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News & Moves: July 10, 2008

Can't keep up with the ever-changing housing industry? We're here to help

Jennifer Powell, Staff Writer
July 10, 2008
GIANTS

Sidebars:
Building Materials Trend Skyward
Congress' Proposal: Is it Enough?
Former Fed President Gives His Outlook
TOUSA to Get New President

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida still has to approve it, but if cleared, John R. Boken will become the CEO and president of Technical Olympic USA. Boken was previously the chief restructuring officer of TOUSA and is currently a managing director at Kroll Zolfo Cooper. He specializes in restructuring and providing crisis management services to financially distressed companies. Antonio B. Mon, the current CEO and president of TOUSA, will remain in his position as executive vice chairman of TOUSA's board of directors through Dec. 31.

Steve Scharnhorst, President & CEO
Excel Homes Aims for Oxford Homes

Excel Homes plans to purchase the assets of a modular home manufacturer in Oxford, Maine. Oxford Homes, the modular home manufacturer, halted production earlier this year due to the downturn in the housing market. New builder partners and those currently working with Oxford Homes will now be served by Excel's AvisAmerica division. The purchase means Excel can develop its presence in New England.

Stan Ross Appointed the First Distinguished Fellow

Stan Ross is the retired vice chair of Real Estate Industry Services for Ernst & Young and former managing partner of Kenneth Leventhal & Co. He's also chair of the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate and can now add the title first distinguished fellow to his name; he was appointed as such in the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development.

In other news, the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate has named Richard K. Green, Ph.D., as director and Lusk chair in real estate. Green is director of George Washington University's Center For Real Estate And Urban Studies in Washington, D.C., and a former economist with Freddie Mac.

Ronald Yuter
Shelby Homes Adds New Team Members

Shelby Homes has a new member on its management team. Ronald Yuter joins the team as the chief operating officer and senior vice president for Shelby Homes. Yuter will work with Robert Shelley, president and CEO of Shelby Homes. Yuter's new responsibilities include product development; sales and marketing; construction; purchasing; and customer service departments.

Jack Short at Shelby Homes has been promoted to CFO and executive vice president. Short has been with the company for more than nine years. Short will oversee all the financial, forecasting, internal operations and administrative issues of the company.
 

Building Materials Trend Skyward

Don Magruder, vice president and general manager of Ro-Mac Lumber & Supply in Ocala, Fla., started measuring the movement of residential building materials prices in the spring of 2005 with what he calls the Whole House Commodity Index. Builders throughout Florida watch it closely. That index peaked in November 2005 before heading into a long decline to the bottom of the cycle in March this year. But since March, the trend line is almost straight up.

"It's a snapshot of all the basic commodities needed to build a no-frills, 2,250-square-foot frame house on a 3-foot stem wall," Magruder says. "We set it up that way because we straddle the line between markets that are mostly frame and those that build mostly with concrete block. So we measure nearly equal amounts of framing lumber and block, as well as trusses, doors, windows and roofing — but not mechanicals. We're measuring Florida building costs, but these price trends are really national.

"Since March, prices have gone straight up because suppliers have reached their limit," Magruder says. "One of the largest in America told me, 'We must cover our cost, and if we can't we won't sell.' Oil prices are crunching down on everyone, and there's no end in sight. We may not have reached bottom on prices for existing homes and foreclosures — but we've passed it on new houses."

The high point for the index was $28,692.71 in November 2005, and the low was $22,554.05 in March 2008. But by June this year, it was already back up to $24,306.12 and headed toward earth orbit.

Lock in materials prices if you can, and tell your fence-sitting sales prospects they'd better jump before it's too late.

Congress' Proposal: Is it Enough?

NAHB Housing Economist Michael Carliner doesn't think the Frank-Dodd proposal is enough to get the housing market out of the current meltdown, but Democratic Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., says it's the first step. The Frank-Dodd proposal is a plan in which new mortgages are issued by banks instead of their buying up old ones. Watch these interviews from Bloomberg TV on the situation: Part 1 & Part 2.

Former Fed President Gives His Outlook

Watch this exclusive interview with former St. Louis Fed President William Poole from Bloomberg TV. He discusses his concerns for the economy and the Fed's actions to fix it. Poole offers his thoughts on inflation and how to prevent it.

© 2008, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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