Economics
Economics
November Data: Custom Architects Weigh In, New Construction Trends, Contractor Confidence, and Material Price Changes
We've collected highlights from a number of data reports published throughout the industry in November
Data & Research
October's Data From Around the Industry
In October, we saw reports on remodeling spending, individual septic system installations, and the widespread use of rate buydowns to sell new homes
Business
Guest Column: What I'm Seeing Out There
Industry expert and advisor Mark Richardson shares stories from the field, from what's changing to what's working
Data & Research
Guest Column: External Forces
NAHB's chief economist on what lies ahead for the custom home market?
Advertisement
Leadership
Master the paperwork: What builders need to file to get financing
What kind of information do the investors need to see from you before they're willing to discuss putting up their cash? For starters, your company's current financial statement and most recent tax return, says Maggie Marotta, principal at Plano, Texas-based Apogee Partners. Marotta offers tips on getting your foot in the door for project financing.
Financial
Major Bank Analysts Bearish on Housing Recovery
Analysts have lowered estimates for a recovery in the housing market between next year and 2014.
Leadership
The Art of Benchmarking
With no financial benchmarks, small volume builders often repeat the same mistakes. Here are tips for targeting a bigger profit, without selling out.
Financial
Detail Work
History credits the famous architect Le Corbusier with the phrase "God is in the details." He was offering a more positive affirmation of the old proverb, "The devil is in the details." While I generally have a positive attitude, I believe custom builders are going to find this year that the devil really is in the details.
Leadership
2005 Forecast Sunny, Not Record-breaking
Predicting the Future is tricky business. Last year, housing experts uniformly predicted that home building would come off its hot streak, but record results proved them wrong. Now they agree that decline will come this year. According to the NAHB, 2005 will show a modest decline in total housing starts from 1.
Leadership
Lingering Myths about Generation X
Generation X attracts more speculation, controversy and debate than one would care to master. The conversation began in 1991 with Douglas Coupland's book, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, which profiles a group of "underemployed, overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable" twenty-somethings who have "nowhere to direct their anger, no one to assuage their fears and no cultu...
Leadership
A House Without Right Angles
Architect Matt Schlueb, principal of Schlueb Architecture, recently designed his own home in Pittsburgh, Pa., with virtually no right angles. Villa Vuoto features 2,600 square feet of living space, three levels, and simple and compounded curves, sloping walls and circular rooms. Designed to provide a stimulating environment for the architect's young son, the project was a prototype for explorin...
Leadership
Creating a Community Theme
A sense of place matters just as much to luxury home buyers as the details of the floorplan and the quality of the finishes. To deliver on this desire, custom builders can borrow a page from their production builder counterparts. Here Terry Smith of architecture firm Bloodgood Sharp Buster gives a quick tutorial in creating a community theme.
Leadership
Insurance Woes Top Concern List
The price of general liability insurance and the ongoing shortage of carriers willing to write such policies for builders pushed these issue to the top of NAHB's annual critical issues surveys. On a scale of one to five, where one equals not at all critical and five equals very critical, general liability insurance cost scored 4.