As more builders face labor shortages, they’re starting to look for new and faster ways to train more workers.For example, the Colorado Homebuilding Academy, a nonprofit organization, opened this year to offer a free eight-week “boot camp” to help increase the builder labor force. The course is founded and funded by Oakwood Homes, a homebuilder based in Denver that is owned by Berkshire Hathaway."Every single year, the labor situation has b
Lennar Corp. and CalAtlantic Group, two of the country’s largest residential builders are merging to form America’s largest home builder in a $9.3 billion deal. The merger will cover around 240,000 building plots or home sites in 21 states, and the combined company will have about $18 billion in market capitalization.Lennar and CalAtlantic operate in 31 of the same markets nationwide. CalAtlantic, however, will bring new markets such as Salt
realtor.comFarmhouse chic is all the rage in home decor these days, thanks largely to Chip and Joanna Gaines from "Fixer Upper," who play up this style in many of the homes on their show (Hello, "barndominium"). The recent news that "Fixer Upper" will soon be ending for good provides all the more reason to embrace this trend. Soon, it'll be all we'll have left of Chip and Jo! (Sniff.)But before you go all Beverly hillbillies on us, reme
Let’s say it costs $3,000 to make old hardwood floors look new again. That’s a lot of money, especially if your client is just getting the house ready to list. But of all the remodeling projects homeowners can do to increase the resale value of their property, refinishing the floors is at the top.Of course, no one can predict with certainty whether the investment will pay off, but recent research suggests it will have a big ROI—most likely
Vinyl is the most common primary exterior wall material on single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction data from 2016.Vinyl tops the list at 27 percent, followed by stucco at 24 percent, brick or brick veneer at nearly 22 percent, and fiber cement siding at 20 percent. Wood or wood products comprised just 4 percent, and stone, rock, or other stone materials make up only 1 percent of exteriors nationwide. Ho
Sales of newly built single-family homes rose 18.9 percent last month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. This represented the highest sales rate since October 2007, with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 667,000 units, after an upwardly revised August reading. Compared to last year, new-home sales are 8.6 percent above their level during the same period in 2016."New-home sal
As homeowners gain more equity, they are expected to continue heavily investing in home improvement projects and repairs through the third quarter of 2018, according to the latest Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity report released by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The LIRA index projects annual gains in home renovation and repair spending of 6.3 percent for the fourth quarter of 2017 and up to 7.7 percent by
The preferences of baby boomers and millennials are reshaping multifamily homes in urban areas, but the two generations don’t always agree on what they want in a home, posing challenges for developers who are striving to meet both groups’ needs. Buyers from both generations are sparking greater demand for condos, as baby boomers downsize and millennials look to purchase a starter property.Overall, both generations show a greater desire for sm
Projections for next year’s housing market are already underway, as 2018 could be seeing significantly more home renovations and repairs taking place.A report released today from the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University predicts a growing momentum in 2018 for money spent on remodeling homes. The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity finds annual gains in home renovation spending will surge
Homeowners who have embraced the “tiny home” lifestyle are discovering that it’s not so easy to find a place to put their property. Many tiny houses—usually considered to be between 100 and 400 square feet—are built on trailers with wheels so they can be towed, but zoning regulations in many cities don’t allow for temporary structures such as RVs or other movable homes. These laws also frequently specify a minimum size for a home or l
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