Jan 2 2008 11:09AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
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As I unbury myself from 10+ days of accumulated e-mail,  RSS feeds and other assorted information, here are a few things that have been catching my eye:

• Diana Olick at CNBC writes about the lack of sales going on right now at national builders. They key line for remodelers is probably the last one: "[B]uilders are now finding that the main barrier to sale is not price or budget. Instead, it is an overwhelming sense among consumers that homes are fundamentally a bad investment right now." If that's true (which you know I think it is if you've been keeping up with my blog), it follows that homeowners are also likely to see remodeling as a bad investment.
• Arizona's new law addressing illegal workers continues to get a lot of attention (read more here.) I spent the holidays in Arizona visiting my family and this is a huge topic out there. A lot of people are concerned about the impact this will have on the local economy. Some are claiming it's stopping national companies from moving into Arizona. Proponents point to the anecdotal evidence that many illegals are leaving the state as a sign of success, but are they going back to their home countries or just moving next door to New Mexico or California? I don't know the answers, but this should prove to be a good test of what these tough laws will do, for better or worse.
• Officials in Portland, Ore., are slowing down on attempts to impose tougher green standards after push back from builders and real estate agents. If the proposed standards are adopted, owners of existing homes would be required to disclose information on home performance to potential buyers. That could make for some remodeling opportunities as homeowners try to improve their energy efficiency before putting a home on the market.
• And this is just kind of funny: An attempt to build a "green" gingerbread house (thanks to my colleages Jay Schneider at Building Design & Construction and Sara Zailskas in our residential group for passing this on.)