| News2Use |
The first legislative victory of the 109th Congress — long-awaited reform of the nation's class action laws — was also a big win for the nation's home builders. President Bush signed the "Class Action Fairness Act of 2005" into law on Feb. 18, shortly after it cleared the House and Senate.
It's easy to get caught up in waiting for the other shoe to drop...After all, it's been more than 12 years since the last major recession in the housing industry. So it should come as no surprise that more than a few people started running for cover when the U.S. Commerce Department reported a plunge of nearly 18% in March housing starts.
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| In My Own Words |
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If you own a small production building company and want to learn how to make a big splash in your market — against the competition of much larger firms — take a look at what Sabal Homes did with the Tradewind model at MiraBay, a master-planned community on the eastern shore of Tampa Bay, Fla.
One of Destination Homes' models in the master-planned community of Daybreak — in South Jordan, Utah — hits buyers' hot buttons in a way that deserves scrutiny. Daybreak spans 4,126 acres within the western part of the Salt Lake Valley and is surrounded by the Oquirrh Mountains. What's unique about this community is that it is not a collection of miniature neighborhoods built by different builders.
Generations ago, the Breyer family built a large estate outside of Philadelphia on the profits from countless gallons of ice cream. Area kids who "screamed for ice cream" years ago now clamor to own a luxury town house on the estate's last remaining acreage. Since the late 1980s, the site had been developed with mid-market town houses and mid-rise apartment projects.
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| PATH Report |
A way to build better and faster — what's not to like? Builders are finding there's a lot to like when building with advanced panel systems. Panelized wall systems are prefabricated building panels that form a structural "envelope" for the home, eliminating the need for conventional wood framing.
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| Build |
Building science is a systems approach to home building that considers relationships between a home's components and its environment. The goal of building science: to optimize occupant health, comfort and safety; maximize energy efficiency and structural durability and reduce builder and contractor callbacks.
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In Lancaster County, Pa., an hour's drive west of Philadelphia and bristling with suburban expansion, builders, regulators and the general public are recognizing that growth is inevitable and sensible planning is needed to address it. For decades the county sought to foster a local version of smart growth.
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| Learn |
Financial Management - Parts 1, 2, and 3 discussed the importance of setting up a solid accounting system to accurately measure what has happened in the past so better decisions can be made in the future. Previous articles in this series have also stressed the importance of long-term financial planning as well as setting business and personal goals.
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| Lessons Learned |
With the exception of me, not many people in the building industry still quote quality expert Dr. W. Edwards Deming. But then I have long been accused of being out of step with the accepted wisdom of home building — a label that I treasure. I had the extreme good fortune of getting to know Dr. Deming during my days as the one and only home building member of the Detroit Deming Study Group.
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| News2Use |
The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that Florida will edge past New York into third place in population by 2011, while California and Texas remain in first and second places. That's big news in the political arena — since it will re-shape distribution of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives — but it comes as no surprise to home builders.
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