PB March 2005

In a study of more than 400 consumers nationwide that are either owners of newly constructed homes or prospective buyers of the same, researchers found that 49% of the target consumers, presented with at least one home technology option, made a purchase.

Las Vegas may soon look like Manhattan, with condo skyscrapers rising up out of the flat desert. The question is, can traditional single-family home builders make a living in a town like this? That's not an idle inquiry — because Las Vegas may not be so different from other housing markets across the country, perhaps just a few years ahead.

When you're walking a land parcel before acquisition, don't forget to look up...and remember the story of one land owner who moved a little too fast for his own good in an attempt to capitalize on Southwest Florida's red-hot land market. Last year, Mark A. Borinsky, 39, of North Port, Fla., sold a parcel for two and a half times his original investment of $59,000.

Fifty members of Connecticut's home building industry attended a pilot event in November to learn how to sell homes with the ENERGY STAR® rating, how to approach customers about building an energy-efficient home and how building energy efficient homes can increase their sales. Sponsored by United Illuminating Company, a Connecticut utility company, lighting retailers and manufacturers who'...

At this year's International Builders' Show in Orlando, national sales trainer Bonnie Alfriend, MIRM, president of Alfriend Sales and Marketing Solutions, Pebble Beach, Calif., presented advice for putting sizzle back into selling in 2005. Titled "105 Ideas for the Year 2005," her seminar included the following tips: When relying on technology to communicate, don't forget the personal touch.

Operating expenses, as a percentage of sales revenue, should be going down in the robust markets we see across the country today, but instead they seem to be moving in the opposite direction, and that's not the sign of a well-managed company. Our target for operating expenses is 18% of total sales revenue from home building operations.

At a recent groundbreaking ceremony, Paramount Homes, Asbury Park, N. J., gave press members something they could really work with — clipboards emblazoned with the builder/developer's new community logo and phone number. This take-home gift not only served as a handy way to take notes and quotes during the event, but also reminded reporters of the community and contact number long afterwa...

The vast majority of candidates change jobs for the right reasons. Rarely is it a knee-jerk decision. The first installment of Change Agents (January, 2005 PB), talked about several factors that motivate an employee to make a change. Money is one of element, but rarely is it the deciding factor. Money shouldn't be the factor, whether you are on the employer or the employee.

It pays to protect the environment. The Warwick Grove master plan in Warwick, N.Y., boasts a diversity of wildlife, including federally protected bog turtles that roam the marshy outskirts. When the state of New York requested developer-builder LeylandAlliance protect the slow-moving but wide-ranging amphibians, the company called upon Michael Klemens, Ph.

In this column, Gary Grant — who just retired from Pulte's Minneapolis Division — imparts his lessons learned from 40 years in the industry