Issue Contents

May 2007

Column

I am a member of a group that in some quarters is viewed with the same distrust as a gang: the media. We are renowned for nosiness and invasion of privacy. We are one more example of the decline of civilized society. This was brutally proved on the...

Florida Homebuilder’s Closings Soar

Professional Builder columnist Paul Cardis explains why Technical Olympic USA’s Engle Homes division in Orlando defies market conditions to come out ahead with 206 closings in 28 days....

Home Builder Company Culture Defined

Culture is as culture does. Rodney Hall looks at how your company’s actions and behaviors today become the culture you’re known for tomorrow.

Home Builders Miss Boat on Production Process Improvement

Can production process improvement push past finance and marketing in home builders’ priority list? Columnist Scott Sedam ponders this and more in his column.

Your New Home Sales Staff Need an Attitude Adjustment?

The importance of a good attitude goes beyond management; a homebuilders sales staff needs to have one, too. Columnist John Rymer details the right approach to the right attitude.

Feature

Downturns Create Opportunities but Come with Challenges

Valuable building sites are coming back on the market at reduced prices. Big winners will use them to capitalize on this housing down cycle, just as others have in the past.

Gated Texas Townhouse Community Appeals to Empty-Nester Buyers

Tuscan-inspired Armandwilde, a new gated community of in Clear Lake City, Texas, caters its three-story townhomes to Houston’s burgeoning market of active empty-nester buyers who want less space and maintenance but crave custom comforts.

Housing Activity Stuck Near the Bottom

Falling new-home sales kept permits and starts near the low point for this building cycle despite better home-buying conditions.

How Home Builders Can Gear Up for Growth

Some builders anticipate growth and prepare; others hope for it and when it comes are crushed under the weight of increased volume. With proper planning, a builder can implement scaleable operations and grow in a disciplined and controlled...

Land Goes Begging

Sign of a slump: Giants now selling more undeveloped land than serviced lots.

Manufactured Housing Giants Pin Hopes on Modular

With HUD-code housing in a decade-long funk, manufacturers are gearing up to partner with traditional home builders by producing modules that are assembled on-site.

Modular and Green: Prefabricated home a new kind of model

Contributing Editor Ann Matesi examines what makes LivingHomes’ prefabricated home in upscale Santa Monica, Calif., a model for green building with modular homes.

Movers and Shakers

Fast-growing, innovative companies can be found even in markets that really suck.

PATH Report: Geothermal Heat Pumps Can Translate into Savings

Money drives nearly every decision in home construction, including location, design, labor and materials. Money is also a reason builders should consider geothermal heat pumps

Profits Shrink as Markets Contract

Builders in last year's Giant 400 hit profit benchmarks that may last.

Selective Slump

The housing downturn that engulfed the largest builders in 2006 left others, especially in Texas and North Carolina, relatively untouched. As a result, Professional Builder's 2007 Giant 400 rankings are remarkably scrambled from those of a year...

Texas (Can't) Hold 'Em

Texas builders are climbing the Giant 400 rankings, especially when they don't venture too far outside their home state.

Product Review

Corban Homes

Products builders won't build without.

ProBuilder Product Report: Insulation and Housewrap

Included from the May 2007 edition of Professional Builder magazine are products to keep houses dry during construction and warm during those cold winter months.

ProBuilder Product Report: New Products

Featuring the latest innovations from top building industry manufacturers.

ProBuilder Product Report: Roofing and Siding

Appearing in the May 2007 issue of Professional Builder magazine, here are a few roofing and siding products available from Crane, Owens Corning, Royal Moldings, CertainTeed and others.

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Reference Library

Enter the Professional Builder 2013 Design Awards

Be a part of the annual Professional Builder Design Awards and see how well your...

Professional Remodeler's 2013 Market Leaders

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

15 design trends for kitchens & baths

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

Project Spotlight: Kitchen countered

Normandy Remodeling converts confined kitchen into sprawling galley.

5 bathroom design trends for 2013

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

6 kitchen design trends for 2013

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

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