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 [...]

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 [...]

You Can’t, and Don’t Need to, Win Them All Builder “Just as real baseball fans don’t get too upset when their favorite team loses a game (it’s a long season!), followers of the housing industry shouldn’t dwell on month-to-month metrics.” Remaking the great room Professional Builder “Although the idea of a great room has been [...]

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 [...]

If you are a builder or remodeler dealing with multifamily housing, you know that building codes regarding size are very important. In high-density urban areas, people sometimes actually want smaller spaces — it’s greener, often less expensive and there’s less to clean. San Francisco might very well end up with the smallest-allowable apartments in the [...]

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 [...]

Two Big Builder Failures Show We’re Not Yet Out of the Woods BUILDER “Just in the last few days, in a reminder of how treacherous home building remains, two of the biggest companies in the business have gone under. First, Minnesota’s Rottlund Homes, during its heyday the 40th largest builder in the country, announced that it would liquidate. [...]