Archive for the ‘Home Building’ Category

Home Building Company Activities Accelerate in Tuolumne County

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

Tuolumne County, California is a good place for a home building company right now as the area recorded higher house construction activities in the past 10 months. Although house building in the area is still way below the level experienced during the housing industry boom, the number of activities is still better than year-ago levels.

Home data showed the county issuing building permits for 1,131 projects for the period January 1-November 16, 2010. The projects are estimated to have a collective value of $34 million, with 45 of the permits issued for single family dwellings that have a construction value of $8.4 million. Housing market analysts have stated that permits for the construction of single family dwellings give a reliable estimate of the building industry's condition.

Data for the permits included big projects like commercial construction projects and renovation of commercial structures and small initiatives like installations of water heaters and home improvement-related efforts. The current year's home building company permits are considered an improvement from 2009 when the full year total was at 1,025. Out of this number, 49 were issued for the construction of single family dwellings.

The Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority has reported that it is not only residential construction that has improved in the area but also commercial property building. Renovations are also rising among a number of commercial properties, including projects involving Taco Bell, Subway and Grocery Outlet. In addition, a store is reportedly being planned for the Mervyn's building located at the Sonora Crossroads complex. The project is expected to bring building permit totals even higher.

According to local officials, the increase signals an improvement in the building sector of the county, although they did admit that the area still has some ways to go in terms of recovering from the market slump caused by the huge supplies of foreclosures. They added that construction activities have risen primarily because developers are taking advantage of low costs.

Since fewer construction projects are available, a local home building company is usually forced to lower its bid, thereby providing a lot of incentives for developers to take the plunge. Local officials have also reported that the construction activity figure might even be higher if small projects that have not notified the county are to be counted.

Memphis Home Building Companies Adapt to Market Condition

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Most home building companies in Memphis, Tennessee have learned to adapt to the impact of the foreclosure crisis on the housing market. A big number of home builders are varying their designs and are opting for more functional home features instead of focusing on aesthetics.

According to local reports, most builders are choosing usable space over tall roofs, while others install laminate countertops and not the more expensive granite. Vinyl floors have also become much preferred over hardwood that could increase the price of a home considerably. Still others are building smaller houses to make sure that the price stays within the $271,000 mortgage limit imposed by the Federal Housing Authority.

For those who continue to build larger homes, they try to lower the price by offering sparse amenities to buyers and keep the selling price at $150,000 or less. Such techniques have been adopted by majority of home builders in the city and this, according to home building industry observers, have resulted in most firms having the ability to cope with the housing market downturn and the recession. Some have even recorded profits despite the economic downturn.

These efforts exerted by local home building companies are being rewarded by recent increases in new housing sales. According to the latest housing market figures, a total of 100 new houses were sold in March 2010 compared with the 31 dwellings sold in March 2009.

April 2010 saw the city selling 96 newly built dwellings compared with 61 in April a year ago. June 2010 totals were at 134, with June 2009 total at 44, while July 2010 saw 126 residences being sold compared with the 77 total posted in July 2009. So far, building permits for 2010 total 437, a figure that is considerably higher than the whole 12-month total of 385 recorded in 2009.

According to some home builders, this improved condition in the house building industry shows that most buyers are realizing that the prices of dwellings will not get any better and it would be better to make a purchase now instead of later. They also stated that the coping strategies used by most home building companies in Memphis have worked to keep most of the firms in business despite the recession.

Confidence of Home Building Construction Industry Dropped in August

Friday, August 20th, 2010

The National Association of Home Builders has reported that builders' monthly confidence index has declined in August 2010. This marks the third month in a row that the home building construction industry shows a lack of belief in the housing market. The index dropped to 13, making it the lowest score since March of last year.

According to industry observers, the poor economic condition of the country and the onslaught of cheap foreclosed dwellings that have discouraged people from purchasing new houses both played major roles in the industry's declining confidence. The score of 13 is way below the confidence threshold of 50. April 2006 was the last time builders' confidence index reached over 50.

The continuous decline of industry confidence was primarily blamed by analysts on fewer homebuyers investing in new residences. This is despite the fact that mortgage rates are at record lows and prices of residential properties have stabilized in most markets, allowing people with good credit history to qualify for loans. Analysts explained that the reluctance of homebuyers to make purchases is primarily due to high unemployment rates and stricter credit rules. In addition, home prices are expected to decline again in the coming months.

Most home building construction industry members believe that the confidence index will remain way below 50 unless the condition of the job market gets better. Majority of consumers are wary of making any residential purchase with the housing sector exhibiting a weak recovery and the job market remaining in poor condition. This sentiment is highly evident in the home building activity for June which recorded its lowest level since the start of the fourth quarter of 2009.

For the small number of people who are buying homes, most of them opt for cheap foreclosed dwellings, making hardly any contribution to the house building sector. A survey of homebuilders showed how much foreclosures have hurt the residential construction industry, with 90% of respondents blaming foreclosures for the industry's woes.

The confidence of the home building construction business is expected to continue to decline for the rest of the year, with analysts predicting that the only way the confidence index will improve is for the job market to show some positive movements.

Home Building Contractors Warned by Authorities

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

A recent conviction is of great interest to home building contractors all around the country. At the Middlesex Superior Court, new home and renovation contractor Peter DeGennaro was convicted of fraud in five counts and another five counts for embezzlement.

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Sidney Code for House Building Provides Financing Advantages

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

The process of house building in Sidney, Montana involves several steps and one of these is acquiring a building permit. Based on local statistics, more than $80 million worth of building permits were issued by the area for commercial and residential construction between 1999 and 2009.

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Home Building Activity Remains Slow Nationwide

Monday, November 30th, 2009

The home building sector remains discouraged about the housing market and new home construction as of November, according to a recent survey held by the National Association of Home Builders. The NAHB index for home builders’ confidence dropped to 17 in November from the unrevised index of 18 in October. Before the housing crisis, the […]

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Building a Home in Georgia – Profitable for Niche Builders

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Building a home in some parts of Georgia, particularly in Somerset, Canton and other parts of Cherokee County, has been profitable for niche builders. These niche builders have been constructing homes for retirees in active adult communities that have amenities for homeowners aged 55 and above. Steve Romeyn, head of homebuilding firm Windsong Properties, said […]

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Building a Home the Green Way

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Nowadays, it is not enough that you think about you and your family’s needs when building a home. With the many campaigns to reduce energy consumption worldwide, you will also have to consider the environment’s as well. Lucky for you, there are a lot of home builders who specialize in this particular home construction. You […]

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Home Construction Industry Confidence Declines This October

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

Confidence of the home construction industry has declined by one point this October to 18. This is according to the most recent Housing Market Index report from Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders. One of the reasons for the decline is the nearing expiration date of the tax credit program. For the […]

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Mississippi’s House Building Industry Goes Green

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Joining the “green revolution”, Mississippi’s house building industry has started to incorporate environmentally-friendly features into new home and building designs. Jackson-based company, Residential Advantage, is just one of the new breed of home builders which specializes in such field. For the company, building greener homes is considered to be a part of their responsibility to […]

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