Пы43ц3builder magazine august 2015

The Magazine of The National Association of Home Builders

builderonline.com

THE SUMMER ISSUE

BEFORE...

NEW IDEAS FOR TIMELESS VALUES August 2015

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®/ ©2015. All rights reserved. All other products, company names, brand names, trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners.

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MYSTERIES BELONG ON YOUR BOOKSHELF. NOT YOUR JOB SITE. You don’t have time to play detective. So if there are delays on your job site, your supplier better have answers. At Pella, we continually monitor orders and deliveries to help prevent surprises that can ruin your day. And your reputation. Case closed.

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WE GOT THIS.

Contents/August 2015 builderonline.com

WHAT’S TRENDING ONLINE

14. Editor’s Notes

Wire

Start

59. Master Maneuverer HistoryMaker’s Nelson Mitchell has used threats as opportunities to boost his business

21. Metroscape After a heady spring, builders are unfazed by a seasonal slowdown 24. Pulse Industry news you need to know about now

These slim layouts (none wider than 24 feet) include great amenities like kitchen islands, fireplaces, and comfortable master suites. go.hw. net/BD0815-narrow

26. Design Trends Flexible layouts offer baby boomers adaptable design solutions

Landscape 85. NAHB Chairman’s Letter

28. Editor’s Picks Five storm-ready products to keep in mind as hurricane season heats up

86. Home Innovation Research Labs 88. Crowe’s Economy A look at economic trends from the NAHB’s chief economist

Frame 36. Harvest A farm-centric Texas community appeals to foodies of all ages

Features

69. LOOK WHO’S RENTING

From modern white kitchens to earthy tones in baths, we reveal the latest design trends buyers want now. go.hw.net/ BD0815-trends

Mark Davidson Photography; Cover: Rob Aldridge Photography

As the homeownership rate creeps lower, a number of builders are testing rentals.

62. Risk Taker David Riedman’s gamble to revamp his company’s product paid off

Fit & Finish

42. Bucking Horse This Colorado development combines healthy living with a touch of nostalgia

96. Millennial Housing Stats

48. The Cannery The New Home Co. explores the urban farm concept in California 54. Station House Despite its high-density urban location, a D.C. apartment complex caters to fresh food aficionados

77. ESCAPE ARTISTS Five winners of this year’s Gold Nugget Awards show off the best in vacation home design.

A developer gives new life to a former army base. go.hw.net/ BD0815-military Volume 38, number 8. Builder (ISSN 0744-1193; USPS 370-600) is published 12 times per year: monthly in Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. by Hanley Wood, One Thomas Circle NW, Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20005, for the National Association of Home Builders and printed in the USA. Copyright 2015 by Hanley Wood. Opinions expressed are those of the authors or persons quoted and not necessarily those of the NAHB. Reproduction in whole or in part prohibited without written authorization. Single-copy price: $8.00 (except House Plans issues, which are $12.95). Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Builder, P.O. Box 3494, Northbrook, IL 60065-9831. Member: Business Publications Audit, American Business Media.

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

AUGUST 2015

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Š2015 Therma-Tru Corp. All rights reserved.

THE MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS

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John McManus, group editorial director Jerry Ascierto, editor-in-chief Jennifer Lash, chief content manager Aubrey Altmann, chief design director Katie Gerfen, design editor Jennifer Goodman, senior editor Les Shaver, deputy editor, enterprise Lindsay Machak, associate editor Laura McNulty, associate editor Kayla Devon, assistant editor Ben Arshee, art director Spencer Markey, senior web producer Charlotte O’Malley, data projects producer, radar desk Cathy Underwood, senior director, print production Margaret Coulter, production director Lauren Searson, ad traffic manager Tim Bobko, promotional graphic artist Betty Kerwin, prepress coordinator Christina Lustan, group director/audience marketing & circulation Diana Turco, audience marketing manager Holly Miller, director/channel and product marketing Megan McCloud, senior director/creative services Mike Bendickson, senior vice president/conferences & events

hanley wood media

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Dave Colford, president/media Tom Rousseau, executive vice president/ strategic marketing services Jennifer Pearce, senior vice president/strategic marketing services & consumer media Sarah Welcome, senior vice president/ audience operations Rizwan Ali, vice president/product development Mari Skelnik, vice president/client operations

published by hanley wood Peter Goldstone, chief executive officer Frank Anton, vice chairman Matthew Flynn, chief financial officer Dave Colford, president/media Andrew Reid, president/digital Jeanne Milbrath, president/marketing Christopher Veator, president/metrostudy Sheila Harris, senior vice president/marketing Paul Mattioli, senior vice president/corporate sales Michael Bender, senior vice president/corporate development & general counsel Ron Kraft, vice president/business planning & analysis Keith Rosenbloom, vice president/ corporate controller

Content Licensing for Every Marketing Strategy Marketing solutions ďŹ t for: Outdoor | Direct Mail | Print Advertising | Tradeshow/POP Displays Social Media | Radio & TV

Leverage branded content from Builder to create a more powerful and sophisticated statement about your product, service, or company in your next marketing campaign. Contact Wright’s Media to find out more about how we can customize your acknowledgements and recognitions to enhance your marketing strategies.

For information, call Wright’s Media at 877.652.5295 or visit our website at www.wrightsmedia.com

editorial and advertising offices One Thomas Circle NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005 Phone: 202-452-0800; Fax: 202-785-1974 subscription inquiries and back issue orders 888-269-8410 or email: builder@omeda.com NAHB members please call 800-368-5242 x8546 circulation customer service www.omeda.com/custsrv/bldr statlistics Jennifer Felling, j.felling@statlistics.com; Phone: 203-456-3339 privacy of mailing list Sometimes we share our subscriber mailing list with reputable companies we think you’ll find interesting. However, if you do not wish to be included, please call us at 888-269-8410.

Canada Post Registration #40612608/G.S.T. number: R-120931738. canadian return address IMEX, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2 postmaster Send address changes to Builder, P.O. Box 3494, Northbrook, IL 60065 BUILDER occasionally will write about companies in which its parent organization, Hanley Wood, has an investment interest. When it does, the magazine will fully disclose that relationship.

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

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THE MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS

subscription inquiries and back issue orders Call 888-269-8410 or email: builder@omeda.com NAHB members please call 800-368-5242 x8546

for list rentals 203-778-8700

to order reprints Wright’s Media, Nick Iademarco 877-652-5295 ext. 102 or niademarco@wrightsmedia.com

advertising sales offices Paul Tourbaf, group president/residential construction phone: 202-729-3629 fax: 202-785-1974 email: ptourbaf@hanleywood.com Edwin Kraft, national sales director 5908 Northern Court, Elkridge, MD 21075 phone: 443-445-3488 fax: 202-785-1974 email: ekraft@hanleywood.com Norma Figueroa, account coordinator, team lead phone: 773-824-2412 fax: 773-824-2540 email: nfigueroa@hanleywood.com East

Paul Pettersen 112 Kingsbury Road, Garden City, NY 11530 phone: 516-536-9154 fax: 202-785-1974 email: ppettersen@hanleywood.com Midwest

Susanna Lione 3000 Custer Road, Suite 270-354, Plano, TX 75075 phone: 214-264-3496 email: slione@hanleywood.com Southeast

NOV. 18–20, 2015 | FAIRMONT MILLENNIUM PARK | CHICAGO

Patrick Zazzara One Thomas Circle NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005 phone: 202-736-3483 fax: 202-785-1974 email: pzazzara@hanleywood.com West

Don’t miss the must-attend event in the affordable housing industry! Network with the nation’s most active developers and leaders; learn the latest on the policy front as well as new development and finance strategies; and find resources to help you grow your affordable housing business.

Carol Weinman 395 Del Monte Center, Suite 317, Monterey, CA 93945 phone: 831-373-6125 fax: 831-373-6069 email: cweinman@hanleywood.com Canada

D. John Magner, York Media Services 500 Queens Quay W., Suite 101W, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 3K8 phone: 416-598-0101, ext.220 fax: 416-598-9191 email: jmagner@hanleywood.com China and Hong Kong

For more information and to register: ahflive.com

Adonis Mak phone: +852 2838 6298 email: adonism@actintl.com.hk Washington, D.C.

Phil Hernandez, executive director/account management email: phernandez@hanleywood.com Brian Sherry, account manager (west) email: bsherry@hanleywood.com Ken Wilson, account manager (north) email: kwilson@hanleywood.com Inside Sales Account Executives One Thomas Circle NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005 phone: 202-452-0800 fax: 202-785-1974

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Editor’s Notes THE SUMMER ISSUE

LET’S DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT The next generation offers new ideas and timeless values

14 B U I L D E R

A U G U S T 2 0 15

WHAT COMES OF INITIALLY DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES, POINTS OF VIEW, INTERESTS, FINANCIAL STAKES, SENSES OF POSSIBILITY, AND HUNCHES ABOUT WHAT WILL AND WON’T WORK ARE MOMENTS THAT BRING ALL OF THESE THREADS OF DIFFERENCE TOGETHER.

John McManus group editorial director

Peter James Field/agencyrush.com

Each year at PCBC, Lisa and Shane Parrish of Peter M. Mayer productions stage the Gold Nugget Awards. For 52 years, this occasion has celebrated the resilient fusion of design, building, community planning and development, and clients and customers. This year was no different, and what captured this year’s proceedings in a flash for me was a single tableau on stage and one sound bite.

For a good run of years, the work of several architect teams—Bassenian Lagoni, Danielian Associates, Robert Hidey, KTGY, and Woodley Architectural Group—has cropped up among the grand and merit award winners in the residential for-sale categories. Mike Woodley’s gangly stride to the stage is now familiar, and this year his team took top honors in the 2,500-to-2,900-square-foot singlefamily detached home category for its work on Vue, Plan Three, the Infinity Home Collection series at Stapleton in Denver.

Woodley, Infinity Home Collection general manager Dave Steinke, and a couple of “next generation” Woodley associates were on stage for their close-up moment, and Woodley says, “We did Vue Plan Two and it worked, and Dave said to me, ‘Let’s do this again,’ and I said, ‘No, let’s do something different.’”

What comes of initially differing perspectives, points of view, interests, financial stakes, senses of possibility, and hunches about what will and won’t work are moments that bring all of these threads of difference together. Builder, architect, planner, municipal official, client, customer—all get something they value from the process. And, as it did in this instance and happens so frequently, it starts with somebody saying, “No, let’s do something different.”

In the case of Vue, Plan Three, the Gold Nugget judges were particularly impressed

with how a sub-3,000-square-foot home could “live large” by subtracting the meaningless— rooms people don’t use—and adding the meaningful—flow, natural light, and connectedness among the defined identities of kitchen, living, and dining areas. Material choices and palette define and “break down” the two-story massing to sculpt the exterior into a warm newness.

The ideas are new. The values—humanness, warmth, light, a balance of protection and relatedness—are timeless. The Gold Nugget Awards represent a fraction of all the amazing narratives going on these days that bring divergent, even diametrically oppositional, forces into a state of balance and cooperation, if only for an instant. Every time there’s a spark of “No, let’s do something different,” there’s an occasion for this type of breakthrough.

And in one moment after another at the Gold Nugget Awards in San Diego, on commercial projects, multifamily projects, affordable projects, mixed-use, attached and detached, the narratives were the same: widely different interests would need to merge so that otherwise impossible projects become possible in the realest of everyday circumstances. These narrative plot lines more often than not involve big personalities, big egos, powerful players, and a host of stubborn, daunting issues, each succumbing to a whole that works.

If the Woodley sound bite was timeless, the tableau in which he uttered it also etched itself into the classy fabric of the evening. Joining Woodley on stage was that next generation of associates from his firm, and to stage left were the next generation of Parrishes who’ve become an essential part of the essence of the evening. And among many of the builders and architects who also were in the San Diego Convention Center ballroom were the next generations of each of those organizations. Some of them are the next generation in family names, and some of them are descendants and successors of a different order. All of them offer new ideas and timeless values.

“Let’s do something different” moments are what burst myths and false assumptions about where trends are leading, and what old practices those trends will leave behind. New ideas can awaken timeless values anywhere. B

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

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ĆŒĹ?ĹŒÇ Ĺ˝Ĺ˝Äš ĹŻĹ˝Ĺ?Ć? ĂŜĚ ĆŒĹ?Ç€ÄžĆŒ ĆŒĹ˝Ä?ĹŹ žĞĚĹ?Ä‚ ĞŜŚĂŜÄ?ĞžĞŜƚ ĹŹĹ?ĆšĆ? Ä‚ĆŒÄž ĂǀĂĹ?ĹŻÄ‚Ä?ĹŻÄž ƚŽ Ä?ĆľĆ?ƚŽžĹ?njĞ ƚŽ Ç‡Ĺ˝ĆľĆŒ Ć‰ÄžĆŒĆ?ŽŜĂů ƚĂĆ?ƚĞ

“We also realized, that people’s moods change, and that was ƚŚĞ Ĺ?ĹśĆ?Ĺ?Ĺ?Śƚ ƚŚĂƚ Ć?Ć‰Ä‚ĆŒĹŹÄžÄš Ĺ˝ĆľĆŒ ĹśÄžÇ Ć‰ĆŒĹ˝ÄšĆľÄ?Ćš Ĺ?ŜŜŽǀĂĆ&#x;ŽŜ KĹśÄ?Äž ƚŚĞ new smart-phone control app hits the market a few months from now, the rest of the market will be playing catch-up.â€?

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PULSE PG. 24 I DESIGN TRENDS PG. 26 I EDITOR’S PICKS PG. 28 I

Last year, the spring selling season tanked. But home buyer activity during March, April, and May 2015 provides a real indication that the housing market is stabilizing. Housing affordability remains as an impediment for buyers, as tight inventory of available new homes drives up prices, but many builders are increasing their community counts to meet demand and ease inflation.

Compared with three-month composite scores for new-home demand during the spring selling season, June scores from Metrostudy regional directors show that builders are not disheartened by the falloff of summer.

June ratings for new-home demand leveled out with spring composite scores in 21 markets, and only eight markets fell below spring numbers. This proves builder momentum is still

AUGUST 2015

BUILDER 21

strong, even though the majority know sales will slow (or already have slowed) down.

Freddie Mac’s latest Multi-Indicator Market Index release scored housing in just over half of 50 U.S. states as “stable.” The Southwest and West regions are leading the way for market health, echoing demand scores and commentary from regional directors in Denver-Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, DallasFort Worth, and Seattle.

In Salt Lake City, traffic and home sales were strong in June despite the normal slowdown; resale and new construction sales in Seattle remain strong; and demand for all types of housing is high in Denver. These three markets were among seven that received a score for new-home demand in June that was higher than their three-month composite score.

Despite dropping a notch in June from the composite score, first quarter new-home starts in Las Vegas were at the highest level in years.

“The spring selling season, continued strong job growth, and in-migration is driving housing demand,” says regional director Greg Gross.

Albuquerque is a weak outlier among stronger markets in the Southwest and West, scor-

ing a 4 on our index in June. But regional director John Covert says it’s showing signs of improvement. “All eyes are on employment gains and resale activity—both are finally heading in the right direction at the same time, though nowhere near levels needed to push demand higher for new homes,” he says.

With low scores spanning the entirety of our index since April 2014, it is telling that although demand is still below average, Covert is optimistic about the future of the market.

April Showers Slow Sales and Starts Spring selling season was good for builders; the sentiment gauge of builder confidence rose in April for the first time since January, and newhome starts were record-breaking. The sales pace of 546,000 homes annually in May is a success, but seasonally adjusted, that’s about 75% of the average annual pace from 2000 to 2014.

Many markets were plagued with rain this spring, resulting in delays and slow development. Ironically, many of the highest demand markets were hit hardest, also in the West and Southwest. Regional directors in Salt Lake City and Denver report that building and develop-

ment were delayed due to a wet spring, and buyer traffic was muted as a result. Texas markets, namely Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, were most affected by weather conditions.

In Dallas-Fort Worth, regional director David Brown says many communities anticipated to have closings this year likely will be pushed to 2016, and constraints with development contractors are likely to remain in the second half of the year. “Prices are expected to continue to increase at above-normal rates because of the low inventory and strong demand,” he says.

Because these markets were successful during the selling season despite the weather, it’s hard not to wonder how many more homes builders may have been able to close. Regardless, it appears that buyers are coming back to the market and, if anything, there’s not enough inventory to provide them with the homes they want to purchase at a reasonable price.

If spring selling season is a barometer of housing recovery, this year’s take looks promising. The strength of recent existing and newhome sales—as well as continued job growth— could make 2015 the best year for housing since the recession. — charlotte o’malley

Start PULSE

Innovative Home Adapts to Owners’ Needs In the midst of the recession in 2009, designer Marianne Cusato envisioned a home that could pull Americans out of their financial burdens and into homeownership.

Since prospective buyers delay making the investment in a home if their financial future is uncertain, Cusato knew her concept had to be affordable and flexible. She had heard from consumers who were afraid that they could end up stuck in a home that no longer fit their needs down the road if their finances change, they have more children, or need to care for an aging parent.

Cusato’s adaptable New Economy Home appealed to recession-weary buyers by allowing the home to adjust to their lifestyle.

It responded to the factors that prompt buyers to move—or to avoid homeownership altogether.

The original concept for the 1,771-squarefoot home featured a ground-floor walk out suite that adjusted to fit a family’s personal economic needs—a boomerang child returning home, an adult parent that needed to move in, or a room-for-rent as a source of income. The adaptable suite has a large closet space that can be plumbed out and transformed into a kitchenette. Though expenses vary, Cusato estimates the cost to construct the home ranges from $200,000 to $230,000.

“I think there is a universal quality to this plan,” says Cusato. “The discussion of economy in general is one piece, but what we’ve seen with the plan is that it universally works in different ways for how we’re living and shifting in our home, and that becomes the bigger issue.”

Cusato says the plan continues to sell, with at least 25 built across the country, from Washington state to Virginia. Many have been built in New Urbanist communities such as Warwick Grove in Warwick, N.Y., and New Town at St. Charles in Louisville, Ky., where the model is targeted toward a wide variety of demographics.

The popularity of the design led Cusato to recently introduce the New Economy Home 2.0, a second version of the plan that incorporated the most common changes requested from buyers.

While the economy has brightened, not all prospective home buyers are feeling opti-

24 B U I L D E R A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

mistic. Cusato points out that just because numbers are improving on national reports doesn’t mean they’re improving on prospective buyers’ bank accounts. That’s why a flexible floor plan is relevant even in good economic times, she says. — lauren shanesy The Sunflower-Inspired Solar PV System There’s been a long-standing argument over which direction rooftop solar panels should face: south to catch the sun all day or west to catch the afternoon rays. A company in Austria is hoping to end that debate with a solution that does both.

Inspired by how a sunflower follows the sun as it moves from east to west, Thomas Daubek and Alexandar Swatek created the allin-one solar PV system, smartflower POP. The technology is designed to remain folded up when not in use, but as the sun rises, the system unfolds its solar “petals” into an 18-meter circle, evoking the image of a sunflower. As the sun moves, the smartflower POP tracks it, constantly remaining at an optimal 90-degree angle to absorb the sun’s rays—effectively boosting yield by up to 40% compared with a stationery rooftop system, the company claims. When the sun goes down, the system folds back into a safe position.

The smartflower POP also tracks wind speeds and retracts its petals into the folded position when winds reach 54 kilometers an hour to avoid damage. When the wind speeds drop, the petals unfold again.

The solar panels are made with weatherproofed thin glass that autonomously remove dust and dirt as the petals open and close. Since the panels aren’t mounted to rooftops, the smartflower POP uses back ventilation, keeping the modules 10 to 20 degrees cooler than a rooftop installation.

Depending on the region, the smartflower POP can deliver anywhere from 3,400 to 6,200 kWh a year. The company also has guaranteed the technology’s performance for 25 years.

The system is designed to be plug-andplay. When the smartflower POP is delivered, it can be installed in under an hour and is anchored to the ground using an earth anchor or concrete foundation. If buyers move, they simply can take the system with them when they go. — kayla devon

FROM THE BLOG Jason Forrest, chief sales officer, Forrest Performance Group

builderonline.com

STATS THIS MONTH IN HOME BUILDING

72% 72% of single-family homes sold in 2014 were in a homeowners’ association

38.6% 55.8% 5.7% 38.6% of single-family homes sold in 2014 were one story; 55.8% were two story; and 5.7% were three stories or more Source: U.S. Census Bureau Characteristics of New Housing Report, 2014

Our customers arrive at our sales offices lost.

They have read every builder’s website and examined every floor plan. But sometimes, the more information they have, the more overwhelmed they are.

Our job is to eliminate the frustration. We can do this using the NWSE compass model: get them to admit what they need, what they want, what they are willing to sacrifice, and what they expect.

First, identify what clients need. These are what I call the non-negotiables.

Next, it’s important to identify where their needs vary from their wants. Their wants is their dream list—the shiny stuff like a study, corner-lot location, or granite countertops.

When you know which ones are negotiable, you can help them identify the features they can live without.

Once you know what they are willing to negotiate on, you can lead them to admit what they are willing to sacrifice. Would they be willing to let go of the study or corner-lot location to live closer to town? They may need to compromise, but it should feel like they’re winning.

Lastly, you may need to help clients adjust what they expect. Some buyers have unrealistic expectations. On the other hand, they may be excessively conservative and need to be led toward dreaming bigger.

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

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Dependable performance. Never quit. No excuses. Nothing less than perfection.

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Start DESIGN TRENDS

Plan #HWB1810001 Square Footage 2,900 Bonus Space 472 square feet Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 2 ½ Dimensions 76’2”w x 81’0”d Foundation Crawlspace, Slab 5-SET $845 Repro $1,045 CAD $1,545 PDF $995

FROM MOVE-UPS TO EMPTY NESTS Flexible layouts offer baby boomers options to see them through a variety of lifestyle changes Just because baby boomers are approaching traditional retirement age doesn’t mean that their nests are empty yet or that they’re anywhere close to actually retiring. This generation has a lot going on: college kids frequently move back after graduating, while elderly parents may need caregiving at home.

Enter today’s flexible home. The latest upscale layouts combine the roominess of a move-up home with the accessibility of a onestory empty nest, resulting in a remarkably adaptable design that will serve your buyers throughout all kinds of lifestyle changes.

In this example, bedroom 2 is really the pivotal feature for layout flexibility. Double doors give buyers the option to use this space as a home office (helpful for those who may work from home as they ease into retirement), while another door leads to the hall-

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way to give the space more privacy when it must function as a bedroom. A separate hall entrance to the Jack and Jill bathroom is another thoughtful touch.

Additional flexible highlights include the mini office near the master suite (another good workspace, especially handy if bedroom 2 is occupied) and the spacious bonus room upstairs. And down the road when the kids have moved out, the single-level layout makes it easier to age in place. Also appealing: porches offer substantial outdoor living space both in front and back. See a slideshow of our favorite move-ups that become empty nests at go.hw. net/BD0815-plans. — aurora zeledon Browse plans or order online at BuilderHousePlans.com or by phone 1-800-634-4773

This graceful home displays quiet luxury and all kinds of practical details. The flexible layout adapts to a variety of living situations: bedroom 2 can become a home office, the office near the master suite can serve as storage, and a bonus room above the garage offers more space to expand.

The side-loading, two-car garage opens to a practical drop zone that keeps everything organized with lockers, a walk-in pantry (perfect for trips to Costco), and a large utility room. Don’t miss the master suite’s generous walk-in closet or the clever appliance garage in the kitchen.

Complex Family Arrangements 12.4% 12.4% of family groups in households include other relatives besides children under 18: grandchildren, adult children, and/or a householder’s parent.

Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2014; Census.gov

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

It pays to tend to your flock.

Over the past 5 years, employee out-of-pocket expenses have risen nearly 40%.1

Aflac can help protect your employees with cash to cover their bills in the event of a covered sickness or injury. And now employees’ claims can get paid in a day with Aflac’s One Day PaySM when they submit online.2 Small businesses like how easy it is to add voluntary coverage to their benefits at no direct cost. Especially when it is from Aflac, the number one provider of worksite/voluntary insurance sales for 13 consecutive years.3 Aflac may even be a pre-tax deduction, so when we say it pays to tend to your flock, it just might.

Call your local agent and visit aflac.com/smallbiz

2014 Employer Health Benefits Survey, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, September 10, 2014. 2One Day PaySM is available for most properly documented, individual claims submitted online through Aflac SmartClaim® by 3 PM ET. Aflac SmartClaim® not available on the following: Short Term Disability (excluding Accident and Sickness Riders), Life, Vision, Dental, Medicare Supplement, Long Term Care/Home Health Care, Aflac Plus Rider and Group policies. Individual Company Statistic, 2015. 3Eastbridge Consulting Group, U.S. Worksite/Voluntary Sales Report. Carrier Results for 2002-2014. Avon, CT. Coverage is underwritten by American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus. In New York, coverage is underwritten by American Family Life Assurance Company of New York.

1

Z150001R

Worldwide Headquarters | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999

3/15

Start E DI T O R’ S PIC K S

BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES These five storm-ready building products can help protect homes against driving rains, high-winds, and flying debris as hurricane season heats up

By Lauren Hunter

3 1. HEAD OF THE CLASS Atlas Roofing’s StormMaster shingles featuring Scotchgard Protector is available in slate and shake profiles that offer a stylish aesthetic while bolstering the roof’s weatherability. The shingles boast a Class 4 storm rating, meaning they are built for durability and performance in extreme weather conditions including high winds, heavy rain and snow, and hail.

StormMaster shingles offer wind resistance up to 130 mph, Class 4 impact resistance, and Class A fire resistance. Some installations may allow for reduced homeowners’ insurance premiums. Atlas Roofing. www.atlasroofing.com 2. WEATHER-SAFE POWER Briggs & Stratton’s Symphony II power management system is helping overcome price objections to installing back-up power. The sophisticated technology prioritizes loads so homeowners can power more systems and appliances with a smaller (and therefore less expensive) generator, without causing faults. Depending on the configuration and the appliances being powered, homeowners could reduce the size of the generator needed by as much

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1

2

4

5

as half, such as installing a 10kw generator instead of a 20kw unit for an average size home. Briggs & Stratton. www.briggsandstratton.com 3. HEADED FOR THE COAST Weather Shield is relaunching its Premium Coastal product line later this year, and new units recently received approval in Florida’s Miami-Dade County.

The aluminum-clad wood windows and patio doors are designed for homes in coastal climates. Impactresistant glazing options include single-glazed, insulated glass, and Zo-e-shield Coastal, which combines insulated impact-resistant glazing with energy-efficient Zo-e-shield. The aluminum cladding is coated with a high-durability paint in a choice of 12 standard colors, 45 designer colors, and eight anodized aluminum options. Resistant to corrosion from salt spray, special seacoast hardware also is available. Weather Shield. www.weathershield.com 4. STICK TO IT Ultra HT Wind & Water Seal is MFM’s self-adhering waterproofing underlayment. The non-slip, cross-laminated polymer film is laminated to a

high-temperature rubberized aggressive asphalt adhesive. The material bonds to the substrate and seals around fasteners to limit damage caused by water penetration or leaks. Ideal for use under shingle, tile, shake, and metal roofing, Ultra HT Wind & Water Seal features a split-release liner for easy installation in valleys, ridges, and around chimneys.

A two-square roll measures 36 inches wide and 67 feet long. The material can be left exposed for up to 90 days. MFM. www.mfmbp.com 5. BIG IMPACT Masonite’s impact-rated StormGuard fiberglass and steel doors meet strict building code requirements in hurricane-prone areas, without sacrificing style.

Specifically designed for coastal homes to comply with High Velocity Hurricane Zones, Wind-Born Debris region, the doors are available in a range of textured fiberglass designs that mimic real oak, fir, or mahogany. Other features include compositeedge stiles and bottom rails, and optional laminated, impact-rated decorative glass designs tested against strict insulated glass standards. Masonite. www.masonite.com

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Better connections.

Better community.

Make Time Warner Cable your exclusive communications service provider to give your residents valuable discounts on services.

Plus, we’ll give you the tools and marketing support to convert leads and fill vacancies faster — everything you need to build a better community.

Become a partner today. Contact Daniel O’Connell at 212.420.4816 or daniel.oconnell@twcable.com.

twc.com/communitysolutions

Better services start here.

Additional restrictions may apply. Contact Time Warner Cable’s New Market Development/MDU Department to discuss eligibility and program requirements. Some restrictions apply. Time Warner Cable and the eye/ear logo are trademarks of Time Warner Inc. ©2015 All rights reserved.

MDU_NYC_2015

ONE-MAN EASIER.

ZIP it fast, ZIP it tight, ZIP it right.™ ZIP System® sheathing and tape is an innovative structural roof and wall system with an integrated water resistant and air barrier that streamlines the weatherization process and transforms it with a simple twostep installation. Just put up the panels and tape the seams. ZIP System™ tape is so easy it turns taping into a one-man job; and so fast, it installs 40% quicker than housewrap.

Watch ZIP System® sheathing and tape go head-to-head with regular housewrap at ZIPSystem.com/builder19

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FROM THE CREATORS OF

TECH SUPPORT

© 2015 Huber Engineered Woods LLC, ZIP System, the accompanying ZIP System logo and design and AdvanTech are trademarks of Huber Engineered Woods LLC. Huber is a registered trademark of J.M. Huber Corporation.

Huber Engineered Woods products are covered by various patents. See ZIPSystem.com/patents for details. This product’s Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) has been certified by UL Environment. HUB 3302 08/15

builderonline.com serves the information needs of residential construction professionals with breaking industry news, local housing data, provocative Web-ďŹ rst lists, industry blogs, product reviews, house plans, education & training and so much more.

Profitable

Sometimes the little things can have the biggest impact on your business. The Certified Graduate Builder (CGB) designation provides you with the credentials that demonstrate your commitment to running your business at the most professional level. The first step to the CGB is the Builder Assessment Review (BAR). The results of this assessment highlight opportunities for you to build up your strengths around industry best practices that can help move your business forward. The assessment is now available online and results are delivered via email in 48 hours. Take required courses at local home builder associations, or at NAHB’s International Builders’ Show® next January 16-18, 2016.

To learn more and tto take the BAR, visit na nahb.org/BARinfo.

Join the Conversation.

The 2015 Sprinter Crew Van

Built to build your business.

Starting At:

$38,270* 2500 Crew Van 144", Low Roof, 4-Cylinder

With room for five, the 2015 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Crew Van has room for everything and everyone—featuring Best-In-Class cargo room, payload and interior standing height1 as well as a 5'x8' load floor that offers abundant room for plywood, sheetrock and other materials.

The Sprinter’s standard turbo diesel engine delivers up to 18%2 greater fuel efficiency, while standard Crosswind Assist3 helps keep your vehicle on course in strong winds. To discover better ways to build your business, visit mbsprinterusa.com.

© 2014 Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC *Excludes all options, taxes, title, registration, transportation charge and dealer prep fee.

1. Based on a comparison of the Automotive News classification of full-size commercial vans at time of print. 2. Fuel savings estimate of up to 18% according to FTP75 testing of engine OM651 (4-Cylinder) versus MY13 OM642 (V6). Individual mileage will vary, based on factors including vehicle load, driving style, road conditions and fuel quality. 3. Crosswind Assist engages automatically when sensing dangerous wind gusts at highway speeds exceeding 50 mph. Performance is limited by wind severity and available traction, which snow, ice and other conditions can affect. Always drive carefully, consistent with conditions. Feature not available on 3500 models.

Options shown. Not all options available in the U.S.

Frame

Texas: Harvest PG. 36 Colorado: Bucking Horse PG. 42 California: The Cannery PG. 48 Washington, D.C.: Station House PG. 54

I I I I

... AND AFTER Rob Aldridge Photography

Farm-based developments put a fresh spin on land planning

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

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1

PROJECT Harvest Location Northlake and Argyle, Texas Developer Hillwood Communities, Dallas Site Size 1,150 acres

Amenity Architect Larson & Pedigo, Dallas Builders David Weekley Homes, D.R. Horton, Highland Homes, Horizon Homes, Plantation Homes

Completion Date Phase 1, 2013; Phase 2, 2015; Buildout, 2024

Land Planner/ Landscape Architect TBG Partners, Dallas

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new working farm. Harvest hired a farmer to run its program, which supplies its justpicked produce to about 35 top restaurants in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and residents also can rent 4-foot-by-8-foot veggie plots.

“We started with 50 raised beds that a homeowner leases for $60 a year,” says Tom Woliver, director of planning and development. “The plots sold out before we had 50 homeowners, so we added 70 more plots.”

In addition to young parents interested in teaching their kids to garden, Harvest is at-

tracting empty nesters. “The older group is going back to farming; they’re a third of our buyers,” Woliver says. “They have more time; do they want to spend it around the pool with kids? Maybe not.”

The 5-acre farm is the hub of a linear, mile-and-a-half-long central park accessed from the end of every street. It was a smaller investment than some amenities Hillwood has developed in the past, such as water parks that are used only part of the year. And raised beds are certainly cheaper than 18

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Rob Aldridge Photography

Urban agrarian communities appeal to a generation of foodies who like to know the origin of their beets and blueberries. The model also is increasingly attractive to developers looking for alternative amenities to the traditional fitness center or golf course.

They view crop tending as a new way of bringing people together that cuts across demographic groups.

For example, Hillwood Development broke ground in 2013 on Harvest, a 1,150-acre mixeduse community that is luring buyers with its

Community center farmhouse and raised planter beds

fairways. However, Harvest’s HOA fees are similar to those in traditional master planned communities because the developer did not spend less money overall; it is just distributed differently. “We still have our pools and clubhouses, but they are scaled differently, not as big,” Woliver explains.

“We’re diversifying our amenities.” It also moved and restored a 140-year-old farmhouse where homeowners can hang out.

Hillwood took its time to work out a selfsustaining agrarian model. “Most examples

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Single-family residence

AUGUST 2015

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Frame

Commercial greenhouse

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Credit Tk

we saw were heavily subsidized or operating at a net loss,” Woliver says. “We didn’t want to put that burden on the homeowners.” A resident farmer does the dirty work. On one of the 5 acres, he runs a private, for-profit commercial business consisting of five greenhouses built with amenity dollars that supply food to local restaurants. He also manages the HOA farm, which includes the leased plots, an orchard, and community crops—corn for popcorn festivals, watermelons in the summer, and pumpkins in the fall. The farmer is on site most days and offers gardening classes ever y ot her weekend.

The idea is that once homeowners learn to garden, they can do it in their own backyards.

The builders offer raised garden beds as an option, or residents can choose to build the plots later through the HOA’s landscape contractor.

But how does a water-intensive enterprise fare in a parched region like North Texas? Bioswales direct stormwater to a 12acre lake that serves as a detention pond for half of the development. Water is pumped out of the lake to feed the common areas and farm, and an existing well on the property supplies back-up water. The setup is working so far. “Water is not a huge cost because we’re not in large field crops,” Woliver says.

“Even last year in the drought, the lake filled up right before the summer and we didn’t need the well the entire year.”

At Harvest, Hillwood is working on a 12year buildout of about 3,200 single-family homes ranging in price from the low $200,000s to the $400,000s. In response to buyer preferences, design guidelines are evolving toward a farmhouse aesthetic of front porches, metal roofs, and natural wood fences. “Once you prove your model is working, builders are more willing to do these things,” Woliver says, noting that David Weekley Homes is redesigning its plans so that every house visible from the farm will have a porch.

At press time, approximately 150 homeowners had closed on homes and 230 lots had been sold. “We tried out the farming amenity and it’s taken off,” Woliver says. “We may have to expand it.” — cheryl weber

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

SITE PLAN

Gathering hall, event lawn, lake, and pool area

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

AUGUST 2015

BUILDER 39

The smartest way to build a home.

Owens Corning Building Scientists continually research and develop smarter ways to build better homes, creating complete building and insulation solutions that lead the industry in performance, durability and safety. These forward-thinking designs are not only proven to perform, but they also deliver meaningful benefits your homebuyers will be willing to pay for. Let us show you how to Turn Building Science into Building Genius™.

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THE PINK PANTHER™ & © 1964–2015 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved. The color PINK is a registered trademark of Owens Corning. Personality rights of ALBERT EINSTEIN are used with permission of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Represented exclusively by GreenLight. © 2015 Owens Corning. All Rights Reserved.

Professionals Who Choose LP® SmartSide® Know Real Craftsmanship

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All trademarks are owned by Louisiana-Pacific Corporation.

2

PROJECT Bucking Horse Location Fort Collins, Colo.

Landscape Designer Russell + Mills Studios, Fort Collins Site Size 160 acres

Developer Bellisimo, Fort Collins

Price Range $200,000 to $900,000

Builder D.R. Horton, Fort Worth, Texas

Total Units at Buildout 1,100

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worst financial situation. “Sometimes, you need a bad market to drive innovation,” says Campana, owner of Fort Collins, Colo.–based development firm Bellisimo.

That drive for innovation, combined with healthy, community-centered living and just a touch of nostalgia, led to Bucking Horse. The neighborhood is designed to appeal to various lifestyles, with residential offerings that include townhomes, detached single-family homes and estates, and a 300unit apartment and condo complex cur-

rently under construction.

Agriculture is built into the fabric of the 160-acre community, from small touches like pocket vegetable patches to major investments like the two historic farms that bookend the project. At Bucking Horse’s Jessup Farm, adaptive reuse has transformed historic buildings into an artisan village. On-site businesses include a coffeeshop, brewery, and restaurant, where local agriculture is embraced. “The restaurant has its own herb garden, produce garden, and chicken coop,”

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Christina Gressianu

No one can accuse developer Gino Campana of lacking ambition when he designed Bucking Horse, an agriculture-centric master planned community. His goal? To force the industry to rethink the way neighborhoods are designed.

In the past, he saw developers focus on delivering greater numbers of houses in a system that was efficient but not very imaginative. He found his inspiration in the midst of the Great Recession while searching for an innovative project that would sell even in the

Townhomes

Campana says.

Families can get fresh eggs from chickens at the community’s Johnson Farm—just one of many types of animals that will call it home. “It won’t be a petting zoo; it will be a real working farm,” he says. Residents can work on the farm or take classes at its innovation campus, made possible through a partnership with Colorado State University. In addition to assisting with agricultural research, students from the university’s veterinary school will care for the farm animals.

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M O N T H 2 0 1 5 Historic B U I L Dbarn ER 43

Frame BUC K I N G HOR S E

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Christina Gressianu

And on a 2.5-acre patch of the property, the neighborhood’s CSA (community supported agriculture) farm share—operated completely off the grid thanks to an adjudicated well and solar panels—provides hyperlocal produce. “It’s not just some vacant half acre in the middle of town that no one lives around, it’s truly supported by the neighborhood,” Campana says.

That reflects the design philosophy of Bucking Horse as a whole; it is designed to integrate farming on a denser scale than most similar projects, Campana explains.

“This is not a 30-acre piece of land with houses wrapped around it. It really is intertwined into the neighborhood.”

All of the landscaping is engineered toward that end, with berry bushes, vegetable gardens, and fruit trees planted throughout the community. The concept even carries over to individual homes, where buyers work with the community landscape designer to select the flora for their yard.

That personalized touch is just one element that has resonated with buyers, Campana says. He has seen an overwhelmingly positive response to the agriculture-related amenities. And buyers have been willing to pay 10% to 20% more than they would for a similar home in a neighborhood without those offerings.

“For this to work ... people have to perceive value in what you’re doing,” he says. “If they really love that neighborhood, they’ll be talking about that over and over, and that will drive increased value in the marketplace.”

With the growing interest in sustainability, healthy living, and the farm-to-table movement, Campana predicts that demand for residential-based agriculture will grow.

Bucking Horse is designed to be replicable; Bellisimo chose D.R. Horton as the builder in part due to its size and influence, hoping that the No. 1 builder in the country—and on our BUILDER 100 list with over 25,000 closings in 2014—would take some of these principles to its next project.

While making urban agriculture work requires not just careful initial planning but consideration of how the project will be maintained, there’s no shortage of ways for developers to achieve that goal, Campana says. “What we’ve found is that the sky really is the limit.” — laura mcnulty

SITE PLAN

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Single-family homes

Chicken coop

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Community planters

MONTH 2015

BUILDER 45

INTRODUCING THE NEW FORD TRANSIT

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3

PROJECT The Cannery Location Davis, Calif.

Developer The New Home Co., Aliso Viejo, Calif.

Land Planner/ Landscape Architect SWA, Los Angeles Architects Jeffrey DeMure + Associates, Woodley Architectural

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Builders (as of August 2015) The New Home Co., Shea Homes,

Standard Pacific Homes Site Size 100 acres Completion Date Opened August 2015; buildout 2018

are plentiful,” says Kevin Carson, president of the New Home Co.’s California office. The Cannery is being built on 100 acres of the former Hunt-Wesson tomato canning factory. When city code required a 150-foot buffer from the bordering farm, the New Home Co. devised its own farm that provides both buffer and backstory.

“There are less expensive ways of providing a buffer,” Carson says. “The overall cost was significant, but to do anything right, you

have to be authentic. More and more, health is about what you’re eating. We felt it was the right thing.”

At least there were no water-rights hoops to jump through in this drought-stricken state. Tests of an existing well on the property showed that it has enough capacity to serve the farming operation.

And it is a true production farm, not a community garden, though there is room for that in the master plan. The developer is

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Jeffrey DeMure + Associates Architects

The task of master planners is to fit a community into a place, preferably by tying into the typography and culture around it. In Davis, Calif., the New Home Co. is incorporating a 7.4-acre working farm into the mixed-use Cannery community. The urban farm, which adjoins an existing farm on its eastern boundary, taps into a tradition of local agriculture and the farm-to-fork movement.

“Davis has some of the best agricultural land that California has to offer, and crops

Group, Dahlin Group, Lim Chang Rohling & Associates, KTGY Group, JZMK Partners

Retail area with townhomes in the background

building a working barn, cold storage, equipment shed, and farmhouse, all of which will be given to the city to lease to the Center for Land-Based Learning. The nonprofit aims to teach people how to produce salable crops on plots of land and accomplish attendant tasks such as marketing and packaging. As a selfsustaining facility, the farm will not be part of the homeowner association dues.

Those dues will support the community’s other perks, such as 10 miles of bike and pe-

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destrian trails within 300 feet of each home and a clubhouse, pool, and spa. If buyers want rural ambience, they also want retail and R&R. The 15-acre mixed-use community entrance will include restaurants with patios that look into a landscaped amphitheater.

“After the last recession, how a neighborhood connects to retail is more important than ever,” Carson says. “We’ve seen the upward appreciation in homes a quarter-mile from Starbucks. People want to know where

they can walk to.”

The New Home Co. is diversifying its planned 547 units by offering both singlefamily homes and affordable multifamily rentals set for a certain income level. “This is the first master planned community approved in Davis in 25 years,” Carson says. “We needed to be all things to all people and designing for many different market segments will provide the feel of a true neighborhood.”

Many of the homes are designed for aging

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Frame T H E CA N N E RY

Jeffrey DeMure + Associates Architects; Site Plan Courtesy SWA

Single-family homes

in place with wide hallways, a downstairs bedroom and bath, and showers you can wheel into. While the developer won’t be building the apartments itself, some of its homes will offer rental units above the garage or detached single-level casitas that provide homeowners with income opportunities in this college town. Both renters and home buyers will be provided with their own backyard fruit or nut trees. Prices are expected to range from the upper $400,000s

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to $900,000.

Design guidelines reinforce the agrarian agenda without slavishly copying the past.

The developer worked closely with Jeffrey DeMure + Associates to develop a pattern language of four-sided architecture with high gables and shutters, contemporized with simple detailing. “We tried to bring something that was not hokey but of the Davis area,” DeMure says. “The agrarian aspect was born out of the charrette process we went

through. Our charge was to take what was just an idea and make it beautiful.”

The signature farmhouse has lap siding and a broad front porch, and the barn is clad in rustic Montana timber. Based on focus groups, nine different architectural styles emerged for the houses, ranging from farmhouse to Craftsman to mid-century modern and from brick to stucco to board-and-batten siding.

“We looked at a couple of periods from the

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SITE PLAN

1920s to the 1950s to convey the idea that this neighborhood evolved,” says DeMure. For inspiration, the firm took a photo inventory of Davis’ landmark neighborhoods, which contain a mix of styles.

Carson anticipates that the Cannery will bring residents closer to nature’s rhythms.

“People will be able to see the seasons of farming by riding their bikes past the pumpkins and sunflowers in bloom,” he says. — cheryl weber

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

Bike and pedestrian trail

AUGUST 2015

B U ILDER 51

National Association of Home Builders

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It features a separate chapter for remodeling. Small projects such as kitchen and bathroom remodels now have their own path within the rating system. The energy efďŹ ciency chapter has been substantially revised.

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MILLION IN 2000

MILLION BY 2030

AMERICANS AGE 65 AND OLDER

BABY BOOMERANG Welcome to the 2015 MFE Concept Community, “Baby Boomerang.” This year we’re taking a look at the housing wants and needs of baby boomers, the nation’s second-largest generation, with our partners Holland Residential, J Turner Research and David Baker Architects. Now there is a go-to online resource for best practices and strategies for how to reach the baby boomers.

Case studies, research and insights will be shared in the following key areas: • multifamily finance & economics • new multifamily design—construction & renovation trends

• strategic operations & technology investments • leasing & marketing strategy

The first of the 80 million baby boomers turned 65 years old in January 2010—which means nearly 30 percent of the U.S. population is now entering their retirement years. According to The Bipartisan Policy Center, the population of Americans age 65 and older will grow from 35 million in 2000 to about 73 million in 2030. Visit mfeconceptcommunity. com for tips on building, marketing and operating apartments for the baby boomer generation.

• desired amenities

LEARN MORE : MFECONCEPTCOMMUNITY.COM SPONSORED BY

Architect Handel Associates, New York

Landscape Architect Landworks, Boston

Location Washington, D.C.

General Contractor Plaza Construction, Arlington, Va.

Total Units 275

Interior Designer Rockwell Group, New York

Completion Date Summer 2015

Developer Fisher Brothers, New York Architect of Record Hickok Cole, Washington, D.C.

In multifamily development, amenities such as fitness centers, swimming pools, bicycle storage, and dog parks have long been passé; most renters don’t give them a second look.

This “amenities arms race” has forced developers to up the ante to compete for tenants, says Andrew Marshall, executive vice president of development at property management firm Roseland.

His company’s new apartment building in Washington, D.C., is catering to freshfood aficionados by bringing the grow-ityourself movement to the city. Located on the H Street corridor not far from Capitol Hill, Station House maximizes its hip, emerging neighborhood with unexpected amenities geared toward food-obsessed urbanites.

New York–based developer Fisher Brothers put the emphasis on food activities, with a community garden atop one roof, a 20-footlong harvest table for produce to be set out, and a demonstration and tasting kitchen where area chefs can show off their skills for tenants.

To reinforce the back-to-nature vibe, interior designers introduced a plant-based theme with a 43-foot-long terrarium in the lobby and others throughout the residential corridors. The game room serves up table tennis, Skee-Ball, and foosball, another unusual perk not found in most rental communities.

Altogether, the amenity package totals more than 20,000 square feet.

“We wanted people to come home from work and enjoy a dynamic lifestyle with lots going on in the lobby, two courtyards, and three separate rooftops,” Marshall says.

Fisher Brothers recognized a void in the area for a large-scale, multifamily dwelling after constructing Station Place, its trio of office buildings in the H Street corridor of Washington, D.C. “The area was on the precipice of change and offered a great location near Capitol Hill,” says firm partner Winston Fisher.

To attract the anticipated millennial de-

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mographic, Fisher Brothers executives studied how the cohort lives. “We knew we needed large spaces for socializing but also pockets of intimacy,” Fisher says. To achieve a balance, the firm hired cross-disciplinary expert and New York–based Rockwell Group for design and space planning.

While the building targets millennials, it also was designed to appeal to empty-nesters returning to the city. To suit these two demographics’ varied needs, the apartments

Rent $1,750 to $6,000 per month

range from studios to three-bedrooms, sized from 415 square feet to 1,650 square feet with rents from $1,750 to $6,000. More than 90 plans are available.

Within the units, the look is the favored open-style loft, with high-end hickory floors and big windows, some facing the Capitol. In public spaces, Thom Forsyth, senior interior designer at Rockwell, displayed his firm’s hip signature style with blackened steel, brass, reclaimed wood, and concrete materials and

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Ira Wexler

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PROJECT Station House

Katie Baroody

Demonstration kitchen

Rooftop planter beds

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Rooftop garden

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a jewel-tone palette.

Kitchens were designed to meet the high standards of foodie tenants who enjoy cooking with features such as movable islands, stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, and vertically laid subway tile.

Residential corridors are carpeted in a cherry blossom design to pay homage to the city’s famous trees. Forsyth also commissioned handcrafted furniture for greater personalization, designed a library wall to cam-

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ouflage the mail room, and used marble at the concierge desk. The overall feeling is like a cool, welcoming hotel.

Designed to earn LEED Silver certification, the building features energy-efficient appliances, fixtures, and lighting as well as sustainable landscaping. Project designer and landscape architect Chris McFarlane of Landworks in Boston installed cisterns to capture rainwater; improved the streetscape with multilevel plantings; landscaped the

courtyards; and designed roofs for the community garden, dining terrace, pool deck, and dog park.

Station House’s amenities-driven lifestyle has sparked a noticeable change in the neighborhood. “A Giant [grocery store] and Whole Foods are going in, but townhouses are being preserved, [too]. It’s a nice blend of development and preservation,” Fisher says.

“The area has gained its own hip identity.”

— barbara ballinger

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Katie Baroody

Front entry

Ira Wexler

Apartment kitchen

Lobby terrarium

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SURFACESHIELDS.COM

Wire

RISK TAKER PG. 62 I

IMPATIENCE IS A VIRTUE Nelson Mitchell has used threats as opportunities to improve his family business.

By Les Shaver

Cooper Neill

Nelson Mitchell came from four generations of home builders in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but he didn’t catch the bug for the business until he went to work for someone else.

Growing up, Mitchell, current president and CEO of HistoryMaker and Rendition Homes, spent summers working on

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Wire M A STER M A N EU V ER ER

sites run by HistoryMaker, his family’s company. He quickly decided toiling in the 100-degree Texas heat wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life. Then he spent a summer in College Station, Texas, where he attended Texas A&M. “One summer in college, I stayed at school and went to summer school and got a job with local framer and enjoyed that,” he says. “And I guess caught the passion for building.”

After graduation, Mitchell was back in Dallas, working for the family business. But he wasn’t an apprentice for long. In 1998, his father, Bryan Mitchell, suffered a serious heart ailment, and Nelson took the reins sooner than expected. “That was baptism-by-fire experience that accelerated my growth,” he says.

In the past 15 years, facing both competitive and economic threats, he’s maneuvered HistoryMaker, a stalwart in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, in new directions.

Advancing and Retrenching HistoryMaker survived Y2K and a leadership transition in 2000, but there were bigger threats on the horizon. A number of national builders had their eye on the Dallas market.

“We needed to grow this company if we were going to be competitive,” says Mitchell, who became president of the company in 2000. “We had our eye on 500 units a year.”

Mitchell joined the NAHB’s Builder 20 group and began benchmarking his company against peers. The entry-level builder also changed its business model—focusing on a “more home, less money” value proposition. At the time, the market was going crazy. HistoryMaker’s sales jumped from around 300 homes per year in 2002 to just under 1,200 in 2006. Even with stiffer competition, it became one of the market’s top 10 builders. “Then the recession happened and we scaled back,” Mitchell says.

Oftentimes, when a company experiences meteoric growth before a crash, it’s one of the first to disappear when things go sour. That wasn’t the case with HistoryMaker. Paige Shipp, Metrostudy regional director in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, thinks it’s because the builder didn’t venture into new places. “So many other builders were saying, ‘Let’s go into Phoenix and go into Las Vegas,’” Shipp says.

“That killed a lot of them.”

But that didn’t mean there wasn’t pain.

HistoryMaker’s sales cratered at 315 in the depths of the downturn. “As we downsized,

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“AS WE DOWNSIZED, WE WENT THROUGH THREE MAJOR ROUNDS OF LAYOFFS. AT THE END OF THAT YOU’RE CUTTING INTO MUSCLE AND BONE.” - Nelson Mitchell, president and CEO, HistoryMaker Homes we went through three major rounds of layoffs,” Mitchell says. “At the end of that you’re cutting into muscle and bone.”

Lessons Learned The recession forced Mitchell to again take a deep, critical look at his company. In 2000, the issue was larger competitors consolidating in his market; this time the threat was an economic cycle. He needed to buffer the firm against another downturn.

Mitchell learned the importance of processes and systems, specifically leveraging technology to steer his business. The company opens four homes a day and it schedules them through a central support center. It employs a full-time market research analyst to evaluate and it has a third-party customer satisfaction company that surveys its customers. “We have as much data as possible readily available in an automated fashion to give us feedback in different areas,” he says.

The second part of the equation is people.

Mitchell wants “competent people in all of the departments that we have,” especially following the cuts made during the recession. “Having a super competent team, whether it’s the construction team or accounting, is really important,” he says. “When you do start to grow, highly talented people are able to handle issues that come with growth.”

The most important lesson learned may have been about diversification. In Texas, entry-level builders were hit hard. “During 2004 and 2005, all of the builders in Dallas-Fort Worth were racing for the bottom,” Shipp says.

“As soon as the bottom fell out, everyone just closed shop and got out of as fast as they could.”

During the recession, Mitchell launched a move-up brand, Rendition Homes, and a luxury brand, Rendition Luxury Homes. “As we reinvented ourselves, we wanted to be more

diverse and move with the market as it cycles up and down,” he says.

While HistoryMaker is an established name in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, it’s known as a first-time home builder, and Mitchell “felt like it would difficult to take a first-time brand and move it into the higher price points. We felt like we needed a new brand, a new name, and a new look.”

Since launching Rendition in 2011, Mitchell’s sales have continued to increase. In 2014, the builder closed 562 homes, putting it at No. 65 on the 2015 BUILDER 100. That growth is continuing into 2015. “We have not seen any kind of letdown,” he says.

But in most of Texas over the past few years, product and execution are only part of the success story. The state’s economy lifted everyone, but last year’s dip in oil prices cooled things, specifically in Houston. Yet Mitchell remains optimistic about the Dallas metro, noting that “the job market in Dallas and the diversity of the economy is pretty phenomenal.”

Entry-Level Resurgence Right now, community openings are skewed toward the upstart Rendition product line, but the long-established HistoryMaker brand still accounts for 75% to 80% of the company’s sales.

Mitchell expects to have about 12 HistoryMaker communities and seven Rendition communities open by the end of the year; Rendition Luxury Homes will have around 10 closings this year.

As Mitchell expands up his move-up line, demand in the first-time segment seems to be returning. Shipp says many first-time buyers have been forced into resale homes. “Somebody will have to provide an affordable product for first-time home buyers because it’s really not out there,” she says.

Who else is better equipped to fill this void than HistoryMaker? While Mitchell won’t slow the Rendition openings, he well-positioned for the opportunity for his entry-level brand.

It’s exactly that ability—to deftly switch between market segments—that Mitchell envisioned when he re-engineered the company during the downturn.

“Our goal isn’t to be the biggest,” he says.

“We just want to be a large regional builder in Dallas-Fort Worth, be profitable, be quality conscious and customer-satisfaction focused, and be very good.” B

B U I L D E R O N L I N E .C O M

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TRANSFORMER David Riedman knew that revamping his company’s products would be risky, but with great risk comes big rewards

By Lindsay Machak

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cooking a great meal. You’ve got a lot of the right ingredients coming together and if you’re missing one, you can’t pull it off. Right now, we are doing a lot of things right.”

Coming Home Riedman graduated with a degree in landscape architecture from Purdue University in 1987. After a year in Ocean City, Md., he returned to Upstate New York for a job with a developer until he started Riedman Cos., with partners, in 1994.

“I found the best way to control the character of a community and get the homes built

was to control the vertical and become a home builder myself,” he says.

Riedman contends that one of his best competitive weapons against larger, public builders is his knowledge of the Rochester area and the people who live there. Empty nesters currently are providing the largest opportunity in the area. In addition to single-family homes, the company has diversified to build apartments and condos as well.

“I like the idea very much of having an impact on a community and the aesthetics and place-making,” Riedman says. “I feel very privileged to be part of it in my hometown.” B

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Matt Wittmeyer Photography

When David Riedman scrapped the designs of @home Builders’ homes, he knew it was a huge risk. The company—the single-family home subsidiary of Riedman Cos.—builds in Upstate New York and needed to refocus after the recession. Riedman, founder and president of both companies and a Rochester, N.Y., native, recognized that @home needed to streamline operations to better serve its customers.

That’s where consultant John Schleimer stepped in to help. The company had been offering more than 40 different floor plans for homes, many of which they hadn’t sold in years. Schleimer did an extensive study of each floor plan and compared it to the competition.

“Builders can reduce the plan portfolio to a more manageable number,” Schleimer says.

Riedman and Schleimer built off the most successful plans to develop new designs and touches while narrowing the company’s focus down to eight floor plans. Riedman says giving the company a fresh outlook on design provided it with a competitive edge against the largest builders in the area, like Ryan Homes.

“The 40 or 50 plans that we offered were no different than what our competitors were offering,” he says, noting that in New York, “you need a licensed architect to produce a set of drawings. So, right away, from a competitive advantage stance, you’re not any step ahead of the competition if what you’re offering has a very similar look and feel.”

Rethinking the floor plans freshened up @ home Builders’ products and boosted its sales.

After selling 16 homes in 2008, it sold 29 in 2011.

This year, Riedman expects to set a new high with 30 homes sold. “In this business, there is no silver bullet, he says. “But I think it’s an improving climate for home sales. ... It’s like

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Join the Conversation.

Thank you.

We thank our national sponsors for their commitment to making the 2015 Home Builders Blitz a success while helping Habitat work toward its vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

Columbia Forest Products

Interwrap

Kraftmaid Cabinetry

Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc.

Join us for Home Builders Blitz 2016.

Learn more at habitat.org/events/homebuildersblitz. #HomeBuildersBlitz

Special thanks to all Habitat affiliates, local builders and contractors who helped build, renovate and repair nearly 200 homes in more than 50 communities.

AGC All Area Roofing & Construction American Heating and Cooling Anchor Constructors LLC APCOM Ashton Woods Atkinson Construction B.D. Welsh Construction Co. Balfour Beatty Construction Barrett Construction & Renovation LLC Beagle Construction Carlyle Construction Central Woodwork Charles Yokely Construction Corey Barton Homes Creech Home Builders Diesslin Structures Inc. E2 Homes Ferguson Enterprises Griner Construction Hancock County Home Builders Association Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Cape Cod Homes by Dickerson Larry Kerns Construction Legacy Custom Homes

Lessard Builders Loyd Builders Marysville Trades Council McCarthy Construction Nor-Son PCI Builders Real Green Solutions Robuck Homes Rogers Group RQ Construction Clark Construction Saussy Burbank Savvy Homes SCR Northern Sonoma Building Co. Teichert Construction The Comfort Group The Jones Co. The Lee Co. The Moorings Grand Harbor John’s Island Todd Isenhour Homes Veritas Construction Virgil Atkinson Wes Hanson Builders WTHBA

* This list is not all-inclusive; it contains only the names of participating builders that were provided by Habitat for Humanity affiliates at the time of our request.

B E F O R E O W N E R S C R E AT E A LO O K I N S I D E T H E H O M E , B U I L D E R S M U S T C R A F T A

S H UT T E R S

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VE NTS

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VE NT I L AT I O N

Look Who’s Renting As the homeownership rate creeps lower, a number of builders are testing rentals

BY SH A R ON O ’ M A L L E Y

W

hen Gilbert, Ariz.–based Higley Homes built its first community of 185 single-family homes in 2012, its three owners—all newcomers to home building—offered half of the three- and four-bedroom, entrylevel dwellings for sale and the other half for rent.

“The strategy, for us, was very compelling because it offered a little more downside protection,” says principal Matt Blank, a former hedge fund stock analyst. “We could sell them to individuals, or we could sell them [to investors], or we could rent them out. We had three different angles.”

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The trio sold 34 homes, at an average price of $205,000, within four months of Higley Park’s grand opening. On the rental side, 40 of the twostory houses leased up at the same time.

That’s all it took for the partners, including Blank’s brother, Sam, whose background is in real estate equity, and Darryl Berger, a private real estate investor, to get out of the for-sale business and focus solely on building new homes for rent.

Higley Homes isn’t the only home builder whose head has been turned by a seemingly chronic upswing in the rental market. Miamibased public builder Lennar—No. 2 on our most

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Higley Homes’ single-family homes for rent in Gilbert, Ariz., feature high-end touches like granite countertops, recessed lighting, ceramic tile and birch cabinets. The builder will sell the three- and four-bedroom rental homes to willing buyers.

recent BUILDER 100 list—is renting a community of 80 freshly built, two-bedroom, detached houses in Sparks, Nev., and is building or planning $6 billion worth of apartment buildings, and in July formed a $1.1 billion joint venture to develop apartment communities in 25 metropolitan markets. Ryland Homes is countering what it calls “the slow absorption” of townhomes in the crowded Chicago market with plans to rent out 108 brand-new quads in 27 buildings in suburban Matteson until the market improves and the builder can put them up for sale. Caviness and Cates Communities builds 400 homes a year for sale and also rents out apartments in the 85 multifamily buildings it has constructed since 1998. Toll Brothers has found some success with garden apartments and high-rise multifamily, even as its overall focus remains on for-sale product. And a smattering of small- and mid-size builders

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are solidifying the hybrid model in a growing number of local communities, building some for-sale and some for-rent homes as the market continues to teeter rent-ward.

Economic Driver In fact, 5.8% of the 535,000 single-family homes started in 2014 were built to rent rather than to sell, the NAHB estimates. That’s up from 2% in 2006.

Even with the growth spurt, NAHB’s chief economist David Crowe says the number is “so small that it’s hard to tell whether that’s really a big wave or just a dabble.”

Either way, notes Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, builders “are just following where the money is. The builders are saying, ‘Maybe there will be more home buyers in the future, but right now, there are plenty of renters and

the rents are rising, so why don’t we follow the money?’”

For Fayetteville, N.C.–based Caviness and Cates, “it’s a good model,” says co-owner Chris Cates, whose company’s one- to three-bedroom garden apartments in North and South Carolina rent for $800 to $1,200 a month. “I don’t see the negative of it.”

In fact, the rental market has delivered its share of positive news over the past few years.

As the rate of homeownership has fallen to a 20-year low, the 2010s are on track to become “the strongest decade for renter growth in history,” according to “The State of the Nation’s Housing,” a Harvard Joint Center for Housing Research report released in June. Among the 22 million new households that will form from 2010 to 2030, 13 million will rent and 9 million will buy, the report predicts.

That’s reason enough for some home build-

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Courtesy Higley Homes

ers to reach into the rental market, says New York–based Stanley Morgan research analyst Haendel St. Juste, who thinks homeownership—which historically has been embraced by 65% of Americans at any given time—eventually will whittle to a stable 63%. The Harvard report puts that number even lower: By 2030, it predicts the homeownership rate will drop to 61.3%. Regardless of which number is correct, St. Juste says, “We think the rental segment of housing can win.”

Susan Maklari, a senior equity analyst with UBS Securities in New York, agrees. She points to the difficulty many potential home buyers—particularly young, first-time buyers—are having with qualifying for mortgages. The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that lenders deny nearly 30% of mortgage applications, for which they require more documentation, higher credit scores, and tighter debt-to-loan ratios than before the housing boom of the mid-2000s.

Plus, Maklari notes, more young adults are lingering longer as tenants than in the past, when a greater share of them would rent for a brief time and then purchase their first homes at a younger age. And while the millennial generation—those born after 1980—still are the largest group of home buyers, the share of first-timers in the marketplace has fallen to its lowest level since 1987, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Some home builders have responded to that unique market condition by scrapping their entry-level product lines while they wait for the millennials to make their move.

Neither Higley Homes nor Caviness and Cates, for example, build new product for first-time buyers.

“It’s hard to make margins on that entrylevel product right now,” says Cates, who points to high land, lot, and labor costs. “And getting [first-time buyers] qualified for loans is tough.

We’ve got plenty of people wanting to write offers, but getting them qualified is tough.”

Others, it seems, are turning what might have been entry-level, for-sale communities into rentals.

“The inability of the American family to access the mortgage market” has led more would-be homeowners to the single-family rental market, Lennar CEO Stuart Miller said during an earnings conference call in March, shortly after the company introduced its forrent Frontera at Pioneer Meadows community in Sparks. Rents for the two-, three- and four bedroom detached homes, which include

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touches like granite countertops and stainless steel appliances—usually reserved for for-sale properties—start at $1,399.

When to Rent Miller has not said the Sparks project was initially intended as a for-sale community of first-time homes, but analysts say it would make sense for a builder to market entry-level homes-in-progress for rent once the company determines they are unlikely to sell because of an uncooperative market.

“If nearby comps aren’t at a high enough price point because you paid too much for the land, or the people you’d like to sell to can’t get mortgages, those are beyond your control,” St. Juste says. “But what you can do is find an alternative use. You can look at what’s our best outcome here—let it sit on the balance sheet, empty, or try to monetize it.”

A home builder who steps into the rental market can transfer the experience and competencies from one industry—around land acquisition, construction, and purchasing— into the other, says Charles Elliott, manager of Toll Brothers Apartment Living, the builder’s rental arm.

Toll Brothers built its first apartments for rent, in Virginia and New Jersey, in the late 1990s before “anybody knew how good the apartment business was going to be during the downturn,” Elliott says, noting that the properties did “phenomenally well” in 2008 and 2009.

So in 2010, the luxury home builder renewed its focus on rentals, starting projects in suburban New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. Next, Toll will expand its rental reach to the West Coast, Elliott notes, building high-density suburban infill and urban product in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The mortgage-shy millennials who are likely to rent Toll’s luxury apartments could be the builder’s clients for life. “They’re at a point in their life when renting an apartment make sense,” Elliot notes. “A few years go by, they have kids, get promoted, and the time comes to buy a Toll Brothers house or townhouse.

Then their kids grow up and go to college and they’re empty nesters, and they want to live in a condo in the city. We’re able to provide a whole broad spectrum of product that appears to that customer for an entire life.”

Caviness and Cates also encourages its tenants to buy with the builder when they’re ready to move up. The builder offers free appliances and assistance with closing costs, and it will let renters break their leases with

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no penalty if they’re moving into one of the company’s new homes.

Still, because of the builder’s lack of entrylevel product, Cates says, few of the company’s sales are to current tenants. “We’ve priced ourselves out of that,” he says.

Offering a mix of rental and for-sale product, though, could buffer a builder from the impact of another downturn—and even from the current sluggish housing recovery—by putting rental product in place that will move when demand for apartments outpaces home sales, and vice versa.

Toll and other builders also have the option of selling their rental properties—by the building or by the unit—if the demand for sales surges.

In fact, institutional investors seem eager to purchase single-family homes—whether they’re new, existing, or distressed—that they can convert into rentals.

St. Juste estimates that real estate investors have bought more than 528,000 single-family rental homes since 2011. Although they traditionally have favored deeply discounted foreclosures, a dwindling stock of distressed homes has refocused investors on newly built, single-family houses—which they sometimes contract before construction starts.

comes out before they make it a big conversation with investors and the public.”

As for those who won’t consider the possibility of building for-rent property, Maklari says she isn’t surprised. “Builders like to build,” she says. “They like to build it, sell it, and start the whole process again.”

Elliott says rentals will always be Toll’s second love. “Home building is always going to be our core business,” he says. “Apartments will never take the place of home building, but it will be an important part of the business now and going forward.” B

Staying on the Sidelines Most traditional home buyers are unlikely to shift their focus—even a piece of it—to rentals. Some, like Atlanta-based PulteGroup, have said they’re not interested. Others might find the rental side to be too customer service oriented: Landlords, after all, have to have staff available around the clock to unclog tenant toilets, unlock apartment doors for residents with lost keys, and mediate noise complaints and other neighborhood spats. Plus, they have to find renters, repaint apartments, repair what breaks, and eat the cost of units that sit empty—for an average of two months—between tenants.

“It’s a very different business model,” Maklari notes.

Even for the builders who have successfully gone to the other side, the endeavor is still experimental, she adds, and many are keeping their successes and failures to themselves. “It goes out of their comfort zone,” Maklari says.

“They’re not completely sure how it will go, or of some of the pitfalls, or how it will play itself out. Rather than openly discussing it and making it a whole kind of to-do, they’d rather just dip their toes in the water and see how it

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Courtesy Caviness and Cates

Caviness and Cates Communities builds on subdivisions and does not develop its own lots. In addition to building single-family homes, the builder constructs apartment buildings and manages the rentals.

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Escape Artists Five winners of this year’s Gold Nugget Awards show off the best in vacation home design

BY K AY L A DE VON , L AU R E N SH A N E S Y, A N D J E N N I F E R G O ODM A N

Vacation homes are hot. Thanks to increasing buyer confidence and a loosening of credit restrictions, the category saw its biggest increase last year in over a decade, catapulting to an estimated 1.13 million sales, up 57% from 2013, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the astonishing growth nearly doubled combined total sales of the previous two years. “Last year’s impressive increase also reflects long-term growth in the numbers of baby boomers moving closer to retirement and buying second homes to convert into their primary home in a few years,” he says.

Popular styles of vacation homes run the gamut from snowbird condos on the beach to sprawling lakeside getaways for an extended family. The winners of this year’s Gold Nugget Awards, presented by PCBC and sponsored

by BUILDER, show off the best in this burgeoning category: Five of the top single-family honorees are vacation retreats.

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These homes demonstrate the latest design trends in the vacation market. For example, second-home buyers often will give up square footage in the bedrooms for more open living areas, says Sean Richardson, principal of design and planning at Jeffrey DeMure + Associates Architects in Granite Bay, Calif., who notes that “vacation homes function more like hotels.”

Low-maintenance products also are key, says John E. Sather, senior partner at Swaback Partners Architecture in Scottsdale, Ariz. “Several of our clients are willing to pay more to get more durable materials up front rather than find they have major maintenance bills down the line,” he says.

But undoubtedly the most important consideration for high-impact second homes is a connection to the outdoors, according to Salt Lake City architect John Shirley. “The house’s design must accentuate the connection to the exterior environment, maximizing views and opening interior to exterior space,” he says.

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Mark Davidson Photography

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GOLF COURSE RESIDENCE GRAND AWARD

LOCATION LA QUINTA, CALIF. ARCHITECT SOUTH COAST ARCHITECTS, NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. BUILDER BRADSHAW CONSTRUCTION, LA QUINTA INTERIOR DESIGNER TATE INTERIORS, WHITEFISH, MONT.; SOUTH COAST ARCHITECTS, NEWPORT BEACH PROJECT SIZE 3,949 SQUARE FEET

Architect Frank Stolz knew an ordinary plan wouldn’t be enough for this luxury home with majestic views of the Santa Rosa Mountains. Instead, Stolz designed a central, open-concept space where both east- and westfacing glass walls retract like pocket doors. The result is a seamless integration of interior and exterior living spaces where residents can walk from the front lawn to the living room and to the rear pool without ever feeling like they stepped inside.

The clear sightline to the mountain view through the open living space creates a natural focal point, which is further accentuated by the use of indigenous materials and a neutral color palette. Stolz was cognizant of the surrounding scenery and worked with the client to avoid masking the natural beauty.

However, that doesn’t mean they skimped on the modern luxury amenities.

In the central living pavilion, the front lawn precedes onto an outdoor courtyard where there’s a fireplace to the right and a fountain to the left with floating steps that lead to the owner’s entrance and motor court.

When the glass doors are open, the courtyard flows into the living space where most of the client’s entertaining will occur. Stolz included everything necessary for a fully functioning kitchen while maintaining a bar-like appeal. Opposite the kitchen is a fireplace and television with three main seating areas for reading, lounging, and dining.

The home’s 65-foot rear glass wall fully retracts and leads to a recessed fire pit that sinks into the landscape.

To avoid obstructing the scenic views of the golf course, Stolz also included a 25-meter infinity edge pool.

On either side of the central pavilion are two bedrooms that Stolz says function as hotel villas with private ensuites, walk-in closets, and secluded gardens with outdoor showers. With all of the entertaining the home invites, the privacy of the suites provide a serene retreat when needed. — kayla devon

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Alan Blakely Photography

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ALPINE RETREAT GRAND AWARD

LOCATION DEER VALLEY (PARK CITY), UTAH ARCHITECT THINK ARCHITECTURE, SALT LAKE CITY BUILDER MAGLEBY CONSTRUCTION, LINDON, UTAH INTERIOR DESIGNER DENTON HOUSE DESIGN STUDIO , SALT LAKE CITY PROJECT SIZE 5,576 SQUARE FEET

For these transitional modern lodges, the architects at Think Architecture designed an alpine retreat where residents could connect with the outdoors.

The Stein Eriksen Residences—created to give a modern update to the Stein Eriksen Lodge ski resort— include 15 semi-custom, 5,576-square-foot houses and 39 condominiums in the heart of Deer Valley, Utah.

The homes seamlessly blend with the mountain scenery by incorporating organic elements and simplicity into the design, creating a natural yet luxurious retreat. They are built with recycled wood siding and multicolored stone that is native to the area, while wide steel beams and low-pitch metal roofs put contemporary touches on the traditional lodge. The striking finishes of the whiteoak woodwork and timber beams emphasize the rustic environment.

“Success was based on maximizing views and light in every space,” says firm principal John Shirley.

“The winter months can be quite gray, yet maximized windows, light interior colors, and modern detailing have created a dynamic living space.”

The site posed a challenge for the architects—the small space, steep incline, and height restrictions for a four-story house complicated the design process. But Shirley says the obstacles only enhanced the architecture of the lodge, and the designers utilized the floating staircases as a focal point within the home.

“We decided to celebrate the height,” he says. “As you access the various floors, the view becomes more impressive and when you reach the third floor, with its open living space, you are met with this massive view of the Wasatch Mountains.”

While expansive windows offer residents panoramic views of Deer Valley, Park City, the Snyderville Basin, and the Uintah mountain range, balcony and deck spaces blend the indoors and outdoors and provide places to enjoy the surrounding natural beauty. — lauren shanesy

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MOUNTAIN RETREAT MERIT AWARD LOCATION TRUCKEE, CALIF. ARCHITECT SWABACK PARTNERS, SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. BUILDER NSM CONSTRUCTION, TRUCKEE INTERIOR DESIGNER KIM ANDERSON DESIGN, PHOENIX PROJECT SIZE 6,246 SQUARE FEET

Vance Fox

At this mountain retreat in Truckee, Calif., architect John Sather wanted to give his clients a one-ofa-kind design that put a fresh spin on a traditional mountain cabin. The home has strikingly modern elements that contrast with natural finishes, and floor-to-ceiling glass windows surround the homeowners with sweeping views of the forest.

ANDALUSIA AT CORAL MOUNTAIN MERIT AWARD LOCATION LA QUINTA, CALIF. ARCHITECT PEKAREK CRANDELL, SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CALIF. BUILDER T.D. DESERT DEVELOPMENT, LA QUINTA INTERIOR DESIGNER IRMA SHAW DESIGNS, SAN DIEGO PROJECT SIZE 5,089 SQUARE FEET Roger Wade Studio

For this model in a 490-home golf community, the builder and architect went for a new, fresh take on the Spanish-style desert home by incorporating clean, contemporary interiors. The expansive layout allows for a courtyard, private casita for guests, double islands for entertaining, and large retractable glass doors for maximum views.

LAKE TAHOE GETAWAY MERIT AWARD LOCATION TRUCKEE, CALIF. ARCHITECT JEFFREY DEMURE + ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS PLANNERS, GRANITE BAY, CALIF. BUILDER TC HOMES, RENO, NEV. INTERIOR DESIGNER THE FIND, RENO PROJECT SIZE 3,555 SQUARE FEET

Vance Fox

The spectacular mountain setting dictated the layout of this Lake Tahoe retreat. To maximize the sweeping views, architect Sean Richardson placed primary living spaces and dual master suites on the upper floor. A dramatic broad staircase, handcrafted exposed trusses, vaulted ceilings, and a massive stone fireplace create a high-impact interior.

For more about each home plus a slideshow of photos visit: 82 B U I L D E R

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News From Housing’s Ground Zero /// Edited by Jennifer Lash

LANDSCAPE

NAHB Chairman’s Letter

Be Prepared Builders and subcontractors need to plan for unforeseen circumstances, and they deserve reliable insurance policies

From designing floor plans to driving the last nail, building a house is no easy task. Cadres of contractors and subcontractors in the carpentry, electrical, plumbing, and construction fields all have skin in the game.

With such an involved process, builders and their subcontractors need to plan for unforeseen events. We all hope that the proverbial rainy day won’t come, and we do everything in our power to prevent it, but being prepared for it is an essential business practice.

For that reason, many builders purchase expensive insurance policies to cover issues that may arise during home construction.

So it’s very concerning when insurers attempt to evade coverage for items builders typically expect to be included in their policy.

Insurers either may use endorsements to exclude features such as drywall containing sulfur or exclusions like “contractual liability” to deny construction defect claims.

A legacy of the problems with defective drywall manufactured in China is that some carriers are using restrictive language that excludes drywall products containing sulfur or sulfur derivatives. The problem? All drywall has sulfur. So a builder named on the drywall subcontractor’s general liability policy that

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has the “drywall with sulfur” exclusion may not be covered for drywall claims. To address this problem, the NAHB has collaborated with the Gypsum Association to draft alternative language that builders and their subs can give to their insurers, brokers, and agents.

Insurers increasingly are citing the contractual liability exclusion to avoid paying for damages related to residential construction.

This narrow provision does not cover “bodily injury” or “property damage” because builder liability is assumed in the contract or agreement. Conflicts over the contractual liability exclusion may end up in court. When this happens, NAHB’s legal team files amicus briefs in support of builders and homeowners seeking compensation from insurers.

I am pleased to report that we’ve had significant courtroom victories. In June, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit reversed a lower court ruling in Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. v. St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Mobile, Ala., stating that the contractual liability exclusion was not applicable and the insurer was liable to pay for the “damages” in question.

This comes on the heels of a similar legal victory in October, when the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals determined in Crownover v.

Mid-Continent Casualty Co. that a builder who agreed in his contract to repair damages caused by a failure to perform in a good and workmanlike manner did not violate the contractual liability exclusion.

The NAHB understands the importance of reliable insurance—especially considering the expense of these policies. In addition to creating language for insurers and filing amicus briefs, the NAHB constantly monitors the landscape and keeps its members informed.

The NAHB will continue to employ legal and legislative advocacy measures to ensure that insurers follow through on their obligations. Home builders need to have high-quality insurance every step of the way. — tom woods, nahb chairman of the board

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DRYWALL BY THE NUMBERS

4,051 the number of reports the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has received from residents in 44 states, Washington, D.C., American Samoa, and Puerto Rico who believe their health symptoms or the corrosion of certain metal components in their homes are related to problem drywall

56% of the reports received by the commission were from residents of Florida Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission

The U.S. Department of Labor in June released a draft regulation that proposes updating the salary level at which certain “white collar” workers would be exempt from minimum wage and overtime pay from the current $23,660 to $50,440.

NAHB economists have found that more than 110,000 construction supervisors would no longer be eligible for the exemption, and may be overtime eligible under this new rule.

Under current law, workers who earn less than $23,660 a year are considered nonexempt employees, and employers must pay them time-and-a-half for any hours they work over a traditional 40hour work week.

The Fair Labor Standard Act’s white collar exemptions exclude certain executive, administrative, and professional employees from federal minimum wage and overtime requirements. Certain computer professionals and outside sales employees also are excluded. The new proposed overtime regulations would take effect Jan. 1, 2016.

NAHB is concerned that changes to the overtime standard will reduce jobadvancement

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LANDSCAPE Home Innovation Research Labs

Builder Practices Home Innovation’s latest Annual Builder Practices Survey provides valuable industry insight According to the latest Annual Builder Practices Survey, conducted by Home Innovation, the home building industry is finally climbing out of the doldrums, and some exciting, unexpected opportunities are revealing themselves. For over 30 years, Home Innovation’s annual survey and reports have tracked market shares of building material categories.

Some of the most interesting findings from the latest survey include: • Fire sprinkler systems are found in 12% of all new single-family detached homes and 55% of multifamily units. Builders’ top choice is still the CPVC stand-alone system, but PEX combined plumbing and sprinkler systems are gaining popularity, accounting for onethird of all sprinklers in new single-family detached (SFD) homes.

• Whole-house mechanical ventilation is moving closer to becoming the norm. Since 2008, shares of SFD homes with whole-house ventilation have grown from 9% to 27%.

• Garage door upgrades are up across the board, including insulated doors (66%), those with windows (37%), and those made of composite or plastic materials (11%). In 2014, 32% of all new SFD homes had bays for three or more cars—the most ever recorded by this study.

• In kitchen countertops, granite (64%) and quartz/engineered stone (6%) continue to gain popularity at the expense of laminate, solid surfacing, and ceramic tile.

• The single basin kitchen sink is making a comeback, growing from 5% to 20% of all new SFD homes in the past decade. Granite/stone kitchen sinks (8%) are growing at a faster rate than any other material type, and enameled cast iron is rebounding from its recession-induced low in 2009. Shares of one-piece cultured marble lavatories continue to decline.

• In flooring, carpeting remains the most

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popular material in new homes, dominating with about 83% of all new-home bedroom installations, but now only at about 40% of living rooms. Hardwood flooring—both solid and engineered varieties—is the second-most popular flooring category with 27% of all newhome installations. Ceramic tile—now with 72% of all bathroom floor installation in new homes—follows in the third position with 20% of all new-home flooring installations.

• Cooktops and wall oven combinations now have 24% of the market—taking share from freestanding stoves, which have 45%. Freezeron-bottom refrigerators are now at 19%, and side-by-side, while still the most common configuration, has slid to 28%. In third is the traditional freezer-on-top with 13%.

This is just a sampling of the findings. Full reports are now ready to deliver for the following report categories: • Appliances • Bathroom Accessories • Beams and Headers • Cabinets for Kitchen and Bath • Countertops • Driveways • Ducts • Exterior Doors • Faucets • Fencing and Landscape Walls • Finish Flooring • Fire Sprinkler Systems • Foundations • Garage Doors • Home Standby Generators • HVAC Systems • Infrastructure • Interior Doors • Interior Finishes • Outdoor Structures • Patio Doors • Plumbing Fixtures • Roofing • Sheathing—Floor, Roof, and Wall • Soffit and Fascia • Structural Systems—Floor, Roof, and Wall • Swimming Pools • Underlayment • Windows For a list of all reports, visit www.Home Innovation.com/DataReports.

opportunities and the hours of fulltime construction supervisors, leading to construction delays, increased costs, and less affordable housing options for consumers.

With the Labor Department acting to more than double this overtime threshold to over $50,000, NAHB and others in the business community argue that such a surge is unlikely to result in an increase in workers’ take-home pay. Rather, it would force businessowners to structure their workforce to compensate by scaling back on pay and benefits, as well as cutting hours to avoid the overtime requirements.

The 60-day comment period closes Sept. 4; NAHB will detail its concerns and opposition to the rule. It also will work with its trade and business coalition partners to seek rule changes and call for a 90-day extension to the comment period.

STANDARD EXTENSION Enforcement of the new Confined Spaces in Construction Standard, issued by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) in May, will be postponed until Oct. 2. Extension requests noted that employers need more time to train and acquire the necessary equipment.

The ruling still will go into effect Aug. 3, but OSHA will not issue citations to an employer that is making goodfaith efforts to comply with the standard.

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LANDSCAPE

HOME SALES BREAKDOWN As current owner equity increases, more existing home sales will produce new-home purchasers

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THE FUTURE IS LOOKING BRIGHTER. EXISTING HOME VALUES ARE INCREASING, RAISING OWNERS’ EQUITY ALONG WITH THEM.

David Crowe chief economist, nahb dcrowe@nahb.com

Peter James Field/agencyrush.com

The new-home sales market is greatly dependent on the existing-home sales market.

Currently, at least 80% of new homes are purchased by buyers who sold an existing home. In better times, when the first-time buyer is more active, repeat buyers’ share could sink to 65% to 70%—still a substantial portion of sales.

The modest housing recovery has slowed existing homeowners’ normal turnover; or existing homeowners’ reluctance has slowed the housing recovery. The cause and effect are difficult to separate although several contributing factors are identifiable.

New-home sales totaled 439,250 last year, up 43% from the low in 2011 but still well below the annual average from 1990 to 2002 of 751,000. Sales are recorded in official Census data only for those homes built for sale or broadly referred to as speculative built. The sales totals do not include homes not “sold” but built directly under the order of the purchaser or on the purchaser’s land, broadly referred to as custom built. In 2014, one-quarter of single-family housing starts were built as a custom home and were not included in the for-sale category. That share is down from the 1990 to 2002 average of 31%. In terms of absolute values, 162,000 single-family homes were started as custom homes in 2014, up from the trough of 123,000 in 2011, but still well below the earlier average of 349,000.

Purchases of a new home by existinghome sellers are split with about two-thirds buying for-sale or speculative built homes and one-third buying custom built. The falloff in the first-time home buyer has affected the for-sale or speculative built market to a greater extent because 88% of the first timers who did buy a new home bought a speculatively built home. The slow recovery in the new-home sales data is partially due to the greater impact on the speculative built homes

from first-time home buyers’ withdrawal.

Homeowner equity matters a lot. According to CoreLogic, about 5 million home owners remain underwater, meaning their outstanding mortgage balance exceeds the value of their home. Another 1.3 million home owners have 5% or less equity, making it difficult to cover selling costs. If the equity needed to induce selling and provide a down payment is expanding to 20%, then the number of homeowners with a mortgage who are unable or unlikely to sell expands to nearly 15 million. Homes with low or no equity remain concentrated: about one-third are in 10 states.

The balance of 35 million homeowners with a mortgage have sufficient equity to use for a down payment on a new home, as well as the 24 million that have no mortgage.

Nearly one-third of owner-occupied homes have no mortgage but more than half of those households are 65 or older, and only 2% of that age group typically buy a home in a year. Further, equity for those with a mortgage rises with value so the most likely mortgaged home with sufficient equity is a higher valued home. This is a driving reason behind the shift in the median sales price of new homes. Sales are shifting to those with sufficient equity and current income to qualify for a mortgage. Sales of new homes below $200,000 fell from over half of all sales in 2002 to one-quarter in 2014, and sales of homes priced at $400,000 or more increased from 9% to one-quarter over the same period.

The future is looking brighter. Existing home values are increasing, raising equity along with them. Home price indexes that avoid measuring price changes because of the type of home sold is different (called samesales price indexes such as those published by the S&P/ Case-Shiller or the Federal Housing Finance Agency) have increased at about 5.5% in the past three years versus 4.5% in the 1990 to 2002 period. At the same time, affordability remains good in most markets. Out of the 226 metropolitan markets measured in the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, 92% have an index above 50, meaning the typical household (earning median income) can afford at least half of the homes recently sold. As current owner equity increases, more existing home sales will produce new-home purchasers. B

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AUGUST 2015

BUILDER 95

Fit & Finish M I L L E N N I A L S BY T H E N U M B E R S

50% of Gen Yers are renters — Urban Land Institute

78.6M Americans are considered Generation Y — Urban Land Institute

21%

of millennials live at home with their parents or other relatives — Urban Land Institute

26% 14% 36%

the share of millennials who currently are homeowners — Urban Land Institute

of Gen Yers live in a home with three generations of family members

of millennials say they are “suburbanites” — Urban Land Institute

— Urban Land Institute

76% 70% 38%

of millennials live on their own — Urban Land Institute

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of millennials expect to buy a home by 2020

of Generation Y never had student debt

— Urban Land Institute

— Urban Land Institute

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