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EVERY YEAR, WITH THE PARTICIPATION of thousands of builders nationwide, the NAHB Research Center's annual Builder Practices Survey (BPS) documents materials usage in new-home construction. Recognized as one of the most comprehensive sources of data on residential building materials available, the BPS details the characteristics of materials purchased—from flooring and cabinetry to fireplaces and garage doors—to provide perspective on industry trends and product market share.
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HOME PURCHASES BY INVESTORS/SPECULATORS surged in 2005, and hot “sellers' market” conditions showed up in record sales, soaring prices, minimal cancellation rates, and thin inventory positions. But eroding affordability conditions and fading investor demand have changed all of that.
WHEN THE HISTORY OF U.S. HOUSING IS written, 2006–2007 is likely to be characterized as a watershed, marking the start of an era when green building moved into the home builder mainstream, according to a new study by the NAHB and Mc-Graw-Hill Construction. By 2007, the study finds, almost two-thirds of builders will be involved in green building.
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- Housing industry expert Bill Webb releases instructive guide that shows how to maximize sales potential and profits in lean times.
- NAHB's Building Systems Councils offer free brochure on the benefits of modular homes.
- NAHB encourages members to take advantage of a free savings analysis offered by Solveras Payment Systems.
ALTHOUGH IT TAKES ITS NAME FROM A NEARBY CEMETERY filled with fallen Confederate soldiers, historic Oakwood is a vibrant community and the only remaining intact 19th-century neighborhood in Raleigh, N.C. Raleigh was planned from its conception to be the state's capital, and its statehouse buildings were quickly followed by colleges, businesses, and residences befitting a capital city. Begun soon after the end of the Civil War, Oakwood was the first completely residential neighborhood built in the city. The community's architectural styles describe the arc of changing tastes in the latter part of the 19th century, progressing from Neo-Classical to French to Victorian to Queen Anne and back again to Neo-Classical. The homes' architects, most of them local, strove for correctness and attention to form in their designs, and yet they included modifications particularly suited to Southern climes and proclivities. Steeply pitched roofs and deep overhangs help cool the interiors of the homes. And almost every house in Oakwood possesses at least one porch; many have several.
IT'S AN OLD STORY IN HOME BUILDING: One builder's disaster becomes another's dream development. That certainly was the case for The Harborage on Braden River in Bradenton, Fla. An old guava grove that had been overrun by Brazilian peppers, it came on the market after the owner had failed in an effort to have the 56-acre parcel zoned for townhouses.
LOCATED JUST FIVE MINUTES FROM Tinker Air Force Base, Liberty Trails had a simple mission, says Carol Williams, director of single-family homes for Oklahoma City–based builder GT Homes. “We really cater to the military,” she says. “During wartime, [we] really wanted a great place during a stressful time.”
SOMETIMES, A GOOD PRODUCT NEEDS A little push to become a best-seller. That was the case with Waterford Village, a community of single-family homes full of desirable features.
BEFORE CLEVELAND BEGAN REDEVELOPING Ward Five, it was home to the city's highest level of unemployment, crime, cancer, and public housing. “Ward Five was historically left for naught,” says Rob Namy, director of development for Cleveland-based Rysar Properties. “There were literally hundreds of acres of vacant land left for foreclosure.”
BOB SHUSTER, PRESIDENT OF RWS CUSTOM Homes, says he knows that if he needs to get to a jobsite in Franklin Farms in a hurry, he'd better take the truck. “People wave at me when I drive through the community,” he says. “It takes too long to walk down the street because everyone wants to stop and talk. Those are good problems.”
WHEN COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO., builder/developer Classic Homes purchased 650 acres for a master planned community, one of the first questions was whether to remain the sole builder or to let other builders in to spread the risk—and the reward. This time it opted not to share, says director of sales Ty Olson. “I was confident we could do it on our own.”
NOT MANY BUILDERS—OR HOME BUYERS—get the chance to be part of a new city. Mountain House is the first city to be developed in California in the last quarter century. Organized into villages on roughly 5,000 acres near Tracy, Calif., it will include about 15,000 homes at build-out.
THE MUNGO COS. OF COLUMBIA, S.C., didn't have to do much to market the master planned community of Brook-haven, also in Columbia. Ideally located for commuters to both Columbia and Charlotte, N.C., the site had been watched by builders and buyers for years. Originally intended for industrial use, the 1,000-acre parcel was known as “the IBM tract,” says Steven Mungo, CEO of The Mungo Cos. When that use never materialized, the site was converted to residential. Brookhaven was the first neighborhood to be developed there.
THE SALES STAFF AT CROMWELL PARK knew that once people arrived and saw what the community had to offer, they'd fall in love with it. The hard part was getting them there.
WHAT DO BEST-SELLING COMMUNITIES have in common? It's not price point, product type, location, or lifestyle. Those are all over the place, from true starter homes to high-end luxury living. What the builders of these communities share is a clear understanding of the market.
IT'S HARD TO ARGUE WITH JIM MIGLIORE, CEO OF BILL CLARK HOMES IN Greenville, N.C., when he boasts that land for new-home construction “usually comes to us.” Last year, the builder acquired the land assets of developer Bledsoe Properties in Fayetteville, N.C. Another parcel it recently bought in Apex, N.C.—after a national builder backed out of the deal—is expected to yield 263 homes. In Myrtle Beach, S.C., Bill Clark Homes has a relationship with Burroughs & Chapin, one of that market's biggest landowners.
BOSTON-BASED LEGGAT MC-CALL Properties is giving new meaning to the expression “home sweet home.” That's because the developer is transforming a former candy factory into One First, a mixed-used project with condos as well as commercial and retail space.
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- Appliance giant Whirlpool Corp., which manufactures the Whirlpool and KitchenAid brands, completes its $1.7 billion acquisition of Maytag Corp.
- The U.S. Green Building Council is looking to toughen its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards by expanding it rating system for whole neighborhoods.
- Champion Enterprises, a manufactured home production leader, acquires Highland Manufacturing Co. in a deal valued at $23 million in cash.