PB November 2003

Indirect construction costs are part of the construction process and are overhead but can't be tied to individual houses.

Most developments use a conveyance system to transport water off site through a series of pipes and into a local waterway. Increasingly, however, public officials and developers want to use rainwater as a resource.

To stimulate traffic after a slight summer downturn in the Houston market, Sienna Plantation waived Sienna Golf Club's $3,000 initiation fee for anyone buying a Sienna home, plus buyers received for free a $1,000 birdhouse.

Inland Homes Group builds mainstream housing with an average sale price of $210,000 and uses franchising agreements to define a business relationship.

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.