PB August 2011

Strong design that satisfies home buyers’ desire for indoor/outdoor living and a single-family feel helps set these multi-family housing projects apart.

Professional Builder's House Review design team presents four creative ideas for right-sizing single-family detached homes.

Last month J.D. Power and Associates exited the home building industry. And it is not known whether they will be back when new-home construction recovers. But after more than 10 years of bringing its brand of third-party customer-satisfaction measurement to home building, the company clearly opted for greener pastures.

Seven in 10 building industry professionals now use social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter for business purposes, according to new research by Professional Builder.

We profile three home builders that took very different paths in creating highly successful customer satisfaction programs. Learn how a perennial power went from good to great; how a startup achieved success from the get-go; and how an underperformer went from abysmal to admired.

What does it take to build a Lean culture with your suppliers and trades, and how does it impact their business and yours? 

Many managers spend more time researching the purchase of office equipment than on hiring their representatives. New-home sales management expert Bob Schultz offers 10 steps to ensuring you hire only the best of the best

Professional Builder recently sat down with Taylor Morrison President and CEO Sheryl Palmer to discuss the firm's acquisition, growth opportunities, road to profitability, and land strategy. Here's a recap of the conversation.

Each year, the Professional Builder staff teams with the editors of Professional Remodeler to evaluate hundreds of building-industry products introduced during the previous 12 months to come up with our 101 Best. Besides learning about what’s new and cool in residential construction products (like smog-eating roof tile!), the judging process allows us editors to spot trends in design, construction, product technology, and consumer preferences. Here are a few observations from the 2011 competition.

Super models and award-winning model homes have more in common than you might think. Here are nine essential elements from the world of high fashion that will take your model homes to the next level.