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Builders keep tight reign on inventories.Cleaner balance sheets are the result, tidied up considerably by controlling more land under option instead of owning it. Looking back 10 years ago, builders controlled 25 percent of their land off balance sheet.
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Financial snapshots show huge gains.A glance at the top 10 companies? net income reveals a huge jump over 2000. Schuler?s lead in net profits as seen in ?Net Income? chart (below) reflects the boost it received from its purchase of Western Pacific Homes in early 2001 and hints at what D.R. Horton?s...
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Good returns have investors smiling.The top 10 companies, excluding NVR, gave a return of 28.1 percent. The top 10 builders, again excluding NVR, posted an overall average of 33.9 percent, an 8 percent improvement over the previous year.
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By Diane Kittower. Another Atlanta-based builder, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, now makes critical information available electronically that once existed only on paper. At Shea Homes, the paper cut is evident in how the monthly financials are shared.
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EIFS is just one of the products that have cost builders millions over the years. That's why virtually every production builder shares the opinion of Randy Luther, vice president of construction technology for Centex Homes, about new products."
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By Iris Richmond. Jeffrey Prostor, president of Brookfield Homes, likes turning the tables. Photo: Dietrich Metal FramingTaciturn Tiles: This diagram represents the Dietrich Metal Framing floor joists that should keep Centex's homes squeak-free.
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Florida developer overcomes water and wildlife issues in Pasco County.With that growth has come increased demand on Pasco's infrastructure, from roads and schools to water and open space, pressures that exploded after the Oakstead property, formerly a cattle farm, was rezoned for development in...
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With concern mounting over defect litigation, innovation is taking a backseat to the tried and true. The case, involving the use of external insulation and finishing systems (EIFS), is on appeal in the Virginia courts. EIFS is just one of the products that have cost builders millions over the years.
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Aiming for efficiency, visionary builders cut their ties to paper. Despite the advance of computerization, the amount of office paper shipped in the United States increased every year during the past decade -- going from 3.4 million tons in 1991 to 4.9 million tons in 2000, according to the...
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What happens when strategy comes up short and a promising formula needs a re-write.James Pugash, who had worked in the commercial sector, and Richard Werner, who had been running a large thrift program, saw an opportunity to provide financing to builders for residential projects. Benefiting from...
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Unravel the mystery of marketing's return on investment. Depending on whom you ask, measuring the return on investment (ROI) of a marketing campaign is either a simple statistical process or a quest akin to finding the Holy Grail. He recommends line item budgets for each type of expenditure to...
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American Standard has entered the suite arena by introducing a collection of fittings, fixtures, and accessories that are designed to go together and, more significantly, to be displayed together.For its part, Home Depot has also recognized the value of merchandising products in bundles...
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Mystery shopping's mission shifts from espionage to training. Mystery shopping, once used to instill fear and to weed out the suspected bad apple, has morphed from an exercise in espionage into an irreplaceable sales training tool. Robert Schottenstein says mystery shopping has helped deliver...
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For the communication-challenged, plain speaking need not be a lost art.I think, though, they simply fall into the same trap as people in other industries. Any organization that's heavy on bureaucracy is particularly susceptible to muddled language, as are businesses offering technical services...
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"What builders are doing with all that money.The question keeps coming up," said Lennar CEO Stuart Miller, surveying the group of investors and analysts from the podium. "With those unenlightening words, Miller succeeded in disappointing a room full of industry watchers who know that Lennar has the...
In 2000, the United States experienced the highest percentage of Americans who owned a home, 66 percent -- 69 million people. From an economic standpoint, we employ hundreds of thousands of Americans and help fuel the economy.
By Iris Richmond. As of March 6, David Rotter, Bernard Rotter, and certain of their family members owned more than 90 percent of the outstanding shares in the company. With the U.S. Commerce Department having issued its final ruling on the 20-year U.S.-Canadian conflict over softwood lumber, the...
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By Iris Richmond. Standard Pacific has avoided infill projects -- until recently. The company is getting its feet wet on its first high-density project to date, Playa Vista, located in West Los Angeles, where it's building condos ranging from $290,000 to $390,000 for 1,000 to 1,750 square feet."
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By Iris Richmond. To fight fraud and promote consumer protection, the Mortgage Banker's Association of America (MBAA) wants to make the finance process more understandable for home buyers. If HUD climbs on board with the ruling it should issue in the next 90 days, reform could be 12 to 24 months...
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By Iris Richmond. In the wake of retail lending losses, the manufactured housing industry has taken another hit. Deep Impact: Conseco's exit leaves a nearly $800 million hole to be filled by other lenders.
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By Iris Richmond. The ink is barely dry on Beazer Homes' purchase of Crossmann Communities, but the company already has competitors gunning for it in Memphis, Tenn.Consider Reeves Williams, a builder based in South Haven, Miss., which plans to strengthen its presence in Memphis this year. Like...
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By Iris Richmond. In an effort to separate itself from the pack, Beazer's Orlando division teamed up with Southwest Airlines' vacation program on a new marketing campaign aimed at buyers in Florida. Increasing Realtor traffic was part of Beazer's strategy.
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By Iris Richmond. When shares of WCI began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on March 12, it marked the first builder entrance into the public marketplace in six years.The initial offering of 6.9 million shares of common stock, priced at $19 per share, represented about 16 percent of its total...
By Roberta Maynard. I think, though, they simply fall into the same trap as people in other industries. They grow accustomed to talking with insiders who know the lingo, and they don't think to shift gears when confronted with those outside their circle.
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John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods. Choice Homes. David Weekley Homes. Do they belong to a dying breed? As mergers and acquisitions swallow builders as large as active adult leader Del Webb and as specialized as Dallas-based CityHomes, the number of large--but not super-sized--home builders on...
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Custom electronics designer Charles Apostolos is making his first house call of the day, a 160-mile round-trip from his office in Woburn, Mass., to Keene, N.H., to see a potential client. None of this extra work would be necessary had the client thought to bring Apostolos and the builder together...
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Sales automation and customer relationship management software (CRM) can stop customer defections from happening. For instance, if your company has a relationship with a mortgage lender who approves the Smith's application, the software could tell the Smith's salesperson to send them a...
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Sketchup is a great tool for builders who want to explore designs with clients without having to have a full-fledged CAD program. You can download a trial copy from Sketch 3D's Web site (www.sketch3d.com), to try out.
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Home builders are a ripe market for customer relationship management (CRM) software. Users can access Infinite Crossing's CRM software from the Internet or from kiosks placed in the builder's sales office.
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Co-opetition is what happens when two business competitors become allies on one front while continuing to compete on others.Denver-based J.D. Edwards and Co. (JDE) announced its intention in February to partner with MH2 Technologies in Dallas to create "integrator" software to link JDE with MH2's...
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In a move they hope will increase online leads, HomeBuilder.com and the Builder Homesite Consortium have entered a multi-year agreement under which HomeBuilder will act as reseller for the Consortium's property listings. Builders listed on HomeBuilder.com and newhomesource.com can reach about 93...
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The VIP (www.vipbutler.com) may qualify as a real appliance--something that actually makes life easier. What makes it so easy to use is a new type of middleware called SYS, from Redmond, Wash.-based Premise Systems, that's based on Microsoft's Universal Plug and Play standard.
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It's no secret that local regulations often discourage the growth of affordable housing. Interested builders should keep an eye on the HUD User site: www.huduser.com.
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Many builders believe that letting field supervisors access scheduling and project management data via wireless handhelds will make them more efficient. In past issues, BUILDER has identified the main culprit as the network: the slow data transfer, weak signals, and competing standards that plague...
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Why the sudden panic about mold in new homes? Molds give off spores and mycotoxins when they grow on certain materials.
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Pull on your sterile gloves, adjust your respirator, and take cover behind your legal counsel. It's time to do battle with the building industry's equivalent of the black plague...
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Extra mortar spilled behind brick veneer walls has caused many a moisture woe because the mortar can block weep holes. To cover all bases, clever masons will install a piece of rope that runs behind the brick and out through a weep hole at the base of the wall.
The latest challenger in the scourge-of-mankind category, stachybotrys chartarum, aka black mold, comes with its own life support system: homeowners and their attorneys.
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"In fact, the town architect liked it quite a bit and even said that he wished there were more houses like it here," Walker says.The house sits on a 55-by-100-foot lot that drops dramatically in the rear and backs up to the Wolf River.
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Craftsman charm and livable community plan brought buyers to North Carolina's mountain region.
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Why it worked: Empty-nesters and frequent entertainers love DaVinci's generous zones for party space, and its flexible indoor/outdoor spaces. Large, move-up luxury home for Las Vegas buyers, second-home buyers, and empty-nesters with annual incomes of $400,000 plus.
Small, reasonably priced homes in southern Orange County, Calif., marketed to first-time and move-up buyers.Located in an 11-acre village within the Orange County master plan of Ladera Ranch with small, contemporary floor plans.
During the International Builders' Show, a number of builders, as part of Home Builders Care, and numerous other volunteers built five Habitat for Humanity homes. Builder volunteers worked quickly to assemble five houses for Habitat for Humanity during the 2002 International Builders' Show in...
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Lending standards and capital rules saved lenders and builders from themselves.The recent economic cycle was characterized by a massive inventory cycle in the manufacturing sector that helped drive the economy into recession and then helped kick-start the recovery that began early this year...
Members-only guide helps builders understand and implement development changes. It took a team of housing industry experts and NAHB staff members months of 12-hour days to compile the Builders' Guide and have it ready prior to the publication of APA's legislative guidebook--and it was worth every...
By BUILDER Magazine Staff. The first boomers--3.2 million--turned 55 in 2001. Presented by the NAHB's Seniors Housing Council, the event will take place May 1-3 at the Caribe Royale Resort Suites and Villas in Orlando, Fla.
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By BUILDER Magazine Staff. The NAHB opposes the Canadian lumber tariff because it boosts home prices. Even a small price increase knocks thousands of potential first-time home buyers out of the market.
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The NAHB now has the research to debunk negative myths about multifamily. Multifamily Myths The NAHB uses U.S. Census Bureau data to debunk negative myths.
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The recently announced NAHB University of Housing is a one-stop shop for the NAHB's 205,000 members to learn about and sign up for all of the association's educational programs.
If you're comfortable with the status quo, you can continue to offer the usual flooring suspects in your homes. Antique flooring from Yesteryear runs $9 to $18 per square foot, and bamboo from Timbergrass costs about $11 per square foot installed.
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Whether in color or stainless steel, homeowners can't get enough of this versatile lighting fixture. Today's homeowners, it turns out, want lighting to make a design statement, and they are using the pendant to do it. "Homeowners are taking more pride in their lighting," says Diane M. Smith, sales...
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According to researchers, land costs have remained fairly stable and affordable in most of the country.
Experts note that with the largest builders now approaching 30,000 units, it won't be long before public builders announce goals of delivering 50,000 homes.Adding a new builder to a market (or becoming bigger within a market) does not increase market demand; it simply divides market share.
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Q: How can I maintain the integrity of my new-home elevations on narrow lots and still include an attached garage?So, the challenge is to integrate the garage (especially a two-car model) into the massing of the house while visually widening the elevation. 28-Foot-Wide Elevation: A simple gable...
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Decrepit public housing project is replaced with a beautiful new subdivision. But Ida Barbour is no more.In a stunning example of a public housing turnaround, Ida Barbour has been leveled, its debris carted off to make way for an impressive new single-family housing complex on a 41.4-acre inner...
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By Christina B. Farnsworth. Mark Sands pleaded guilty to burning eight custom and luxury homes, after a friend taped his incriminating confession during a summer moonlit hike along the Grand Canyon's Bright Angel Trail. The Arizona Republic reported Phoenix fire captain Ray Wilson saying he had no...
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Online home auctions look like a growth business. Its successes included a marketing agreement with Builder Homesite (BHS) (www.builderhomesite.com), and a nascent relationship with online auction giant eBay (www.ebay.com). An agreement with Coldwell Banker Builder Marketing in Chicago...
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Foes of big government have lined up to take a swipe at Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprise that helped finance 100,000 affordable households last year. When a recent Wall Street Journal editorial titled "Fannie Mae Enron" suggested that Fannie Mae puts taxpayer money at risk, mortgage...
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By Christina B. FarnsworthMany universities have large land tracts that were once their rural agricultural campuses. Other local new-home communities have an average sales price of $190,000, Suhadolnik says.
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By Daniel Walker Guido. Texas is implementing a power deregulation plan that state officials claim will not cause the same rolling blackouts or political and economic chaos California suffered last summer after deregulating its electric utilities.Consumer advocates are worried, because they believe...
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By Christina B. Farnsworth. Central vacuum systems are among the best indoor air quality (IAQ) investments. Patients claimed various symptoms improved from 44 percent to 61 percent with use of a central vacuum.
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The Mid-Atlantic is now competing with Florida sunshine and desert landscapes. Toll Brothers and K. Hovnanian are both investing aggressively in suburban Washington locations. K. Hovnanian is expanding its successful Four Seasons brand with two new communities: Four Seasons at Kent Island in Queen...
Having survived the Mexican peso devaluation and the subsequent "Tequila Crisis" when the Mexican economy collapsed in 1994, Pulte Corp., one of the largest American home builders, is not too concerned that its new Argentina adventure will sour."We believe there is a chance, however, to increase...
With the EPA announcing that it intends to close the door on CCA-treated wood in two or three years, alternative decking manufacturers maneuver to fill the void. Clear winners: alternative decking material manufacturers, such as Trex, CertainTeed, and LP, along with Florida-based U.S. Plastic...
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More than 100 home building companies have completed technical and design reviews for EarthCraft House, the green building program of Atlanta's HBA.
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Builders often object to so-called anti-snob laws that require a minimum percentage of affordable housing units within a certain jurisdiction. As a result, they have turned to the Massachusetts Chapter 40B law to override local zoning laws, allowing them to build large subdivisions of more...
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Michigan may not have oil, but it does have corn and lots of it.Construction has begun on a $50 million plant in Caro, Mich., which will process corn into ethanol. The plant should be producing its first ethanol by fall 2002.
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Networking with the local community is one of the most recommended ways to improve sales, most experts tell on-site sales reps. Sales pros should spend more time on proactive activities instead: direct mail follow ups, referrals from existing buyers, "be-back" lists, and calling past visitors who...
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Do states "do-not-call" laws limit real estate marketing? They also would have had to pay $500 a year to receive monthly updated lists of consumers requesting that telemarketers not call.
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Northern Virginia home buyers with imperfect credit or limited savings will be able to apply for financing to become first-time home buyers under a new Hope International home buying program. The Northern Virginia BIA will work with Hope to encourage borrowers to use the program.
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Since home builders will have to comply with the new International Residential Code (IRC), the NAHB wants to make sure they have a voice in its development. The NAHB says that home builder support played a key role in getting the code adopted in Texas, Utah, Indiana, and Michigan.
Are you even aware of all the inexpensive technology options that exist? The BUILDER Technology Conference will be held in Washington on June 11 and 12.
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A mortgage is a commodity, albeit an expensive one. If you shop around, you should be able to find the best loan at the best rate that you qualify for.
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Some 3,000 carpenters across the state went on strike Wednesday morning after contract negotiations with general contractors broke down. The walkout will affect hundreds job sites around the state.
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The nation's largest lead producer has agreed to buy out 166 houses as part of a final agreement with the state to cleanup a town where blood tests reveal high levels of lead.
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A growing group of opportunistic manufacturers is rushing loads of "ergonomic tools" to help you survive digging and planting and weeding and generally too much of a good thing.