You’re a builder. So what do you do? You build! And that’s probably where you concentrate most of your energy and attention. After all, it’s your skill and knowledge as a builder that make you valuable to your clients, right? But wait — exactly who are your clients and what do they want? BUILDER recently talked about [...]

On Thursday, we learned housing starts dipped 16.5 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 853,000, according to the latest figures from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. The drop marks the lowest levels since November. If the housing market is recovery like so many say it is, what should one make [...]

As building pros, you know almost everything there is to know about the building world and building products. But your residential customers? They might not be as up to date. And by the time they come to you, the level of knowledge and expertise they have can vary wildly. Some have researched carefully and know almost everything. Others [...]

A team of top architects and designers have been busy at work on the first-ever HGTV Smart Home, a high-tech luxury home built on Paradise Key South Beach in Florida (just south of St. Petersburg.) The location of the home is important because the constant threat of destructive hurricanes forced the design team to think [...]

Ask anyone outside of the building industry the last time they stepped foot in a brand new home and they may need to pause and think. Surely for some, it’s been quite a while. The housing bubble burst nearly six years ago, and only recently has new construction picked up. It’s worth noting the design [...]

Picture your next clients. They are young, bright-eyed first-time homebuyers and they are eager to break ground. They know exactly what they want — inside and out — and all of their financial ducks are in a row. There’s just one thing: They are not married. Data proves young adults are getting married and starting [...]

Chances are few builders actually identify themselves as “green builders,” but given the way energy efficient solutions have flooded the marketplace, it seems every builder is  building greener homes these days — intentionally or not. Call it circumstantial expertise or specialty by default. Building, in general, is bustling with exciting new “green” products and materials. [...]

Hola, bonjour, guten tag and hello! Here’s a question: Do you speak more than one language? We’re guessing the majority of our readers are native English speakers, but depending on where you live, being able to speak another language could come in very handy. Because we all have lives and jobs, though, it can be [...]

In anticipation of a frenzied building season, the National Association of Home Builders is trying to get the word out to buyers they can afford a higher-priced new home. Based on data from the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2011 American Housing Survey, its possible buyers can afford a new home [...]

As a building professional, you have expertise in a field that affects, well, basically everyone. Construction is vital to communities big and small, which is why it earns so much media attention. Surely, you’ve seen or read these stories in your community. The reporter will introduce a trend (“New homes are popping up left and [...]