Issue Contents

March 2004

Column

To develop your wow factor, select one thing you do or can do better than any other home builder in your area. Master it throughout your organization and make it part of your standard operating procedure.

Fast-growing builders often throw additional staff into overburdened systems and processes, driving up general and administrative expenses with little impact on the core problems.

Feature

Monitoring Land & Housing Markets: An Essential Tool for Smart Growth details a new method for monitoring land.

Builders often lament that software vendors don't speak their language or understand their business. Now, four midsize production builders have formed the Technology Enhancement Project to define what they want software to do and have contracted...

Code changes and consumer demands for energy efficiency might affect how you use those omnipresent recessed downlights in new homes.

Simple design tricks to minimize the garage's impact.

Being a consultant is a tough role, and you walk a fine line. Many consultants are cocky know-it-alls who couldn't manage their way out of a third-rate bar fight. I hope you've read my columns that extol the virtues of this industry.

March soon might go out like a lamb, but it's never too late to look at protecting your employees and subcontractors who work outdoors from the cold weather lion.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is cracking down on storm-water compliance, beginning with enforcement against larger builders.

When it comes to converting e-leads into e-sales, there's no substitute for speed.

While a handful of municipalities across the country require new homes to meet 'visitability' standards, a Georgia coalition is taking a broader tack.

Several indicators point to 2004 as a vanguard year for the green building movement as what has been niche moves into mainstream home building.

Proposed amendment would take Florida land-use decisions away from elected officials and put them on the ballot.

Marrying the classic architecture of 1920s American homes with modern floor plans hits a home run with buyers in Charlotte, N.C.

Builders find their inner Thomas Edison and envision the products to solve their problems.

Buyers see metal surfaces as the new kitchen neutral, able to fit any décor, and they want them everywhere: range hoods, countertops, backsplashes, wall tiles, wainscoting, ceilings and floors.

Recent price spikes for framing lumber, wood structural panels and oriented strand board have led some Wall Street stock analysts to conclude that private builders are an endangered species.

Add value to your homes by incorporating these decorative details indoors and out.

While some of the builders' ideas could be only an inventor away from reality, others came straight out of Fantasyland. Still, wouldn't it be nice if ...

The Partnership for the Advancement of Technology in Housing, made up of government entities, home builders, product manufacturers and others, has chosen the top 10 home building technologies to develop further and bring to a wider market in 2004...

The CEO of Simonini Builders talks about the special challenges and rewards of developing carefully crafted neighborhoods rather than just building luxury homes.

Dahlin Group's eclectic architectural mix steals the show at this infill site in California's Silicon Valley.

North Florida Builders Inc. wanted a unique merchandising theme that would make its Talleyrand model memorable and increase word-of-mouth traffic. A calming spa theme seemed like the perfect solution, says Linda Mathis, MIRM, vice president of...

What can builders do when faced with opposition from anti-growth groups and a governor's unfriendly smart growth policy?

Wishing thinking, wanting and wondering often lead to innovation, but not without action or effort. Finish the job.

Carl M. Freeman Communities solves land and location obstacles to create a community that blends vacation living and neighborhood appeal.

After six consecutive years as the top-selling master-planned community in the nation, Summerlin in Las Vegas dropped to No. 2 in 2003 behind The Villages, an active-adult community between Orlando and Ocala, Fla., according to Robert Charles Lesser...

In 2004, the NAHB will dedicate its efforts to closing the nation’s growing housing affordability gap and to opening new opportunities for millions of working families who cannot purchase or rent a decent home.

Before your next interview, spend a few minutes writing down key things you want to learn from each candidate.

 
 


 

See all videos

Search Our Buyer's Guide

Reference Library

Professional Remodeler’s annual Market Leaders list, which identifies the top...

Using the kitchen as a social space is just one of Professional Remodeler's Top

With demand for custom design, remodeling, and renovations at its highest level since 2005, ...

A 78-inch long, 36-inch high island outfitted with granite countertop and built-

Normandy Remodeling converts confined kitchen into sprawling galley.

Each year, the National Kitchen and Bath Association surveys its members to identify the latest...

Each year, the National Kitchen and Bath Association surveys its members to identify the latest...