My Two Cents

Oct 22 2009 2:20PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (3) |

By Susan Bady

Have you heard the one about the four-year-old who claimed the first-time home buyer tax credit? Russell George, the inspector general for tax administration at the Internal Revenue Service, wasn't kidding when he revealed this nugget at a recent Congressional hearing about apparent tax-credit abuse. (The Wall Street Journal's "Developments" blog did a good job of summing up the story this morning.)

In addition to the youngest American ever to buy a home, Mr. George said that thousands of tax-credit claims were filed by people who had owned a home within the preceding three years. Others claimed it for homes they hadn't even purchased.

So why did all those fraudulent claims fall through the c...Read More

Oct 16 2009 9:29AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

By Susan Bady

Home builders, remodelers, architects and homeowners now have a lower-cost option for quality kitchen designs -- Kitchen Design Online, or KDOL for short. Created by award-winning designer Jennifer Gilmer, CKD, KDOL is a Web-based resource for pros and consumers who are either doing a kitchen remodel or building a new custom home.

The concept is straightforward. Users log onto the site and select one of three levels of service, from one-dimensional floor plans and elevations to detailed plans and elevations, 3-D perspective drawings, color boards and countertop, cabinet and tile details. A professional designer from the KDOL stable reviews room dimensions and photos, then collaborates with the customer on the design. Turnaround ranges from 14 to 28 days, and the pr...Read More

Oct 8 2009 1:20PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Susan Bady

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is one of 20 colleges and universities from around the world competing in the Department of Energy's 2009 Solar Decathlon, and they are justifiably proud. Their entry, the BeauSoleil Louisiana Solar Home, will be among the contestants vying for "most attractive and energy-efficient home" starting today through October 16 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The 800-square-foot BeauSoleil Home is designed to withstand hurricane-force winds and can be elevated in flood-prone regions. It can also be powered entirely by the sun,  collects its own water and utilizes natural breezes to reduce energy consumption. Moreover, it's pleasing to look at, with wide ...Read More

Oct 7 2009 2:14PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Susan Bady

Remember CityCenter, the $8.5 billion condo/hotel//casino/retail project on the Las Vegas Strip? I first blogged about it in January after returning from the International Builders' Show. Nothing much was happening with sales back then. Eight months later, the developers are slashing condo prices 30 percent. Closings are about to begin -- at reduced prices -- on units that have been built in two boutique hotels and two residential towers. According to an MSNBC story, more than half of the units are under contract.

The price reductions apply to 227 units at the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, the 670 units at the Veer Towers and nearly 1,500 condos at the Vdara Condo Hotel, a 57-story building....Read More

Oct 1 2009 2:28PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Susan Bady

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal published the results of a very interesting survey that predicted where mobile, educated twentysomethings might want to live once the recession is over. The top five cities, chosen by a panel of economists, demographers and other experts, are Washington, D.C.; Seattle; New York; Portland, Ore.; and Austin, Texas. Washington and Seattle tied for first place.

With demographics taking a hard shift toward the Gen X/Gen Y home buyer, builders might look a little harder at where young adults want to live and why. This group is more pragmatic and focuses on areas with opportunities for stable, high-paying jobs. If they're single, they might want to move to a city where there's ...Read More

Sep 24 2009 12:00PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Susan Bady

I just want to thank everyone who entered the 2009 Custom Builder Design Challenge for their hard work, creativity and commitment. The number of entries has surpassed those received in 2008 and 2007, and the quality is outstanding.

One might argue that the increased participation is partly due to the economy. Regardless, I'm glad to see that this program has generated so much interest. The judging will take place tomorrow and winners will be notified next week. Best of luck to all, and again, thanks!

Sep 17 2009 11:25AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (4) |

By Susan Bady

The Wall Street Journal and other major media outlets reported today that housing starts posted a moderate increase because of a resurgence in apartment construction. The increased apartment activity offset the first decline in single-family home starts after five straight increases. The net effect: starts increaased 1.5 percent in August.

In addition, the number of jobless claims declined and U.S. builder confidence of sales prospects for new single-family homes increased, according to the NAHB.  

Is this a sign of a true recovery or just a blip on the radar? It depends on who you ask and what you read. I tend to believe those who say that although we may have reached the bottom, we still have a long, hard road a...Read More

Sep 15 2009 9:03AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

By Susan Bady

There's good news for the housing industry in J.D. Power and Associates' 2009 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study^SM. Overall customer satisfaction has improved for the second straight year and quality has also increased, with a corresponding decline in problems reported by homeowners.

The top spot for overall customer satisfaction was claimed by Pulte and its brands. For the third straight year, J.D. Power ranked Trilogy by Shea Homes highest in customer satisfaction among the largest active-adult community builders. Titans Del Webb and K. Hovnanian Four Seasons ranked second and third, respectively.

It's encouraging to hear that such well-respected companies are keeping the quality bar at a high level and making sure the home-buying experience is ...Read More

Sep 10 2009 12:40PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (3) |

By Susan Bady

A representative from Kichler Lighting visited the PB editors this afternoon. I know this is a bad pun, but I can't help myself -- the visit was illuminating.

In a way, residential lighting has come full circle. When I was a child, my grandmother and great-aunts would admonish me to "shut the light" whenever I left a room. It drove them crazy whenever lights were left on in an unattended room. (They also counted how many sheets of toilet paper we used, but that's another blog.)

From that Depression-era mindset, we've arrived at a point where lighting is smarter and much more energy-efficient. Compact fluorescent bulbs have been refined to the point where they actually do last a lot longer than incandescent bulbs, and LEDs have allowed designers to put lights where they hav...Read More

Sep 4 2009 7:48AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

By Susan Bady

Aug 28 2009 10:27AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

By Susan Bady

Aug 27 2009 7:09AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

By Susan Bady

Again I wonder, what's the deal with Sacramento? It's such a hotbed of home-building activity and controversy lately. Yes, I did say "home-building activity." K. Hovnanian is planning 41 single-family homes at a community called Fiddyment Farm in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville. Signature Properties sold 41 lots (must be something magical about that number) to Meritage Homes, also at Fiddyment Farm. They're getting good deals on the land: Meritage paid $66,000 apiece for the lots; KHov $68,000.

Jim Wasserman, a reporter for the Sacramento Bee, got a lot of flack for his August 14 article about the suburban Sacramento "land rush." One comment read, "There is an old s...Read More

Aug 20 2009 11:10AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

By Susan Bady

There's a new study out that indicates homes located within walking distance of schools, parks, shopping and other amenities are worth more than homes in neighborhoods where it's necessary to drive everywhere. "Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Housing Values in U.S. Cities," studied 94,000 real estate transactions in 15 markets. According to CEOs for Cities, which commissioned the study, higher levels of walkability were directly linked to higher home values in 13 of those markets. You can download the full study here.

Gee, I wish I'd known that before I sold my home on the north side of Chicago. The Windy City scored 79 on a scale of 1 to 100 (a score higher than 70 indicates it's possible to get around without using a car).  In m...Read More

Aug 13 2009 12:39PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

By Susan Bady

Every now and then I check out a Web site called the Home Builder Implode-O-Meter. Whenever I do, I feel like those drivers on the freeway that cruise slowly past a bad accident, craning their necks to get a better look at the carnage.

It shocks me how many good builders have gone down -- John Laing Homes, McStain, Levitt, Kimball Hill, just to name a few. (The tally as of this afternoon was 82.) On a couple of occasions I've thought of giving one of my trusted sources a call, only to remind myself that they're no longer around.

The latest casualty is Buena Vista Custom Homes, a Portland, Ore.-area builder that had been riding pretty high for the past couple of years. I had a feeling it would catch up with them. The demise of a company like McStain is harder to fa...Read More

Aug 7 2009 9:13AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (12) |

By Susan Bady

That's the working title of a story I'm writing for the October issue of Professional Builder. It will be a photo essay on new-home features that turn on entry-level buyers.

For optimum results, I need your help. Do you have photos of design features, products, materials and finishes that first-time buyers love? What else would you include on such a list? Community amenities such as a dog park or barbecue pit? Proximity to public transportation? Think outside the box. If, for example, modular housing is especially attractive to first-time buyers, we'll include that, too.

Whatever photos aren't shown in the print version of the story will run online as a slide show, so I need lots of ideas and images. Please e-mail me at susan.bady@reedbusiness.com. Thanks so much!