Builder articles from December 2001

Builder archives from December 2001

Special Achievements: Our daily business life is marked by innumerable successes and failures. (Editor's Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... EVERYONE LIKES TO WIN. AND AS BUSINESSPEOPLE, WE compete every day. Sometimes we compete privately, other times very publicly. At BUILDER, we're often in the position of sharing in the elation of a builder who opened a community over the...

A Farmer's Point of View. (BMail).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... I AM WRITING IN REGARD TO YOUR ARTICLE "SINS OF THE FARMERS" (May, page 272). I am a North Dakota farmer's wife and live on a farm that has been in the family for 100 years. I found the title of your article to be very offensive and...

Calendar. (Bookit).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... JANUARY 2002 9-12 World of Concrete and World of Masonry, New Orleans This year's events include Action Exhibits, the Test Track, Mega Demos, and the Concrete Alley. In addition, the exhibit hail will feature more than 1,500...

Haggling Holiday: Wheeling and dealing on home prices is back as housing market softens. (Sales Prices Fall).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... PSST! HEY BUDDY, WANNA BUY A NEW HOUSE? When the going gets tough, builders get creative. As the economic slowdown that began before the events of Sept. 11 worsens, builders are working with increasingly skittish buyers who are demanding...

Financial Faliback. (House Blend).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... Facing a mandate from investors to shutter money-losing operations, real estate research and consulting firm The Meyers Group is closing seven offices in high-growth metropolitan areas. Founded in 1985 as a one-man operation in Del Mar, Calif.,...

Coming to Terms. (House Blend).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... FORCE MAJEURE: Contract term meaning "major force" used for clauses related to non-avoidable delays or failure to perform a contract obligation in time. Usually used in relation to weather, labor disputes, or unavoidable incidents.

Economic Advice. (House Blend).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... NCHI-The Supplier 100 of the NAHB CEOs met with Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Oct. 23 in Washington. The major suppliers provided the chairman with their viewpoint on the economy.

Hold Out Your Palm. (House Blend).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... Voice recorders, digital cameras, modems, keyboards--even cell phones--are among the plethora of accessories that broaden the uses of palm operating system (OS) devices. The Handspring palm OS device incorporates a springboard, a molded port...

Economic Puzzle.(Illustration)
December 1, 2001... ECONOMIC PUZZLE A mixed bag of results finds Admericans have recession fears but no plans to quit spending Percent of those polled who 52% 47% think the United States is entering a recession. Percent of those...

Holy Infill. (House Blend).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... In an effort to revive inner-and edge-city parishes, Cardinal Adam J. Maida, Archbishop of Detroit, is on a crusade to stop sprawl in his region. As the Archdiocese's top priority in this multi-year campaign, it plans to curb Michigan's...

Downtown Digs. (House Blend).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... First came the Metro, retail, restaurants, and the MCI center, now the residential component is completing the equation in a formerly down-and-out part of Northwest Washington. AvalonBay Communities' $50 million Gallery Place project will house...

Newspaper Nosedive. (House Blend).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... An August 2001 online poll by Inman News uncovered some interesting changes in real estate marketing. Where newspaper was king in the past, online and promotional efforts are now taking first place in lead generation. RELATED ARTICLE:...

Freedom of Speech. (House Blend).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... On August 8, outside the NAHB headquarters in Washington, six protesters rallied against NAHB staffer, Ken Ford. They demanded Ford resign from his vice-chair position at Pacifica Radio, a public radio network. According to the protesters, Ford...

Mold Tops Builder Concerns: A tally of builder and homeowner inquiries shows that both groups have become keenly interested in learning about mold. (Housing Hotline).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... EACH MONTH, THE NAHB RESEARCH CENTER IN Washington fields and records housing-related calls from builders, homeowners, and others from all over the country. In the process, it often discovers that builders and homeowners have the same issues on...

Punch List: Builder's editors pick the best, worst, and most intriguing ho using-related news. (House Blend).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... SHOWERS TO GO: Kohler Co. delivered a custom-made mobile showering unit for rescue workers at New York's ground zero" World Trade Center site. Nine shower stalls and four sinks were customized in a massive semi-trailer for hot showers, private...

Play It Safe: Natural disasters and intentional threats like bio-terrorism add to the list of reasons to build safe rooms. (Hide Inside).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... CREATING A PLACE OF SAFETY IN ANY HOME can be as low-cost and low-tech as using rolls of plastic sheeting and duct tape to temporarily seal a room. In new homes, however, the best refuge plan is to build a dedicated safe space-a specially...

Older Webheads: Senior real estate readers move to the Web. (Aging Grace).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... IS THE INTERNET ERODING NEWS-paper use? Results of a national survey by Newtonville, Mass.- based Content Intelligence, say yes. Most chilling was the 52 percent of respondents in the 55-year-plus group, the last bastion of strong newspaper...

Down, Not Out: Rebound expected in new-home orders. (September Slump).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... ORDERS FOR EIGHT OF THE LARGEST publically traded home builders declined 21 percent in September as the slowing economy began to gnaw away at the still strong home building industry. "All things considered, this could have been a lot...

Helping Hand: Builders commit $10 million to help Sept. 11th victims. (Insidestory).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... SEVERAL OF THE NATION'S LARGEST home builders have established a million relief fund for victims of the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks. So far seven companies have donated $1 million each. The funds will be used to support the families of those...

New Boss: Centex Homes names new CEO. (Insidestory).(Andrew Hannigan )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... DALLAS-BASED CENTEX HOMES HAS promoted president and COO Andrew Hannigan to the position of CEO. Robert Hillmann will take over as COO. Both promotions are effective April 1, 2002. Hannigan, 49, has served as president and COO of Centex...

Computer Glitch: Software alliances sues California home builder in case that could affect other builders. (The Straight Dope).(Business Software Alliance files a lawsuit against The Forecast Group)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... In a move that could slam other home builders, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has filed a lawsuit against The Forecast Group, a Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.- based home builder, alleging infringement of Microsoft software programs. "This...

Olive Accents. (Top shelf).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... OLIVE OIL IS GOOD FOR YOU, AND SO TOO MAY BE THE LINEA Oliva collection of knobs and pulls. Not only will these renditions of the olive branch spiff up your design center; they'll provide unique accents in your buyers' homes. Eight knobs and...

Around the Corner. (Top Shelf).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... CREATE A ROUTE STRAIGHT TO THE TOP WITH THIS 19.2-VOLT CORDLESS ROUTER. Equipped with a 23,000 rpm, 600-watt motor, the model 9290 router weighs 7 3/4 pounds and comes with an interchangeable base system. Its flattop design allows the user to...

Palm Padded. (Topshelf).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... SOMETIMES, PLAIN OLD PEN AND PAPER WORK BEST. AND now with the SmartPad2, your handwritten notes and drawings are instantly transferred to your handheld. The zippered portfolio contains a 5-inch-by-8-inch notepad, an infrared port that...

A Cut Above. (Top Shelf).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... WAVE GOOD-BYE TO ACCIDENTAL FINGER cuts with the FingerSaver SteelEdge ruler. Featuring a non-skid base and a curved aluminum guard to prevent lacerations, the ruler is lined with a straight steel insert that, according to the maker, allows for...

Inspector Gadget. (Top Shelf).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... STICK THE FLEXIBLE PROVision fiber optic scope where the sun doesn't shine--inspect problems behind walls and other hard to reach places. To help you see in the dark, the fully adjustable, 18-inch, watertight scope features a 2.5-volt lamp that...

Hot to Trot. (Top Shelf).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... FOR THE COOKING CONNOISSEUR IN SEARCH OF A QUICK CASSErole, Dacor offers the Microwave Convection Oven, model DCM24. With the push of a button, this 900-watt, 1 1/2-cubic-foot microwave bakes, broils, and combination roasts and bakes, the maker...

Punctured Profits: With the economy slowing home builders must sharpen their pencils to protect profits. (Business Break).
December 1, 2001... IT'S BEEN A GREAT RUN FOR HOUSING, and maybe it's not over but is simply moving sideways. However, with unemployment edging up, industrial production sluggish, consumer sentiment waning, and the events surrounding the Sept. 11 tragedies...

Hammering Away: Housing starts are stronger than anticipated, stocks rebound. (Vital Signs).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... AN ENORMOUS HORDE OF EAGER economists continues to put forth erroneous reports filled with egregious errors that all but demand the last solid pillar propping up the economy--the housing industry--stifle its hammers and hang up its tool belts....

Wide Open: Manufacturers push for builders to close on garage door upgrades. (Products).
December 1, 2001... "WHY DO WE HAVE TO CONSTANTLY fight this nickel and dime battle with the builder?" asks David Osso, garage door marketing manager for Mt. Hope, Ohio--based Wayne-Dalton. After some consideration, Osso says price is the major factor that forces...

Lobby Leverage. (NAHB Briefs).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... The NAHB met with Interior Secretary Gale Norton to discuss implementation of the Endangered Species Act. Norton says policy has shifted in how the agency performs economic analysis in designating critical habitat. More areas will be excluded...

Housing Holds. (NAHB Briefs).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... In October, the NAHB chief economist David Seiders joined chief economists David Berson from Fannie Mae and David Lereah of the National Association of Realtors to discuss the post-Sept. II housing economy. All predicted housing to maintain...

Smart Growing? From day-to-day operations to antiquated practices, growth guide effects change. (From the President).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... THE MOST IMPORTANT PLANNING document in almost a century will soon make its way to the nation's 50 state legislatures and, for better or for worse, may have a significant effect on growth and development for decades to come. The American...

Don't Worry: Concerns unwarranted about the budget surplus or social security. (Seiders Economy).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... BACK IN AUGUST, THE CONGRESsional Budget Office (CBO) projected a federal budget surplus of $176 billion for fiscal year 2002. This projection consisted almost entirely of a surplus generated by the Social Security trust fund rather than by the...

Relief Rises. (NAHB Briefs).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... The NAHB's Home Builders Care Victims' Relief Fund has now received more than $9 million in contributions. Established by the NAHB and its philanthropic arm, the National Housing Endowment, all funds will assist victims and their families of...

Reserve Upheld. (NAHB Briefs).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... At its fall board of directors meeting, the NAHB emphasized support of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. (LIHTC), and its requirements that properties financed by the program reserve either 20 percent of the units for households earning 50...

Craft Lauded. (NAHB Briefs).(Community Restitution and Apprenticeship Focused Training)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... Recently, the full House approved H.R. 3061, the FY 2002 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill, including praise for the Home Builders Institute's Project CRAFT (Community Restitution and Apprenticeship...

House of Cans Aids Needy: Award-winning home-show display feeds 150 families. (Home Builders Care Corner).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... THE BLACK HILLS HBA of Rapid City, S.D., built its third annual neighbor- hood of "homes" out of purchased and donated food at its October Home Improvement Expo in the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City. "What is donated through...

Territory Treasures: Arizona's Old West heritage, ancient ruins, and unique Sonaran climate inspire the new Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... THINK FOR A MOMENT ABOUT America's luxury home communities. The merely successful evoke comfort and history. But the truly legendary communities do more than that: They simultaneously cast our memory backward while shooting our imaginations...

Plans Online: WWW.eplans.com Makes Project Planning as Easy as 1, 2, 3.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... WWW.EPLANS.COM provides builders and homeowners a simple, easily accessible way to streamline one of the most challenging stages of building a home: choosing a house plan. By providing fast and easy-to-navigate options, the process of selecting...

Fitting In: Appease the Nimbys with appropriate designs, and they might not even know you're there.
December 1, 2001... STOP; LOOK AROUND; CONSIDER YOUR SURROUNDINGS carefully. This is good advice in most situations in life, but in the business of in file, development it can mean the difference between a sweet margin on a hot project and a boot in the backside...

Holy Grail: Medieval meets early American Prairie in this compact forest home.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU CROSS Walden Pond with King Arthur's castle? A custom home nestled deep in the woods of the central Midwest, where one can just imagine the king holding court in the central hail while old Henry revels in peaceful views...

Open File: This is the third installment of our Generation-X files in which we further scrutinize research findings. And, although Builder's data predates the tragic events of Sept. 11, experts agree our conclusions remain valid.(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... WHAT STARTED SEPT. II Disturbed us all. For GenXers, there is no parallel; Sept. II will be the generation's defining moment, like the Kennedy assassination and Vietnam were for Boomers. However, housing experts agree that these events may have...

Virtually There: Virtual tours would make a great addition to any builder's Web site. The question is: What type should you use?
December 1, 2001... DON'T EXPECT VIRTUAL TOURS TO REPLACE model homes. Models, which convey a sense of quality to buyers, will probably always reign supreme, But virtual tours have their place as a complementary tool. In fact, offering virtual tours at your sales...

Call Quantifier: Online call tracking service helps builders target their advertising. (Tech Tips).(Who's Calling)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... AS BUSINESS GETS TOUGHER, EVERY LEAD becomes more valuable," says Fred Wright. That's fine with him. Wright is president of Who's Calling (www.whoscalling.com), a Kirkland, Wash., company that tracks calls made to toll-free telephone numbers....

Get Plugged. (Web Site of The Month).(GetPlugged.com)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... GetPlugged.com is a very interesting e-commerce site for home theater and home audio. Typing in your zip code links you to a local integrator. If you're planning to install a home theater or audio system, you enter the physical dimensions of...

Expansion Plans. (Web Site of The Month).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... Starting next month, BUILDER will expand its technology coverage. While our new BUILDER Tech section will still cover tech hardware, it will now show you how to use the Internet to manage your business as well. We will profile tech products,...

Partners. (Web Site of The Month).(ITT Industries Ltd.)(Home Director Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... In October ("New Video Twist," page 232) we profiled the new DiLan system from ITT Industries, which uses Category-5e wiring and RJ45 telephone-type jacks for data, voice, and video. ITT had planned to introduce the system to the United States...

Broadband Update. (Web Site of The Month).(Parks Associates)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... One-third of U.S. dial-up Internet subscribers want to upgrade to broadband service in the next 12 months, according to Parks Associates' latest consumer study, "Bundled Services & Residential Gateways." Additionally, 28 percent of broadband...

Cool Customer: The thermostat that ate a Long Island blackout. (Tech Tips).(New York. Long Island Power Authority)(Carrier)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... ONE GOAL OF WHAT'S BE-ing called the "connected home" is control of home systems via the Internet. This summer, a New York electric utility proved that goal's practicality not only to homeowners, but to the community. Most people in the...

Coax on Steroids: A new technology promises to rev up an old wire. (Tech Tips).(Narad Networks)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... LAST MONTH WE PREDICTED THAT BUILDERS would soon have no option but to run fiber optic cabling to every home in a development ("Need for Speed," page 126). Now a Westford, Mass., company wants to prove us wrong. The issue is bandwidth, or...

Biosphere 2, Oracle, Ariz. (Walkthrough).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... TEXAS BILLIONAIRE EDWARD P.BASS AND FRIENDS CONCEIVED Biosphere 2 as an autonomous life-supporting replica of Biosphere Earth. Their airtight 7.2-million-cubic-foot greenhouse (91 feet tall) encompassed 3.15-acres of "Biomes" and a...

Show and tell: Once again it's time for the International Builders' show and a chance for you to learn new ways to succeed in this competitive environment. (NAHB Letter).
December 1, 2001... ALWAYS THE MOST IMPORTANT event of the year for America's housing industry, the NAHB's International Builders' Show takes on added importance in 2002 as a powerful reminder that our country has survived the nightmare of Sept. 11 and emerged...

Atlanta housing tour.(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Whether buying into a piece of history downtown or sharing a north Georgia mountain with the spirits of Indians, Atlanta home buyers are showing a marked preference for moving into the city or out-far out. And, Atlanta builders have kept pace....

Show time! Set your sites on the International builders' show.
December 1, 2001... THE NAHB ONCE AGAIN, IT'S ALMOST TIME TO take a break from your hammers, saws, and blueprints and take a trip to Atlanta for the 58th annual International Builders' Show convention and exposition. Taking place in Atlanta's Georgia World...

Swinging for the Fences.(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Atlanta is talking loud but backing up its claim as the sports capital of the world. GARY STOKAN IS TRYING TO EXPLAIN WHY Atlanta is the sports capital of the known universe. "We hold the record for attendance at an NBA game," is the first...

A game plan: With crossed fingers, the industry moves forward. (Editor's Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... THEY SAY IT'S NEARLY IMPOSSIble for two economists to agree on a forecast, so it seems that history was made when not only two, but three of them concurred that the housing industry would soon bounce back. The upbeat outlook flew in the...

Hanging tough: Economists express optimism, with some caveats. (Economy 2002).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... BUILDERS CAN EXPECT TO SEE slower home sales as the year comes to a close, but the trend won't last long. By mid-2002, most housing economists agree, Americans will begin to recover their appetite for new homes as the economy puts 2001's...

From the top: Big builders' take on the year ahead. (Leadership 2002).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... WHAT DO I WORRY ABOUT? KEEPing my employees happy and content, given what's going on. This is when good training pays off: It makes people feel more secure to be a part of a team. We believe that our strategy of lower price points and...

Style guide: Five design trends will dominate production housing in the year ahead. (Design 2002).
December 1, 2001... IT'S NO SECRET THAT INVESTING in good design makes good business sense. The popularity of the streamlined new Volkswagen Beetle, the hip discount department store Target, and the snazzy Virgin Atlantic airplanes clued us in during the 1990s,...

Growing pains: A new phase of technology greets builders next year. (Technology 2002).
December 1, 2001... WHITHER THE DIGITAL marketplace? Coming right at you in the guise of older, wiser, and more practical applications. "If you think of the 1990s as the dazzling childhood of a prodigy," explains acclaimed technology writer and industry...

Reach out: Connecting with anxious buyers will get trickier in the year ahead. (Marketing 2002).
December 1, 2001... IT'S A FACT OF BUSINESS LIFE: buyer expectations keep rising, and builders have to work harder and more creatively to meet them. If marketing stakes rise each year, they will take a huge leap next year. Why? Because builders will be slugging it...

House rules: Good and bad news about next year's bills. (Legislation 2002).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... BUILDERS AND DEVELOPERS can expect to encounter many of the same battles on federal, state, and local levels as they did in 2001. Smart growth and environmental issues remain atop the list, along with something unfamiliar in recent years:...

Knock on wood: Builder stocks could survive 2002 relatively unscathed. (Stocks 2002).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... FOR PUBLIC BUILDERS, 2001 was a very good year, all things considered. As low mortgage rates and strong consumer confidence in the first two quarters kept home sales high, builders saw record backlogs and earnings per share growth of roughly 30...

Ups and Downs. (Top 20 Markets 2002).(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2001... Faced with everything from airline layoffs to water and transportation issues, the top markets are ending the year showing a good deal of promise but with the same uncertainty that dogs the nation as a whole. Of the top 20 markets, 16 will...