PB November 2003

What has changed to make Art Rutenberg's curious eccentricity - franchising local home building businesses like fast-food restaurants - attract sudden interest across the country?

Land acquisition and development play prominently in the strategy of Ryland Homes’ Orlando, Fla., division, whose sales have doubled or nearly doubled for three years running.

Ceilings, the forgotten fourth dimension of home design, add value in many ways.

By far the most experienced franchiser, Arthur Rutenberg Homes also offers the deepest services, including the housing industry's benchmark computer system.

Until recently, landowners could sell wildlife lands to the federal government for a market value so fair it rivaled the profits from developing that land.

Add the Charlotte Ethics in Business Award, a local affiliate of the American Business Ethics Award program, to the long list of achievements by Charlotte, N.C., luxury kingpin Simonini Builders.

Rebuilding a damaged community demands teamwork and speed.

Dirttogo.com is a Web site to remember if you run into problems with too much cut or too little fill.

Tuckahoe Creek Construction not only won the Better Business Bureau’s local Torch Award in Richmond, Va., but also garnered honorable mention (second place) in the small-company category of the national competition this year.

Hopefully the rest of the financial world will note what housing lenders long have known: Housing production lending offers greater rewards and fewer risks than many other types of lending.