Live blogging from IBS

Later today I'll be leaving for Las Vegas to attend the International Builders Show.  Although I expect to be pretty busy while there, I'll also try to live blog about any important announcements, ideas or new products that I see.

I've also been asked by Peninsula Publishing, publisher of Builder & Developer magazine, to contribute daily updates from the show floor to BuilderBytes, their email newsletter which is sent three times per week to 130,000 professionals in the building industry.

If you do see me at the Peninsula Publishing booth, at an education session or at a party, please be sure to say hello.  I'd love to hear how you're faring during this stage of the housing rebound.

November column for Builder & Developer magazine now online

My column for the November issue of Builder & Developer magazine is now posted online.

For this issue, entitled "Where Will the Boomers Live?,"since I had already written this year about issues including single-person households, multi-generational households and Millienials, I wanted to also write about the very important cohort of Baby Boomers, how they're saving for retirement, and where they expect to live.  An excerpt:

Fortunately, Pulte Homes’ Del Webb subsidiary, which has long had its own army of market researchers, has been conducting its own Baby Boomer survey since 1996.  For these surveys, the company separates out younger Boomers (those turning 50 years of age in the next year) and older ones (about to turn 64), and separates them into four groups:  younger Boomers, older Boomers, boomers who were 50 in 1996 and were about to turn 65 in 2010, and current residents of Del Webb communities, most of whom were age 60 to 76.

Some of the differences between the surveys of 1996 and 2010 are striking. Compared to 50 year-olds in 1996, today’s younger Boomers plan to retire four years later (age 67 vs. 63) and are half as likely to be prepared for retirement (16% vs. 34%).  Over four in ten think they’ll never be financially prepared to retire, and nearly four in ten haven’t started to save for it...

To read the entire column, click here.

To read the entire November 2012 issue in digital format, click here.

Congrats to Builder & Developer on its 250th edition!

October 2012 marks a big milestone for Builder & Developer magazine -- it's 250th edition!  The magazine, launched in the beginning stages of the last housing recession in the summer of 1990, not only thrived through that difficult period, but spawned sister titles such as Green Home Builder, Residential Contractor and 50+ Builder. Today, the magazine certainly holds its own alongside other national titles including Builder and Professional Builder.

My own relationship with Nick Slevin and his flagship magazine started nearly five years ago, when I started writing a regular column for Builder & Developer.  Although I had previously been writing for California Builder magazine, I had secretly been coveting the much larger subscriber base held by Builder & Developer (and couldn't help but notice that I almost always found a copy of the magazine when visiting clients' offices.)

More recently, when I approached Nick about working with me to create an email newsletter focused on economics, he suggested that I begin participating in BuilderBytes, which already had a built-in readership of over 130,000 people.  Now, three times per week, BuilderBytes includes the regular economic news which drives housing demand, the stock market and Federal Reserve policy.  Subscribe to this publication, and you'll never miss a story on housing sales, building permits, consumer confidence, builder confidence, retail sales and business productivity.  It's the ONLY email newsletter serving the building industry which includes this data!

Congratulations to Nick Slevin and his dedicated team who regularly publish Builder & Developer and its other titles.  I look forward to the next 250!

BuilderBytes' MetroIntelligence Economic Update for 9/15/2011

Please click here to see the edition of BuilderBytes for 9/15/2011 on the Web. In this issue of the MetroIntelligence Economic Update, I cover why California Economist Christopher Thornberg doesn't see a double-dip recession, the rise of mortgage applications, prices for U.S. imports and exports, the producer price index, retail sales and business sales & inventory levels.

Want to subscribe to BuilderBytes so you don't miss future editions! Send a request to info@builderbytes.com.

Want to advertise in the newsletter and reach over 100,000 readers? Contact National Sales Manager Nick Cosan at nkosan@penpubinc.com.

Want to make sure your company or event is included in the events calendar? Contact editor Dani Smith at dsmith@penpubinc.com.

BuilderBytes for 9/12/2011

In a new feature for BuilderBytes, the twice-weekly newsletter emailed to over 100,000 subscribers from Peninsula Publishing, I am now going to be covering recent economic statistics released through various sources since the last edition.

This latest feature is an extension of my current relationship as a regular columnist for the publisher's flagship title, Builder & Developer magazine. I had been wanting to create a regular newsletter that was different from the others which currently fill your inbox(es) for some time, and since BuilderBytes was in the middle of being re-designed, this was the perfect opportunity to begin my new contribution.

Entitled the "MetroIntelligence Economic Update," the purpose of the new section is to provide one-stop shopping for updates on the U.S. economy in terms of unemployment, housing, auto sales, consumer confidence, mortgage applications, etc. so you can react in real time for your own businesses. Each issue will include brief summaries of the update along with a link to the original source.

Please click here to see the edition for 9/12/2011 on the Web. In this issue, I cover economist Mark Zandi's review of the Obama jobs plan, unemployment claims, the U.S. trade deficit, consumer credit and wholesale inventories.

Want to subscribe to BuilderBytes so you don't miss future editions! Send a request to info@builderbytes.com.

Want to advertise in the newsletter and reach over 100,000 readers? Contact National Sales Manager Nick Cosan at nkosan@penpubinc.com.

Want to make sure your company or event is included in the events calendar? Contact editor Dani Smith at dsmith@penpubinc.com.

June 6th edition of BuilderBytes out

From the latest edition of BuilderBytes, a bi-monthly newsletter emailed by Peninsula Publishing to nearly 100,000 subscribers:

How Green Are America’s Top Home Builders?
reuters.com
The environmental and sustainable practices of the United States' largest publicly traded homebuilders were recently ranked in a major new report by the mutual fund company Calvert, one of the nation's leaders in the field of sustainable and responsible investing. Calvert designed the research into homebuilder sustainability with support from the Boston College Institute for Responsible Investment.
www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS119932+05-May-2008+PRN20080505

USGBC Announces Recipients of Excellence in Green Building Curriculum
buildingonline.com
Recognition Awards & Incentive Grants
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded twelve programs its inaugural Excellence in Green Building Curriculum Recognition Awards and Incentive Grants. The awards and grants program is a central component of USGBC's commitment to identify and disseminate innovative green build curricula to educators across the country.
http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=7082&subcategory=208

Green Home Building Market Has "Tipped" and Is Expected to Double by 2012,

According to New Report from McGraw-Hill Construction
McGraw-Hill Construction
McGraw-Hill Construction, a part of The McGraw-Hill Companies, today presented the findings of its latest market research investigating “green” home building, focusing on changes in green building activity between 2001 and 2007; the impact of the down market on green home building; opinions and preferences of builders for green materials and processes, and triggers and obstacles affecting green building expansion.
http://www.construction.com/AboutUs/2008/0512pr.asp

The Builder and Developer magazine 2008 Resource Directory and Buyer's Guide has been released

Use the guide online to find a product or service, get in touch with a builder directly, get the contact information for a state or government agency or trade association or review hundreds of the latest new innovative homebuilding products. You can also peruse the advertisers web sites and send e-mails to the by lines authors directly.

There are over 2,000 live links and industry listings making this a remarkable industry resource for your ongoing use. Bookmark the link or paste it into your browser.

Hard copies of the Buyer's Guide are available directly from Peninsula Publishing at 949.378.9997 or by contacting advertising@penpubinc.com

May 3rd edition of Builder Bytes released

The May 3rd edition of BuilderBytes was released last week. Among the highlighted stories:

Anaheim to postpone residential builders' fees
ocregister.com
The city approves a temporary program that moves back payment deadlines.
Anaheim The City Council voted unanimously to temporarily delay housing development fees to spur residential construction during the tough real estate market.
Mayor Curt Pringle said he wanted developers "to understand that in this city, they don't have to pay all those fees upfront."
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-fees-housing-2026084-developers-anaheim

Overall Performance Metrics Make Case for Going Green
ENR.com
Long-awaited confirmation that buildings constructed to sustainability standards of the U.S.Green Building Council’s LEED system generally perform better than uncertified buildings has arrived thanks to two recent studies. Looking at energy savings, occupancy rates, sale price and rental rates, they found that LEED buildings use an average of 25% to 30% less energy than non-LEED buildings.
http://enr.ecnext.com/coms2/article_nebuar080409

Home Builders' Association of Northern California Opens Urban
Home Builders' Association
SAN FRANCISCO--The Home Builders Association of Northern California, the Bay Area's largest association of home builders and a noted source of public information on home buying issues that affect the public, has opened an urban division at 660 Mission Street in San Francisco. "We have opened a new urban division with an office in San Francisco to address – in part - the city's initiatives toward higher density housing," said Joseph Perkins, HBANC President & CEO.
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_
view&newsId=20080501005125&newsLang=en

Builders' creativity rises as housing market slumps
wtol 11
TOLEDO -- Spring is usually a great time to sell a home, but, these days, not so much. In fact, the nation's homebuilders report the lowest number of home sales in more than 16 years.
http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=8239021