Builder Confidence on Rise in January
For Residential Pros
“The National Association of Home Builders is reporting that builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family continued to climb for a fourth consecutive month in January, rising four points to 25 on the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released Wednesday, January 18. This is the highest level the index has attained since June of 2007.”

The Lean Designer: The best way to prepare for a plan review
Housing Zone
“As many of you know by now Professional Builder is holding three days of plan reviews by some of the top designers and architects in the country during the International Builders Show. I am honored to be part of that group and very much look forward to the event. Here are some juicy insider tips to help you take advantage of the opportunity…”

Seven Steps to Choosing the Perfect Circular Saw
Fine Homebuilding
“We recently reviewed 14 sidewinder circular saws and found seven features that separate the good from the not-so-good. Let’s take a closer look.”

 NAHB Builder Confidence Index increases in October
Calculated Risk
“The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports the housing market index (HMI) increased in October to 18 from 14 in September. Any number under 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as poor than good.”

How new energy codes could affect every remodeler
Professional Remodeler
“A home is an investment. The value of that investment is determined by the housing market. Energy efficiency equates to lower operating costs. Lower operating costs means savings and that savings makes a home more desirable to potential buyers, thereby increasing the value of a home as an investment.”

9 tricks for creating a super model
HousingZone.com
“Believe it or not, if you look closely, you’ll see that some of the world’s most enduring super models have a few things in common with successful model homes.”

Summering in Style in Scandinavia
Wall Street Journal
“From the spectacular setting of Max Hansson’s seaside estate to secluded clearings in the middle of the forest, Gotland has become a prime destination for Sweden’s high-end second-home buyers and builders, who want to personalize their vacation settings.”

The New Customer Isn’t Different
Qualified Remodeler
“Everywhere you turn these days there is advice about how to handle the new (post-recession) customer. Be on your toes, on your knees, between your ears. But are they—the same folks you did business with before the recession—really that different? I wish the proponents of this new, improved customer handling would explain how and, more importantly, why these same people are somehow different now.”

Pending Home Sales Rose 10.4% in October
New York Times
“The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its index of sales agreements for previously occupied homes rose 10.4 percent in October. Contract signings were up in every region of the country except the West.”

40 Perspectives on the Decade Ahead
Qualified Remodeler
“Qualified Remodeler queried readers about what has changed and what hasn’t. The results presented here paint a picture of remodelers adapting to change — as they have always done. Interestingly some basics haven’t changed; tried-and-true methods and strategies are still favored in many cases, but other methods seem to have fallen by the wayside, their effectiveness diminished by changing lifestyles and economic realities.”

Housing Still Awaits Its Happy Ending
Wall Street Journal
“Housing is a different story. October new-home sales sank 8.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of only 283,000, just off record lows, while existing-home sales slid 2.2% in October to a 4.43 million annual rate.”

An article called “Downsizing the American Dream” on USA Today gave some more specifics:

• According to leading architect Sarah Susanka, “The whole glow of bigness kind of wore off all of a sudden.” Home square footage is now at a median of 2,100 square feet and could conceivably continue to drop.
• The rooms in a home are now rooms that people use; no need for separate formal living and dining rooms.
• Flexible space — with a few exceptions, a room is a room is a room. Space needs to grow and change with homeowners. Maybe that game room for the kids can become a home office for early retirement consulting that can be changed to a home theater for the grandkids.
• More focus on creative design — small doesn’t have to feel small.
• People are moving away from large expanses of lawn that need to be watered, mowed, raked and shoveled. Community green space in new housing developments is gaining in popularity.

What do you think of these assertions? Are you seeing them in your projects? Will this affect your future business?

Homebuilder sentiment rises slightly in November
USA Today
“The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday its monthly index of builders’ sentiment edged up in November to 16, the highest reading since June.”

Economist group expects slow growth in housing
Professional Remodeler
“Most analysts surveyed are expecting a “sizable advance” in housing starts in 2011, NABE reported. They also are predicting an average home price increase of just 1.2 percent.”

Shadow Inventory of Homes Rising
Developments Blog (Wall Street Journal)
“The “shadow inventory” of unlisted bank-owned homes and potential foreclosures increased to 2.1 million units in August, up 10% from one year earlier, according to new estimates from CoreLogic, a real-estate research firm.”

Sub-Zero/Wolf Shares Kitchen Design Trends
Residential Architect
“Kitchen appliance manufacturers Sub-Zero and Wolf have collaborated with three notable designers to identify current kitchen design trends and predict future directions for the space that has become the heart of the home. New York–based interior designer Jamie Drake, Chicago-based kitchen designer Mick De Giulio, and Atlanta-based kitchen designer Matthew Quinn joined together to analyze kitchen designs entered into Sub-Zero and Wolf’s biennial Kitchen Design Contest, track the design trends illustrated therein, as well as through their own practices, and pinpoint potential evolutionary developments that may yield future trends in kitchen design.”

Socially Connected Remodelers
Daily 5 Remodel
Remodeling professionals talk about their experiences with social media.

Can We Build in a Brighter Shade of Green?
New York Times
“A so-called passive home like the one the Landaus are now building is so purposefully designed and built — from its orientation toward the sun and superthick insulation to its algorithmic design and virtually unbroken air envelope — that it requires minimal heating, even in chilly New England. Contrary to some naysayers’ concerns, the Landaus’ timber-frame home will be neither stuffy nor, at 2,000 square feet, oppressively small.”

Product Pros and Cons: Asphalt Roofing vs. Metal
BUILDER
“The roof is arguably the most important surface in a home, perhaps even more essential than the exterior walls. As the most exposed plane, the roof has a mammoth task. It’s under constant assault from the sun and rain, and, if leaky, could result in thousands of dollars worth of direct repair as well as ancillary damage. Still, a roof is one of those things that many consumers don’t think about until there is a blizzard, hail storm, or rainstorm.”

Right-sizing Your Price: How Architects Are Tweaking Fee Structures in a Touch-and-Go Economy
Residential Architect
“To sustain their businesses during what likely will be a long, slow recovery, some firms also are getting creative with their pricing, without cutting too deeply into their profit margins. Call it phase two in the survival of the fittest: When overhead is cut to the bone, the only thing left to flex is the fee.”

Please let us know which sites you find the most informative, and feel free to post any of your favorite blogs or twitter accounts in the comments section!

Twitter Accounts:

NAHB Green –  “The National Green Building Program offers resources & tools to help builders, remodelers, home building associations, and homeowners learn how to build green.”

NAHB Remodelers –  The National Association of Home Builders has its remodeling experts keep you up-to-date on what is new in the remodeling industry.

Green Intel – Christine Costa, Sustainability Practice Leader, tweets on environmental issues. Check out her blogs as well!

Sarah Susanka -  Architect and best-selling author of “The Not So Big House” comments on architectural trends, the homebuilding industry and why bigger isn’t always better.

Blogs:

Construction Informer – This blog, geared toward the construction industry, is an excellent place to find quality information and discussion about building. Topics covered range from products to processes, finance to industry news.

Build Intel – “Marketing experts [with construction/homebuilding industry expertise] share their views on the building industry.”

Matt Rinsigner’s Blog –   Homebuilder Matt Risinger writes a very informative blog with his first-hand experience in the business.

Constructonomics -  “[This] blog covers everything in the architecture, engineering, construction and real estate industry and focuses on economics, leadership, and management. Constructonomics tries to provide readers with valuable and useful content that is also quite fun to read. ”

Ebuilders -   “From flooring to roofing and everything in between, find valuable technical advice and design ideas to ensure your success and boost your pride of ownership.”

The Handy Guys Podcast -  Two avid DIYers share their experiences working around the house. Q&A, tool tests, how-to’s, the works!

A Design Makeover for Affordable Housing
NY Times – Real Estate
“A design revolution has taken place in affordable housing since the 1980s, when the federal government essentially stopped building income-restricted apartments. The featureless red-brick monoliths are gone — replaced by stylish buildings that resemble market-rate condominiums, with expensive finishes, attractive lobbies and landscaped grounds.”

Are Forestry Groups Talking to the Wrong People About the Green Wood Certification Fight?
ProSales Online
“The forestry community is scoring headlines from its campaign enlisting governors, members of Congress, and ordinary citizens to persuade the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to open up its LEED wood-certification standards. But that effort raises a so-far unanswered question: Why spend so much money and effort persuading people who don’t have a say on the issue and focus instead on the people who do-USGBC members?”

Affordability Remains Housing’s Biggest Challenge
Builder Online
“The rate of job growth will determine the pace of recovery for a housing market whose prosperity could also depend on how it provides more affordable and sustainable options to the diverse buyer segments likely to drive the industry in the next decade.

That is the familiar refrain that the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University reiterated on Monday morning at the Ford Foundation in New York City, where it presented “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2010,” its annual analysis of where America’s built environment was, is, and might be headed.”

U.S. Average House Size Shrinks in 2009
Big Builder Online
“The average size of a new single-family house shrank significantly from 2008 to 2009, the census figures show. Nationally the average decrease was 51 square feet, to 2,422 square feet.” The Wall Street Journal Developments Blog also comments on this trend here.

Job Growth is Key for Housing Recovery
Residential Architect
“According to the JCHS report, the housing recovery will hinge on employment recovery. Historically, high employment rates have driven both existing-home purchases and new-home purchases. Unemployment is at an all-time high, and as of April 2010, 6.7 million workers had been out of work for six months or longer.”

Demand for Windows Forecasted to Rise
Pro Sales Online
“Demand for windows in the United States will reverse a four-year slide in 2010, climbing 10.5% to 43 million units and then continuing to rise steadily through 2013, a research group working for two major trade associations has forecast.”