Sunday, May 16, 2010
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Did you know that May is National Remodeling Month? Since the downturn in new residential construction that began in 2007, the media has been focusing on the number of new starts as the key indicator of the health of the residential construction industry. But focusing on the number of starts ignores an increasingly important component of residential construction ? remodeling.
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| Posted by Chuck Miller at 6:20 PM |
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Friday, March 05, 2010
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For the past five months (September 2009 through January 2010), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has risen 0.2% per month. Building materials prices are an exception to general inflation trends, which appear to be tame.
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| Posted by Chuck Miller at 12:10 PM |
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Monday, February 08, 2010
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The headline read ?Construction Worker Rated the 8th Worst Job.? Being a Builder who started out as construction worker, I just had to investigate further. Here is what I found.
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| Posted by Chuck Miller at 11:26 AM |
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Monday, January 25, 2010
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Welcome to the second in my series of blog posts on the Business of Building. We started Part 1 with a quiz. I asked what the average Net Profit for a Builder is in a normal market. The correct answer was C. 3.7% to 8.7%. That was based on the National Association of Home Builders 2004 Cost of Doing Business Study. Here is today?s quiz.
In 2008, what was the average Net Profit for a Builder? Was it
A. 11.0% to 20.0%
B. 14.4% to 15.1%
C. 0.0% to 4.4%
D. -3.7% to -1.4%
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| Posted by Chuck Miller at 1:28 PM |
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Thursday, January 07, 2010
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For the 80 percent of home buyers who need a mortgage to buy a home, the two major factors that determine affordability are mortgage interest rates and house prices. It appears that many buyers have been waiting for home prices to fall further while hoping that mortgage interest rates will remain at their current lows hovering around 5%.
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| Posted by Chuck Miller at 2:17 PM |
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Friday, January 01, 2010
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Welcome to the first in my series of blog posts on the Business of Building. Let?s start with a quiz.
In a normal market, what is the average Net Profit for a Builder? Is it
A. 21% to 30%
B. 17.3% to 20.9%
C. 3.7% to 8.7%
D. -5% to 0%
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| Posted by Chuck Miller at 2:55 PM |
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Thursday, December 24, 2009
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The median size of new homes in the U.S. increased from just over 1,500 square feet in 1973 (the first year the Census Bureau began tracking new home size) to 2,309 square feet at its peak in 2007. The median size has declined almost 10% since then. Will the trend to smaller-sized homes persist?
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| Posted by Chuck Miller at 8:00 AM |
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Monday, December 21, 2009
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The median size of new homes in the U.S. increased from just over 1,500 square feet in 1973 (the first year the Census Bureau began tracking new home size) to 2,309 square feet at its peak in 2007. The median size has declined almost 10% since then. Will the trend to smaller-sized homes persist? Let?s consider the rising cost of energy.
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| Posted by Chuck Miller at 10:36 AM |
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Friday, December 18, 2009
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The median size of new homes in the U.S. increased from just over 1,500 square feet in 1973 (the first year the Census Bureau began tracking new home size) to 2,309 square feet at its peak in 2007. The median size has declined almost 10% since then. Will the trend to smaller-sized homes persist? Let?s consider Immigrant Households.
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| Posted by Chuck Miller at 1:23 PM |
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