The American Institute of Architects’ recently published report on top home design trends offers an interesting glimpse into the American homeowner’s mindset. Affordability — making practical renovations and additions more so than flashy and perhaps unnecessary ones — is key, the report finds, though homeowners are certainly not shy about investing in features and products [...]

Home Builders Likely to Consolidate, Merge WSJ Developments Blog “The likelihood of acquisitions among the public homebuilding companies has increased for five reasons. New home sales are slow and not recovering; executives sound discouraged on earnings calls; builders are focusing on grabbing market share; general economic outlook, especially for job growth, has gotten worse; and [...]

Replacement Housing Services specializes in full replacement and renovation of homes for move-up buyers who value urban living. Each project is supported by extensive research and analysis covering everything from the selection of the building site to the architectural fit within the neighborhood and community, as well as the current and future lifestyle needs of [...]

In 2004, Potomac Yard Development, LLC (PYD) collaborated with the City of Alexandria to execute a mixed used project, developing 167 acres on the edge of Alexandria, Virginia, into a walkable, urban community.  This now thriving neighborhood is enhanced by its unique town center, convenient office and retail space, affordable housing and 24 acres of [...]

The Web is full of valuable information about green building, home improvement, the housing market and first hand homebuilding experience and more. Today, we thought we would weed through some of those resources to compile a list of some of our favorites. No list like this could be comprehensive, but you should find some of [...]

Two recent articles from Twin Cities-based news site MinnPost have focused on the future of the urban landscape — on the suburban one, too. The first viewpoint comes from Richard Florida, author of the book “The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity.” In a nutshell, he believes that when [...]

The New Remodeling Rules WSJ – Personal Finance “According to an April 15 report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, annual spending on remodeling is expected to accelerate this year, with nearly 5% growth over 2009. This year could produce the first annual spending increase for the industry since 2006, the [...]

Greenhaven. The name of this home is meant not only to evoke peaceful green glades but also reminds people of its green credentials. Greenhaven is located in Marietta, Ga., in the Chelsea Landing neighborhood. Chelsea Landing is the first green neighborhood in East Cob County. The design of Greenhaven homes was conceived by Pace Homebuilders. The “Green [...]

A recent Newsweek article by Cathleen McGuigan discusses the phenomenon of iconic architecture and experimental design that was fostered by the economic boom of the late 90s. Now, as we climb out of the recession, architects seem to have learned the lesson along with the rest of the population: bigger, more extravagant building isn’t always [...]

An Oak Park, Ill., home was recently featured in USA Today’s Green House blog. It’s a beauty: a painstakingly built home that doesn’t seem new. It fits comfortable into its traditional neighborhood, and as Green House notes, “A passerby would be hard-pressed…to pick it out.” Nonetheless, the home is very modern in its energy efficiency: [...]