the builder's commitment to housing design in a...
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DURING HIS INDUCTION speech at the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past summer, coach-turned-announcer John Madden theorized that once all the lights are turned off in the building's Enshrinement Gallery, the bronze busts carry on conversations with one another, about football, life, whatever.
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For sure, houses have a huge environmental impact and a major affect on quality of life. So “greening” homes is clearly an idea with practical merit for the planet and for people. But “green” is also the hot new marketing fad—which makes a lot of people eager to jump on the bandwagon with green...
By any standard of measurement, green building is hot. Green building has now spilled over into the residential world as well. According to the NAHB, 14,600 green homes were built in 2004, up from 2,500 in 2000.
Meet the judges for the 2006 Buider's Choice Awards.
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IT'S AN URBAN LIGHTHOUSE, a beacon of color and wonder smack dab in the middle of a gritty Rust Belt neighborhood.
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ANCHORED ON NEW ENGLAND'S rocky coastline and oriented to maximize coastal vistas, this 10,000-square-foot retreat reads like a polished outgrowth of the terrain.
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FOR ARCHITECT ERNEST Wong, designing a space to accommodate a wide range of neighborhood needs was no walk in the park.
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SOMETIMES ROTE INGREDIENTS in the housing equation are worth a second thought. Such was the case when architect David Baker turned a critical eye on the notion of on-site parking at Curran House, a 67-unit, low-income apartment building in San Francisco's hardscrabble Tenderloin district.
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COVERED PORCHES AND breezeways serve as connective tissue in this airy beachfront home, loosely bridging the otherwise discrete building blocks that make up the main house, master suite, guest cottage, and carriage house.
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THE RENOVATION OF this 1928 Washington residence included the replacement of all the existing glass openings to help maximize the visual connection to the site.
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THIS EXQUISITE LITTLE screened porch addition extends this home's dining room and does so without darkening the interior spaces.
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AS ELEGANT AS THEY ARE utilitarian, these four-bedroom houses slip comfortably into the confines of their 45-foot-wide lots.
KELLER HOMES AND Scheurer Architects looked to European mountain villages for inspiration on this Rubik's Cube–like community, composed of 48 detached homes on 15 acres. The first cluster housing project in suburban Denver, each trio of rustically detailed homes is designed around a shared motor...
IT'S WHAT MARIE ANTOINETTE might have built had she lived in Southern California—a 10,000-square-foot, French-style farmhouse of hand-cut stone, detailed with steel windows and doors, plaster walls, and truss ceilings.
RED BARREL-TILE ROOFS and smooth white stucco exteriors speak of the Spanish inspiration behind this townhouse community geared to first-time buyers, couples, and small families. One of three floor plans, the 1,492-square-foot Medley offers a design that is distinctive and yet efficient to build...
ARCHITECT BOB MECHELS breathed new life into this century-old building in Ft. Collins, Colo.'s historic district with a fresh, modern façade and an updated, mixed-use purpose. The 32,000-square-foot structure now houses chic office space on the street level and three floors (17 units) of...
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WASHINGTON'S ONCE industrial, now trendy 14th Street corridor is home to new restaurants and shopping, as well as a surge in upscale multi-family development.
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THE MAKING OF ANY mixed-use community involves the usual hurdles of nervous neighbors, density requirements, and roadway access.
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AS LAND PARCELS SHRINK near urban areas, builders face the proverbial puzzle: How to disguise multifamily housing in a single-family neighborhood.
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HONORING REGIONAL SURROUNDINGS is a top priority for architect Bob Hidey and his team.
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COST CONTROLS WERE crucial in the remodel of this 10-story residence for low-income seniors.
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STRADDLING RESIDENTIAL and industrial areas, the Railroad Spur Block live/work project blends residential scale with materials such as metal and thick-walled stucco that reference the site's industrial lineage.
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EVERYTHING ABOUT THESE New York–style brownstones rings authentic, what with their ruddy masonry, bay windows, cornice detailing, wrought iron rails, muscular walk-up stoops, and bronze gutters and downspouts. Except that they're not on the island of Manhattan or its environs.
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METROPOLITAN LOFTS occupies a once-barren city block of mostly surface parking near the entertainment district and the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
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THE MODULAR COMPONENTS of this production plan, created as an affordable alternative for vacant lots in Milwaukee's central city, include a cedar-clad box entryway, a larger stucco box containing the living spaces, and a concrete wall that defines a garden courtyard. A courtyard trellis, a balcony...
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HOW DO YOU DESIGN AN outbuilding that doesn't clash with, or upstage, the house?
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THIS 2,300-SQUARE-FOOT, ultra-modern sliver of a house in the arts district of Washington's Shaw neighborhood, lives large, thanks to an abundance of glass and natural light.
ARCHITECTS AND BUILDERS across the country encounter a similar problem: How do you introduce higher-density housing to an established single-family neighborhood? Better yet, how do you impart a shared identity on those new homes while avoiding a cookie-cutter sameness?