Temperatures Rise, Utility Bills Drop
Only about 1% of the homes built nationwide in each of the past five years can be considered zero-energy, according to NAHB analysts. That holds true for Long Island, N.Y., where less than 1% of the 4,500-5,000 new homes built annually in the same period produce as much energy as they use. The owner of one of those new homes — in a part of the country where winter morning temperatures can typically hover in the mid-20s — pays $500-$600 a year for heating oil and nothing for electricity thanks to a photovoltaic system of solar panels on the rooftop. One of the reasons people aren’t building this way is that consumers don’t seem to be interested in the energy savings. “Energy is not a priority,” said Bob Wieboldt, executive vice president of the Long Island Builders Institute. And then there’s the myth that energy-efficient construction techniques and materials are unreliable and expensive. Finally, builders seem hesitant to try new materials. (www.newsday.com)
Newsday.com (1/20/05); Gary Dymski
Blaze Probe Shows Tie to Eco-Terrorists
A blaze set last Monday at a newly constructed 100-unit apartment complex in Sutter Creek, Calif., 45 miles east of Sacramento, could possibly be the work of an environmental group that may be responsible for at least two other acts of arson in the Sierra foothills in recent months, according to federal agents and local law and fire officials investigating the crimes. Seven firebombs were found at the site, along with graffiti associated with the eco-terrorist group known as the Environmental Liberation Front, or ELF, according to a spokesman for the FBI. The building’s sprinkler system prevented the complex from being ruined. The Joint Terrorism Task Force is offering a $50,000 reward for the identification, arrest and conviction of the perpetrators. (www.sfgate.com)
San Francisco Gate (2/9/05); Stacy Finz
Construction Theft a Growing Concern
Construction site theft is costing the residential building industry about $4 billion annually and increases the cost of an average home by 1.5%, according to NAHB estimates. “Front doors, toilets, bidets, Jacuzzis — they’ll steal about anything,” said Kris Ringle, chief superintendent for Calvert Homes, a Lake Ridge, Va.-based company that builds about 25 homes a year in fast-growing Stafford and Prince William Counties. Sheriff’s deputies in Loudon County, Va., report they took 347 construction theft reports last year, mostly for stolen kitchen appliances. The total value was more than $604,000. Items that have been reported missing in fast-growing Virginia suburbs in the Washington, D.C. area include three bathroom mirrors, custom-made and worth about $600 each; three chandeliers and seven pieces of trim for recessed lighting; moldings and cabinets worth $1,900; a box of Aristocraft cabinet knobs worth $160; and a copper roof finial priced at $1,300. Most thefts occur at night, but looters can be brazen, such as those who stole four decorative columns from the garage of a home under construction on a Sunday afternoon last summer. Doorknobs or stovepipes are typically pilfered by workers on site who take the products for themselves or to use them on another job. Some builders have installed surveillance cameras on some sites, but hiring guards is too costly to be an option. “It’s getting worse….The products that are being used are just extremely expensive,” says a local high-end builder. “It just makes it more enticing.” (www.washingtonpost.com)
Washington Post (2/10/05); Karin Brulliard
True Crime — Mapping Tools Help Apartment Firms Assess Their Risk
Crime mapping can be a helpful tool for apartment and hotel builders who are choosing construction sites. The service of one vendor scores a property’s risk for homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and car theft using police reports, FBI statistics, loss reports from the company’s own clients, and offender and victim surveys. Also included is information about the neighborhood such as the education and income levels of the population; how transient the population is; and what kind of housing surrounds the property. NIJ’s Mapping and Analysis for Public Safety Program allows police to plug in crime locations on a map indicating where culprits are likely to strike next; it is available for free at www.icpsr.umich.edu/nacjd/crimestat.html. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report collects crime data from 17,000 law enforcement agencies, revealing crime clusters in state, cities and counties; the report is available for free at www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm. (www.multifamilyexecutive.com)
Multifamily Executive (1/05); Sharon O’Malley
Yoga Rooms Are All the Non-Rage
Some 16.5 million people in the U.S. now practice yoga, according to a recent Harris Interactive survey for Yoga Journal magazine, and more than three-quarters of them spend some time doing yoga at home. “What we’re seeing more and more is people building the spa services they want right into their own homes with spaces such as yoga rooms,” says Heather McCune, editorial director of Professional Builder magazine. Finished spaces over garages, basements and spare bedrooms are all good candidates for yoga rooms. Model homes for Toll Brothers, the country’s largest builder of luxury homes, now feature a room off the master bedroom that they suggest using for yoga, mediation or Pilates. The finished rooms may appear sparse, but they can be luxurious. “No expense is spared in the materials, from wood floors with radiant heat to beautiful stone finishes,” says Los Angeles architect Alex Anamos of KAA Design Group, who is currently working on three homes that will have designated yoga rooms. (www.usatoday.com)
USA Today (1/28/05); Diana McKeon Charkalis
Home and Family: Shopping Around
About 15% of the nation’s homes now have billiard tables, up from about 5%-8% a decade ago, according to Gopal Ahluwalia, NAHB’s staff vice president for research. The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association expects to see a 6% increase in pool table shipments this year. With home-entertainment rooms now in vogue, manufacturers are hoping to expand their sales with models that make a design statement. Brunswick Billiards has introduced “Apollo,” a $3,500 bright blue table with steel legs and a black cloth-top, and “Genesis,” a cherry-red laminate table that costs just under $2,000 (at Brunswickbilliards.com). Contemporary styled tables can cost $13,000-$15,000 and even more (www.wsj.com)
Wall Street Journal (2/10/05); Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
Log Homes Offer Her New Path
Entering her 50s, Jane Sharpe decided to chuck her job as vice president of corporate communications and shareholder relations at People’s Bank to start a new career selling log homes in Connecticut. She is successfully involved with homes in the $150,000 to $1 million range; nationwide, the average price for a finished log home is $300,000. She says she works hard to debunk the common misconception that log homes are old, dark, unfinished hunting and fishing camps. In fact, they are year-round residences and many are multimillion structures, especially in the western states and Rocky Mountains, she says. The popularity of log homes has been growing steadily since the 1980s, according to Eric Fulton, of NAHB’s Log Homes Council. “There has been a growth in their popularity as baby boomers start looking toward their final homes,” he says. “Log homes remind them of their summer homes, and the idea of green building is appealing.” He said that 25,000 log homes were built in the U.S. in 2001, about 7% of all custom homes. They accounted for about 2% of the custom market in the 1980s, according to Sharpe. (www.connpost.com)
Connecticut Post (2/9/05); Ashleigh Egan
St. Louis Downtown Population Is Increasingly Single, Young and Growing
Downtown St. Louis is in for a housing boom next year, with the opening of more than 1,500 new residential units, according to a report by the Downtown St. Louis Partnership, a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the area. Residential development has focused on the renovation of historic buildings, the report says, but as those are depleted new construction will be needed to keep pace with growth. Recent developments downtown are trending toward a broader price range, aimed at residents with higher incomes who want more amenities. For example, the 24 units in Denim Lofts in what once was the Knickerbocker jeans factory are set to open in March of 2006; they will be 1,200-2,200 square feet and range in price from $175,000-$350,000. Residents in properties developed downtown since 2000 have higher incomes, the report found; 66% of them earn more than $50,000 a year and a quarter of them bring in more than $100,000. Since 1999, developers have invested $500 million in residential development downtown and the population has climbed 25% from 8,000 to 10,000. Fifty-nine percent of the housing units expected to open this year will be owned, compared to only about 10% for total downtown housing last December. (www.stltoday.com)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1/31/05); Tavia Evans
Growth Spurt in Big Homes; More Buyers Are Two Families Who Have Become One
Dennis Cleland, owner of D.C. Construction & Development in Los Angeles, which builds townhouses and single-family homes, says that about 60% of his business consists of blended families who are in the market for homes with several bedrooms to accommodate children from previous marriages. Blended families are a growing segment of the population that is helping to fuel interest in larger homes, according to NAHB. The New York City-based StepFamily Foundation estimates that in 50% of U.S. families one or both members of the couple have children from a previous marriage. Cleland says he doesn’t like to build a home with fewer than three bedrooms. “No matter how small the third bedroom is, even if it’s only 10 feet by 11 feet, bedroom count is the main thing.” Cleland says that he also designs homes with bathrooms that provide extra privacy. “In some of our homes, we’ll put the sink outside the toilet and shower area, so each bedroom has its own sink.” However, builders of larger homes aren’t just catering to blended families, he says; they are also responding to customers who desire prestige. (www.latimes.com)
Los Angeles Times (2/6/05); Chuck Green
One- or Two-Story Home? Weigh the Options
Affordable one-level homes in new subdivisions are getting harder to find, according to a report from NAHB. As of 2003, the share of new homes with two or more stories was 52%, compared to just 14% in 1970. “It’s simply economics,” says Shawn Luesse, a residential development expert for Coldwell Banker. “It’s cheaper to build a two-story house with the same square footage than a one-story house.” The two-story house requires a smaller foundation; the plumbing and heating can be “stacked,” making those systems less costly to install; and less land is typically needed. Some builders of two-story homes are responding to the desire for one-floor living by designing floorplans that reduce the need for stair climbing. For example, more builders are designing models with a master bedroom suite on the first floor and a laundry room nearby. (www.miami.com)
Miami Herald (2/6/05); Ellen James Martin
Appliance Makers Use Colors; Brighter Hues Such as Burnt Orange Are Seen as a Way to Stoke Up Sales
With manufacturers of large appliances experimenting with parts of the color palette rarely seen in kitchens and laundry rooms, it is now possible to get a washer and dryer in burnt orange. The colors themselves are getting bolder and more off-beat, going beyond blues and reds. Morice Equipment, a French professional cooking equipment manufacturer, is offering a stove in “British Racing Green.” At last month’s International Builders’ Show, Sears, Roebuck & Co. introduced Kenmore washers and dryers in “Sedona” and “Pacific Blue.” Stainless-steel appliance maker Dacor Inc. later this year plans to begin selling a double wall oven in colors such as pastel blue and pale green. The bolder colors come with higher price tags. Sears’ new Kenmore washers sell for $1,499, compared to $1,299 for a white version. The color appliances can also take longer for manufacturers to deliver. Shipments of the “big six” appliances — washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers and freestanding and built-in ranges — are expected to increase to 45.5 million units this year, up from 45.1 million units in 2004, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers estimates. (www.chicagotribune.com)
Chicago Tribune (2/5/05); Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Wall Street Journal
California May Reduce Housing Aid to Seniors
To help close his state’s $9.1 billion budget gap, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed scaling back a grant program that helps low-income senior and disabled residents pay their rent or property taxes. Under the proposal, the income threshold for the grants would be lowered to $13,200 from about $37,000 currently, and the amount of the grants — which do not need to be repaid — would be reduced. In 2003, about 628,000 households received grants averaging $291 under the program; 474,000 of them were renters. Under the governor’s new plan, those who do qualify for the grants would receive $96 on average. For home owners, Schwarzenegger is proposing the expansion of a separate program that allows seniors to postpone paying their property taxes, resulting in a lien on their house until it is sold or they or their estate pays. The loan would carry about a 2% interest rate. (www.sacbee.com)
Sacramento Bee (1/31/05); Alexa H. Bluth
Shhh! Home Devices Are Getting Quieter
Major appliance makers exhibiting at last month’s International Builders’ Show are responding to the public’s growing aversion to noise with products such as the 18-inch-wide Integra Vision dishwasher ($999) from Bosch that runs at 48 decibels, quieter than a normal conversation, which runs at about 65 decibels. KitchenAid’s quiet new Pro Line washer and dryer are 20%-25% quieter than “the quietest ones out there,” according to the manufacturer. Both machines have new rubber feet and the washer uses newly designed drain hoses that absorb sound, along with a new shock absorber around the drum and a new coating that surrounds the chassis. Consumers in test groups complained that General Electric’s new Monogram dishwasher ($1,249-$1,349) was so quiet that they couldn’t tell when a load was done. The new unit uses a small green light on the upper right corner of the door to indicate when the dishes are clean and dry. Jeld-Wen’s ProCore Quiet Door (filled with particle board and costing $150 pre-hung) transmits only half as much sound as hollow models and costs 20% more. Broan’s QT series fans ($80-$90) run “almost inaudibly” thanks to wider exhaust pipes and slower fan speeds, but because the bathroom is often in a public area of the house, “People want a certain level of noise as camouflage.” (www.miami.com)
Miami Herald (1/30/2005); Bradford McKee, New York Times Service
Engineering a Better Bulb
Scientists believe that zinc oxide — the same chemical used to prevent diaper rash — could be used to make a light-emitting diode (LED) that could convert electricity to light 10 times more efficiently than the tungsten filaments used in today’s incandescent bulbs. It also lasts 10 times as long. Switching from tungsten to light sources like zinc oxide could cut global electricity consumption for lighting by more than half, but the expansive infrastructure changes that are required will be a formidable hurdle. Zinc-oxide LEDs could help Americans save $35 billion a year. (www.popsci.com)
Popular Science (1/05); Rena Marie Pacella |
