On Friday, this blogger had the chance to attend a forum at the Builders Association of the Twin Cities about women in the building industry. It was a fascinating topic about an underrepresented group. According to the National Association of Women in Construction, women make up only 10 percent of the industry. Amazing! So why [...]

We often think of homebuyers as consisting of couples or families, but there’s a new brand of buyer out there and she has often has purchasing power to burn. According to MSN Real Estate, single women now account for a quarter of home sales, and that number has risen since the mid-90s. So what are [...]

Green Building Goes on a Budget Wall Street Journal “Casa Feliz is one of a growing number of affordable-housing projects nationwide that have been built “green”—that is, with nontoxic materials, highly energy-efficient appliances, and features such as green roofs and solar panels. Thanks to tax credits designed to attract private capital and aggressive cost-cutting on [...]

Remodeling Magazine asks this provocative question: Are you a professional? Here’s a snippet of their argument: “These remodelers may earn a wage for what they do, but is there any profit earned to compensate them for the risks they take in owning and running a company? If the business is not earning a profit the [...]

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 [...]

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Home builders, who aren’t selling too many homes these days, appear to be using their downtime to sharpen quality and service.” It makes sense. Without the housing boom engine powering sales, builders all over the country have to re-tool their plans. Of course, we’re not saying that a few [...]

Last week, we asked how important “green” is to your business and your customers. This week, a post from Charles & Hudson’s Green Building site shows that green building is on the rise. C&H cites a thorough report from NPR that examines the trend and the impact of LEED-certified construction. While much of the U.S. [...]

Here’s some Monday morning fun for you homebuilders out there! Wood, stucco, brick…just some of the regular materials that regular houses are made of. Of course, shelter and home can come in any number of forms. MSN Real Estate recently listed a few. Here are our favorites. Converted churches: Soaring ceilings and gorgeous light. Airplanes: [...]

A couple of interesting items on the Wall Street Journal’s “Developments” blog delve into recent data showing a huge drop in home sales based on last month’s data and what impact — positive or negative — the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit might have had. The first piece explores whether the tax credit might have been [...]

The iPad seems to be everywhere these days. It’s new, it’s cool and its innovative construction could make it very useful for…construction. As technology has advanced, so have the opportunities for builders. When laptops became lighter and more transportable, it was easy to throw it in your bag on the way to a jobsite. And [...]