Are more homeowners ready to sell? Listed “The latest data from Realtor.com found that the number of homes for sale increased 2.36% from February to March. While that doesn’t indicate a stampede of sellers, it may be a sign that at least sellers are ready to quit sitting on their hands.” Construction Groups Criticize Limits in Guest Worker Deal [...]

As a building professional, you would probably never recommend that the average homeowner do their own plumbing, frame their own walls or attempt to install their own windows. The pros know best, right? So do you hire professional photographers for your own projects? These days it seems like everyone is an amateur photographer. DSLR cameras [...]

Referrals can be everything to a business. There truly is no greater compliment than to have customers so happy they recommend you to their friends and associates. So how do you build up referrals? Professional Remodeler has some ideas: Do a good job! Without this piece of the puzzle, building referrals is useless.  As a remodeler, your clients are [...]

Positioning your business for 2013 Housing Zone “We interviewed a number of top remodelers about how they are positioning their business in 2013, and the top challenges and opportunities they expect to face. We asked them to reveal their keys to a successful 2013.” Australian Banks Try to Stimulate Home Building New York Times Here’s [...]

Confident consumers spur retail, remodeling hiring USA Today “The economy added a better-than-expected 171,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday. A healthy portion of the additions came from sectors, such as retail and construction, that were lagging but now are benefiting from a more bullish consumer.” Right Away, Housing Challenges for Obama BUILDER [...]

Wood, Mortar, Magic New York Times “Their particular — and, frankly, peculiar — building method is called cordwood masonry. And in a three-day workshop over Labor Day weekend, they will again demonstrate its earthy alchemy. That is, how to create a masonry wall with short lengths of exposed wood in place of the usual brick [...]

Last month, Time declared that the housing market was on its way to recovery. Here are some reasons they came to that conclusion: Multifamily housing has had a recovery. It’s a good time to be a landlord, and rental rates are high and vacancies are low. After the multifamily housing sector has recovered, prices will supposedly stabilize [...]

Dear Builder’s Engineer: Advice for My Son Builder “Dear Builder’s Engineer, You write a lot about business savvy. I’m nearing retirement and want to pass along my design-build company to my son. What is the one most important piece of advice you would give in this situation? Frank R., Spartanburg, S.C.” Big Homes Are Back [...]

As we all know, there are a lot of houses on the market that could stand to be remodeled. What if you were to take a leap into the real estate market and buy up these houses? It would be risky, but the rewards could be great. ForResidentialPros.com offers some great tips for this situation: [...]

We know you love your work, but it’s a job, and we all want to be paid for our labors. According to a Business Insider survey, two-thirds of contractors want to be paid with a credit card, as opposed to cash or check. Consumers tend to prefer it, too, because it offers some extra protection. [...]