PB January 2006

For years, builders have used traditional lumber to build homes, but ever since engineered wood products came into the picture, builders have been left wondering, Which one do I use for my projects? 

 

Everyone's abuzz about the J.D. Power home builder rankings, and rightfully so. Regardless of your personal stance on the data, more potential home buyers are making it part of their research prior to making a buying decision. And if they're not, you can bet the salesperson of any well ranked company is bringing it to their attention.

The problem with plan According to the builder, Juniper Hill is currently selling at $425,000 in Charles Town, W.V. Although the plan currently has some weak spots, the price needs to increase when built in the next location, Loudoun County, Va., which means the plans need to be adjusted to make this happen.

 Find out about five home builders that get customer satisfaction right.  If you have not yet spent time on the J. D. Power public Web site and perused the rankings by builder and by city, you should. The data is both fascinating and revealing.

No matter the size of the home, the kitchen is indisputably the hardest working room in the place. Gone are the days when having plenty of counter and cabinet space was the primary concern for potential home buyers. Top design experts and builders from across the country agree that these days, people expect, and are getting, more performance from their kitchens than ever before.

A lot of home builders are giving themselves heartburn by insisting on more survey responses when accurate results can be obtained from a much smaller number of returned questionnaires. Why the focus on quantity vs. quality?

Communes conjure up notions of sharing common spaces, resources and socio-political interests with a similar group of cohabitants. But collaborative housing, or cohousing, strikes a balance between privacy and community. Homeowners share common areas that may include a dining room (where optional communal meals are shared two or three times a week), kitchen, meeting rooms, recreatio...

KB Home and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announced a joint collaboration on the design of new homes. The first community designed by the two will take place in Cary, N.C. and will feature approximately 650 homes. The community will include single-family homes, ranging from 1,500 to 4,100 square feet and priced from the low $200s to the mid $400s.

Welcome to the end of no-haggle pricing. The last couple of years builder model homes have been like Carmax or Saturn lots. Buyers show up. Salespeople quote a price. Everybody agrees. No haggle. No hassle. It's been great, hasn't it? Salespeople as order takers. Those days seem to be ending. Salespeople are actually going to have to sell.