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  • Share your story
    By Maureen Alley - Monday October 3, 2011
    In the September issue, we published a column by Bill Styczynski. Bill shared his experiences – struggles and successes – through the housing slowdown and recession. It was a very honest and raw look at everything he’s been through. I am very honored that Bill felt comfortable enough to share everything so honestly with our audience. We’ve received a lot of great feedback from that article. The October issue includes another similar article – this time by Andy Rosenthal. Again, I am honored Andy felt comfortable to share his story with RD+B . Because I believe you learn from others’ stories, publishing these columns is very important. There are many builders and designers I’ve spoken with who are struggling...

  • Marketing you might not have thought about
    By Rob Heselbarth - Friday September 23, 2011
    At lunch last week with a few builders and remodelers, the conversation turned to awards competitions. A regional competition is still open, and some of the builders were encouraging the others at the table to enter. Soon one of them asked, “What do you do once you win?” Plenty of advice followed: - “Market the crap out of your victory” - “Slap ‘award winning builder’ on everything you can” - “Place the award logo on all your marketing materials” - “Toot your horn as loudly as you can to anyone who will listen” Then one of the remodelers told a quick story about a former client who was trying to sell his home. The client/homeowner was telling all potential buyers that his home was remodeled by a Master...

  • The new normal
    By Laurie Banyay - Friday September 16, 2011
    Next week marks my three-month anniversary of working on Residential Design + Build and its sister publication, Qualified Remodeler . Although I come from a construction publishing background, it always focused on commercial construction so this was the first time I had written about homebuilding. Like everyone else, I’ve spend the past handful of years hearing about how bad the housing market is, how new construction is almost non-existent and how homes are sitting stagnant for years before any buyers come along. As bad as all of that sounds—and it is bad—I still have hope. This past summer, I’ve talked with many of you who have lost jobs, had to lay off staffs and have downsized your operations. Yet you’re...

  • The post I didn’t want to write
    By Maureen Alley - Sunday September 11, 2011
    I’m having a hard time coming up with today’s blog post. It’s all because I’m writing this on the Friday before the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Every where I turn, there is something about 9/11: survivor stories, stories of those who didn’t make it; discussions of “where were you”; ceremony details; and so on. I wanted to write a post about the industry, about Obama’s job speech last night, or anything that relates. But all I keep thinking about is 9/11. I am conflicted with Sunday’s anniversary. I want to remember those who lost their lives, and the heroes that came out of that day, but I also don’t know where the line is of sensationalizing it and giving the bad guys the attention they want. I want to share...

  • Use AskObama to Bring Focus to Housing
    By Maureen Alley - Tuesday July 5, 2011
    It's that time of year again: The Presidential Election Time. During the last election, Obama took advantage of social media, email and other online technology to reach out to potential voters. He's continuing that trend for his re-election bid. Tomorrow at 2 p.m. EDT, voters can participate in a Twitter town hall. Using the hashtag #askobama, you can ask him questions about the economy and jobs. He will be answering questions in a live webcast. It's no secret that President Obama has been criticized for not putting enough attention on the housing industry. Will you participate in the town hall to bring his focus to the housing industry? What questions do you plan to ask or would like to ask him? What do you hope he says in the town hall...

  • Texas fights for incandescent light bulbs
    By Maureen Alley - Tuesday June 21, 2011
    Compact florescent light bulbs are getting a push from the federal government as some state governments fight back. Texas is one state fighting that push with a new bill allowing incandescent light bulbs to be made and sold within the state. The federal mandate doesn't ban incandescent bulbs but rather tightens restrictions on them: 100 watt bulbs have to be 25 percent more energy efficient. Under the Texas bill, any incandescent bulb will be available for use in the state. CFLs also are known to contain mercury which is released when the bulbs are broken. As reported in an NPR report, good recycling methods for CFLs have not been figured out yet therefore when the bulbs are broken at landfills, the mercury is released into the soil...

  • Americans speak out: Homes are investments
    By Maureen Alley - Friday June 17, 2011
    This spring, I attended the Pro Expos by Pella to give two talks. One of the talks covered the subject of how to avoid competing on price. Within this presentation, I touched on the fact that builders and remodelers need to emphasize homes as investments. I recognized - and still do - the fact that many homeowners see their home values shrinking by the day. Some are even underwater as found in recent reports. Well, it looks like despite everything, Americans - not just homeowners - see homes as a strong investment according to recent poll results from the National Association of Home Builders. In NAHB's results, it shows 82 percent of the respondents see homes as a strong investment, 85 percent see home ownership as part of the American...

  • Positivity will move us forward
    By Maureen Alley - Friday June 10, 2011
    There has been a lot of news this week about foreclosures, mortgages, and the future of the housing market. And not much of it has been very positive. On Tuesday, CoreLogic released a new report showing that more than 40 percent of homeowners with second mortgages are underwater. Then on Wednesday, the Associated Builders and Contractors held its Mid-Year Construction Forecast webinar that included chief economists from ABC, the National Association of Home Builders and the American Institute of Architects. All three economists were in unison saying the residential housing market is still struggling and we need consumer confidence and jobs to recover first before anything else - which is unique since residential construction usually pulls...

  • Market to the new home buyer
    By Maureen Alley - Friday March 18, 2011
    Are you marketing your services to Gen Y and Gen X? If not, you might want to start. In a recent webinar held by the National Association of Home Builders, the presenter Mollie Carmichael, principal of John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine, Calif., said Gen Y and Gen X will drive the home market recovery. I agree with Carmichael. My husband and I bought our first home last February. The reason we moved to buy our home was the tax credit. How could we pass that up? We weren't in ideal circumstances - just moved back to Wisconsin from Chicago and only my husband was working. But we made it work because we've wanted our own home for so long - and we had to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit. A year before we bought our home, a...

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