D.R. Horton is one of the most acquisitive builders in the industry, picking up 17 companies since 1994 from Hawaii to Florida. But three deals stand out in CEO Donald Tomnitz's mind: Continental Homes in 1998, Cambridge Properties in 1999, and Schuler Homes in 2001.
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By Steve Zurier. Builders have wanted to integrate field data from a handheld task management application to a back-office system for years, but many of the available solutions on the market were too expensive for most builders. Now, Punch List, a task management application for the Palm handheld...
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The vast majority of builders--well in excess of 50 percent according to the NAHB--now offer home theaters as an upgrade. But that doesn't mean all builders are making money on home theaters. Talk to a home technology integrator and he'll say too many jobs still wind up as retrofits, because...
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Back-office software helps Arizona builder control costs and increase net income.
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Permit and inspections software takes the pain out of processing permits.
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Blue Line Series speakers are specifically designed to meet standard builder requirements.
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By Steve Zurier. Realm Business Solutions has sold NewStar to Toronto-based Quorum Group for an undisclosed amount of cash. Eric Shishko, the company's president and CEO, says NewStar is committed to the construction industry and that it will have a strong presence at the International Builders'...
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By Steve Zurier. After trying to sell off the FAST portion of it business, Dallas-based Hyphen-Solutions has chosen instead to operate FAST as a separate business unit. Web-based customer relationship management software for FAST will be released in spring 2004, and a new version of FAST, 7.3, will...
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By Steve Zurier. Sigma Design, the makers of eZ, a live online meeting software product, have recently added the ability to distribute software online, which makes it simpler for the company to sell the product as an online service. Now, instead of charging $399 for each user, eZ costs $99 a month...
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New sales and marketing software analyzes customer preferences to predict what customers want today.
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Bullnose corners. Layered geometric patterns. Fiber optic glamour lines and sweeping curves. With dozens of specialty beads, new tools, and even complete dome-building packages available, why not enhance your drywall detailing? For a couple hundred bucks' worth of labor, you can create a...
Trends to look for in 2004: Colors and textures get all mixed up, especially in the kitchen; The look of the moment is designs from the past; Energy-saving is big with conservation-minded buyers. And more...
By BUILDER Magazine Staff. When times are good anyone can sell, but as the market softens, sales software can help builders sharpen the way they manage documents and sales leads. Sales software from companies such as Builder1440, Sales Simplicity, and Homestore's Computers for Tracts should have...
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Trends in design, technology, business, and products bring builders and their customers closer together in a big year for housing.
It's not unusual to hear land planners talk about communities that have dedicated themselves to being good stewards, about local officials and developers working together to preserve precious resources, about building plans that promise to maintain habitats and open space. There's a lot of that...
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If you can't find or afford adequate liability insurance, you're not alone.
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A small number of companies have gained significant market share, thanks to mergers and acquisitions.
Home builders should be proud of their contributions this year to both the U.S. economy and the stability their product creates.
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- Congress debates the future regulatory oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
- Department of Commerce awards $397,899 to the NAHB to help fund Access Mexico.
- EstimatorPro 5.0 provides builders and customers with accurate, timely estimates.
One consequence of the traditional neighborhood design movement is that the front-loaded garage has become a pariah. The garage, critics charge, is an overpowering element on the elevation and an eyesore to passers-by--hence, a preference for the alley-loaded garage.No doubt the backlash against...
If you build entry-level houses for buyers who prefer value to flash, a run-of-the-mill storage system will be more than adequate. If you're catering to the move-up buyer, however, you better change your strategy. To this group, closet storage is more important than it used to be.
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National homeownership rate hits new high of 68.4 percent in third quarter as Americans choose to buy their own place.
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What do you get when you combine a super-tight, energy-efficient home with a large photovoltaic array and a solar hot water heater? You get a home that produces more energy than it consumes--in theory at least.
A storefront sales gallery draws attention for multiple mid-rise projects nearby.
History comes alive at The Pinehills.
A creative approach encourages Realtors to visit the entirety of Vista Lakes.
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Will alternatives to CCA-treated wood eat away standard metal fasteners?
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Innovative California program helps low-income residents put their voucher dollars toward homeownership.
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According to the Census, the cheapest U.S. city for homeowners is Flint, Mich. The costliest? Stamford, Conn.
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Remember your old erector set? Here's the adult version.
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In North Carolina, a contemporary art museum challenges designers to come up with a new housing model.
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The Palmetto Brick Co. in Cheraw, S.C., says it has created a new estimating tool that increases the materials efficiency of brick work and could save builders $300 to $500 per job.
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A Florida builder who lost his son to leukemia hopes to take fundraiser national.
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Builders face health insurance cost increases of 15 percent or more, as a potential remedy for small businesses stalls in the Senate.
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By Matthew Power. Florida developer Rene Lepine, who heads Maison Saint-Antoine, has undertaken an unusual modular project in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He purchased 60 lots over two years and fitted them with affordable, code-approved modular units.
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By Steve Zurier. The First American Corp., a financial and real estate services company based in Santa Ana, Calif., and the Greenlining Institute, a San Francisco coalition of consumer, church, civil rights, and business groups, have joined forces to extend homeownership opportunities to minorities...
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By Nigel F. Maynard. Lunar Realty in Melbourne, Australia, is selling one-acre blocks of property on the moon for $40 and 10-acre "lifestyle" blocks for $202. Businessman Paul Jackson bought the Australian rights to sell the land from Nevada-based entrepreneur Dennis Hope, who had registered a...
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By Alison Rice. A federal district judge has dismissed a Texas homeowner's lawsuit against KB Home. While the Federal Trade Commission agreed with that assertion in its friend-of-the-court brief, it said that a third party like Pruitt couldn't sue to enforce the decree.
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By Alison Rice. Terms were not disclosed for the deal, which is expected to bring Toll a new presence in luxury mid- and high-rise development in northern New Jersey. Coppenbarger is expected to provide 450 homes and $100 million in revenue to Standard Pacific in 2004.
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By Steve Zurier. The Pennsylvania Builders Association (PBA) has released a position paper on local tax reform policy in the wake of the state's attempt to wean itself off using property taxes to fund schools and offset its $500 million-plus budget deficit. The PBA also says it's open to discussing...
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By Matthew Power. A new study by the National Association of Realtors shows that 62 percent of Americans have deep concerns about whether firefighters, teachers, and others in their communities can afford housing. Seventy-one percent believe government should put affordable housing higher on its...
A massive newspaper investigation exposes the weak underbelly of new-home construction.
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By BUILDER Magazine Staff. A discussion and demonstration on how builder design centers and warranty departments can leverage the tools of technology and the internet to create 1. This session will explore how progressive builders are turning internet leads into sales, the profile of a successful...
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The Educational Seminars listed on these pages are included with your full registration for The 2004 International Builders' Show(R). Builders and sales professionals will learn how to improve their own sales programs from the presentation and discussion of the compilation of 40 field-tested forms...
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By BUILDER Magazine Staff. We'll give away one motorcycle each day of The International Builders' Show, and you could be a winner! Just complete an entry form and drop it off in the Harley-A-Day box in the Theme Center in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center before the Exhibit Floor...
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Where do 90,000 building industry professionals go to find the most complete set of tools for increasing profits? Head back to Vegas for another four-day record-breaking event and find the suppliers, the education, and the networking opportunities you need for the year ahead.
By BUILDER Magazine Staff. At KB Home, Leah Bryant is committed to top-notch customer satisfaction. Bryant was recently made regional general manager of KB Home's Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Tucson, Ariz., divisions.
Co-sponsored by BUILDER and Home magazines, this idea home demonstrates how families really want to live. Built in Nevada Trails, a 335-acre, 1,550-unit master plan in southwest Las Vegas, the Ultimate Family Home eschews modern design trends by putting all of the bedrooms on the same level instead...
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By Pat Curry. There's no shortage of ways to keep busy during the 2004 International Builders' Show (IBS). Topping virtually every builder's list of places that make Las Vegas memorable is Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
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By Kent Conine. Mark Jan. 19-22, 2004, on your calendar, and start packing your bags and planning what you're going to see and do during the upcoming International Builders' Show (IBS). The highlight of a day of special programs showcasing the use of technology in new homes, Immelt's keynote...
A New York builder resurrects a problem-plagued development and delivers lofts, townhomes, and a community center with a heavenly past.
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The NAHB Research Center has been studying builder buying trends since the 1970s, but that information has remained largely in-house, shared (commercially) with only a few dozen manufacturers each year. We selected some of the results, broken down by construction category from the ground up, that...
No wonder the uphill climb at mile 21 of the Boston Marathon is known as "Heartbreak Hill." The builders we chose to highlight this year in our annual Fast Track list of fast-growing builders know that type of pain.
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Our Housing Continuum research shows maintenance doesn't much influence their decision about the products making up that new house.Bob Schultz, a sales and management expert with Boca Raton, Fla.-based New Home Specialist, thinks BUILDER's results about what buyers are looking for in products are...
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Second in a three-part series examining what motivates new-home buyers vs. what builders and contractors think motivates them. Builder surveyed 507 new- and 502 used-home buyers (with the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard) last year as part of our Housing Continuum research project.
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First in a three-part series examining what motivates new-home buyers vs. what builders and contractors think motivates them.The research was sponsored by Whirlpool Corp. and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.Hanley-Wood, LLC, publisher of BUILDER and REMODELING magazines, and the...
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If there's a building material that's less fun to work with than rebar, I haven't found it. Now, three tool companies have changed the landscape, and if I had a steady diet of rebar work day-in and day-out, these tools would definitely be on my truck.
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Both Alum-A-Pole and Qual-Craft provide rugged, square aluminum poles, pump jacks, workbench brackets, braces, and padded bases. Only Alum-A-Pole provides its own aluminum staging platforms, workbenches, safety net, and safety end-rails that come OSHA-approved as a system.
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Fiber cement siding is unlike any other siding product I've ever worked with. For the contractor who measures siding jobs by the square mile, not the square foot, I think the $1,150 Pacific International SS110A Pneumatic Production Shear is the Cadillac.