Saving Costs Residential Architect “Now more than ever, architects who hope to increase their market share must respect their clients’ limits. More importantly, they need a clear understanding of costs, a process flexible enough to adjust as the project evolves, and the creative know-how to do more with less.” Pending Home Sales Rose 10.4% in [...]

We recently talked about smaller home construction outlasting the current recession. Obviously finances are a concern for many people right now (think of the heating bills on those McMansions!) and a smaller footprint just makes sense. An article called “Downsizing the American Dream” on USA Today gave some more specifics: According to leading architect Sarah [...]

Here’s a question from the Wall Steet Journal: If a city is shrinking and plagued by high unemployment, should it still earn the label of ‘most affordable’? The troubled city of Detroit was anointed that dubious honor on Wednesday by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC., which released a report comparing the asking prices for four-bedroom, [...]

According to Professional Builder, there’s another reason that houses are becoming smaller and cheaper: first time home buyers. Professional Builder points out that 8.4 million households bought a home between 2007 and 2009. And how many of them were doing it for the first time? 41 percent. That’s a very significant minority. It stands to [...]

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 [...]

The Mortgage Mess’s Dirty Details Smart Money “The housing crisis is far from over. U.S. house prices remain about 30% below their mid-2006 peak. More than 3% of mortgage holders are in foreclosure, and another 9% are at least 90 days late on their payments.” Connect the Lots Big Builder “As the housing market fell, [...]

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 [...]

This week’s Builder Blog post examines what the next ten years will bring for building trends, practices and products. New ideas and technologies will be shaped by consumer needs and wants for the home, builder preferences and societal trends. The environment will have a say, as well; as our growing population requires more resources and [...]

The Home-Buyer Tax Credit May Have Actually Worked Developments Blog by WSJ “Did the last round of the home-buyer tax credit have a bigger impact than analysts had previously anticipated? When it comes to new home sales, the answer may be yes. Consider that U.S. existing home sales ran at an estimated seasonally adjusted rate [...]

Economist: Housing Crisis to Linger for Years Detroit Free Press “The housing market won’t hit bottom until the third quarter and a true turnaround in new home-building is not foreseen until 2013, key economists said today.” Is bulldozer the best option for some boom-time housing? Local Address Blog by the Washington Post “Douglas Duncan, vice [...]