Jan 2 2009 12:00AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

In the December issue of Professional Builder, I penned an editorial about the role of government in the housing industry. (See here) Many readers responded, and some of them wrote incredibly thought-provoking messages. 
It didn't seem fair to me that I would be able to broadcast my ideas to the whole market, but those readers, could only respond to me. (Even if we published some of the letters, we couldn't publish all of them and they would have to be edited for length.)

So, I thought we'd use my blog as a forum for discussion. Click Here...Read More

Dec 13 2008 12:00AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

I got a call yesterday from a builder in South Carolina who was inquiring whether Professional Builder had ever done a story on selling homes using a Certificate of Deed or as Rent to Own. We haven't unfortunately. However, I thought it would be a great to engage our readers. So, anyone out there got some advice? Tried to do it? Had success? Identified pitfalls. Enter your comments below and let the world know.

Dec 12 2008 1:17PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

I've been reading about GM a lot recently because of the proposed bailout for GM and Chrysler. Last weekend, Micheline Maynard did a great article in the New York Times (see here) about how GM swapped innovation for profits. And in Fortune magazine, Alex Taylor III wrote "GM: Death of an American Dream" (see here) about his three decades of covering the corporate giant. His conclusion? A corporate culture that fought innovation killed GM.

Clearly, the company that doesn't innovate can't survive. T...Read More

Nov 11 2008 9:42AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

At the Professional Buillder Benchmark and AVID Leadership Conference, keynote speaker Terry Jones, founder of Travelocity, dug into a couple of builders' websites and raised an interesting question. "Why," he asked, "do we name our models the way they do?" From a web visitor's perspective, the names are meaningless.

At first, I said, "Nah, you don't understand. Builders are trying to create an environment and an atmosphere surrounding their homes and communities, and those names are essential to conveying it." Then, I thought, he's right. Here's the problem.

Most of a builder's prospects first get introduced to the...Read More

Nov 5 2008 3:56PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

I have been ensnared by the presidential election, spending ridiculous amounts of time watching polls, reading blogs, pouring over newspapers. Now it's over, and I can only say one thing.  Whew!

What are your thoughts? Is the electorate's decision good for home building? Good for builders? Good for the economy? A complete disaster in every sense? Comments, please.

Aug 4 2008 3:51PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (5) |

I received an anonymous note today from a new-home sales professional who has obviously had enough of some of his company’s management practices. There was a lot of emotion in the letter, which is natural given the tough times we’re facing, but buried beneath that emotion were some specific ideas and advice for management.

Now, I’m not normally one to give credence to an anonymous note (and please don’t send me any more assuming I’ll be your clearing house for grievances against management) but I thought there were some good ideas, so I’ll summarize his points below.  

1. Education – Please allow sales people time off to take classed offered by the NAHB. Up to four days per year helps keep the edge and – this

...Read More

Jul 30 2008 8:59AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

David Hill, one of the leading lights of the home building industry, passed away last Saturday. Dave founded Kimball Hill in 1969 and grew the company to be one of the largest privately held home building companies in the country.

There's little I can say about what a fine man Dave was that hasn't been said elsewhere. Here's a link to the Chicago Tribune obituary. Here. But for a truly wonder testament to him, read Bill Lurz blog entry. Here.

Jul 29 2008 12:48PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Today the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index came out and showed a 15.8% decrease in May home prices compared to a year ago. The index is measured across 20 markets and this decline represents the 22nd consecutive month in which there have been declines.

While all of that seems like bad news, I think these are positive things for home builders. First, we know prices have to come down to bring buyers back. They won't go shopping if they think they can get a better deal next month, so let's get this thing bottomed out quick and get those buyers back quick!

Second, the rate of decline has begun to decrease since the steep drops at the beginning of the year. The first sign of a move to a recovery is the nega...Read More

Jun 6 2008 12:44PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (6) |

Last week, I attended a 1-day conference by Hyphen Solutions in Irvine, Calif. The focus of the conference was to look at ways builders could improve the efficiencies of their supplier relationships so they can control costs. The typical way builders do this is by asking suppliers to cut costs, but that seems a horribly erratic way of achieving improved efficiency. 

Ken Pinto, national purchasing program manager for Standard Pacific, displayed a chart that showed how productivity in construction labor has declined over time, which I've shown here. That, to me, was a real eye opener. While the chart is a little old -- the last year measured was 2004 -- the point is substantial. In comparison to every other sector of the U.S. economy, our little section of the world is becoming less productive. Ha...Read More

Mar 28 2008 8:21AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

We just added a new function to HousingZone.com -- a daily video feed on the home page. Get the latest housing news from around the country through this feed we'll update every weekday morning. Whether it's national economic news reported on Bloomberg or a local report on what's happening in Mobile, Ala., you can track the news you want with these concise nuggets.

Mar 5 2008 9:28AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

We just learned that one of our Best in American Living Award winners was one of the houses burned in Woodinville. It was a fabulous project and Grey Lundberg of CMI Homes in Bellevue is, according to Senior Editor Sue Bady, devastated by the loss. I posted a couple of pictures here, but if you want to see more of this great home, go here. It's called Urban Lodge.

Mar 5 2008 6:26AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Every year, Professional Builder collects information about the 400 largest home builders in the United States. Given the current housing market, we expect this year's numbers to be considerably lower, and we're asking everyone to fill out a survey. Who knows where number 400 may fall. It might be you.

We also would ask you to fill out a survey no matter what happened to your company last year. We all know it was a tough market. Let's get some solid aggregated information so we can see what's really happened to us.

Please go here to download a survey and return it. We need your info ASAP. Thanks.

Mar 4 2008 7:30AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

The fires set at a "Street of Dreams" project in Woodinville, Wash., yesterday represent the perversion of environmentalism and the green movement. Here's a local news report on the event here. 

 

ELF (Earth Liberation Front) took credit for the blazes, which destroyed several multi-million dollar homes, one of which had earned the NAHB Green Home designation. The ELF Dolts took exception to that claim. So they burned the homes. Now that's a good use of resources!

Now I certainly believe we need higher stan...Read More

Mar 3 2008 2:49PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

In the February issue of Professional Builder, I wrote an editorial that received as much feedback as any editorial I've ever written. You can find the article here. One of my main points is that the U.S. consumes resources at a per capita rate 32 times greater than developing countries, and we need to reduce that consumption. (It should be noted that in spite of the provocative title of this entry, I purposely did not equate resource consumption with global warming. That's a different discussion.)

What surprised me was the thinking in the emails I've received. I expect folks to disagree and -- sometimes -- agree with what I say. However, several writers seemed to think this rate of consumption was the fault of immigra...Read More

Dec 12 2007 1:18PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (3) |

In case you’re not familiar with the phrase, “Jump the Shark,” it comes from that famous episode of Happy Days when Fonzie is water skiing in his leather jacket. Danger arises in the untimely arrival of a shark. People on the beach are frightened, but Fonzie coolly jumps the shark and all is well.

 

The phrase now denotes th...Read More