RECENT BLOG POSTS
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The size of new homes in the U.S. increased about 20 square feet per year from 1973 (the first year the Census Bureau began tracking new home size). In 1973, the median size of a new single-family home in the U.S. was just over 1,500 square feet. The median size peaked in 2007 at 2,309 square f...
12/03/2009
This article appeared in today's edition of Big Builder Online. Who's next, the Realtors who represented the buyers? The lenders who gave them mortgages? What about the local governments who approved the neigborhoods and issued the building permits for those homes?Gee, maybe I can file a federal ...
09/10/2009
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This is a sequel to my last blog, E + R = O. For those of you who have read Napoleon Hill's "Think & Grow Rich", this will probably sound familiar. For those of you who haven't, I highly recommend that you add it to your reading list. "Think &Grow Rich" has been described as one of the most in...
02/07/2009
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For those of you who have read Jack Canfield's Success Principles, you are familiar with the formula E+ R = O. For those of you who are not, the formula is E (Events) + R (Response) = O (Outcome). The formula expresses the idea that our response to every event we experience in our lives determi...
02/05/2009
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"Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company."- George Washington - First President of the United States I consider this quote from our first president good advice. I have always believed that one of our most va...
01/25/2009
The University of Michigan's monthly survey is an ongoing nationally representative survey based on telephonic household interviews. The Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS) is developed from these interviews. It gives a very accurate indication of the future course of the national economy. The Inde...
09/04/2008
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As a Builder, I am extremely interested in the current debate about the home building and mortgage finance industry. One comment I have heard repeatedly over the past several weeks is the need to return to "sound mortgage standards" based on home values of 2.5 to 3 times income, 30 year fixed ra...
07/17/2008
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In my blog on the BuildingCredibility.com website last weekend, I posed the question "Does the Rise in Foreclosures Constitute a Crisis?" Last Monday I responded to a commentor who reported a rumor that IndyMac bank was close to bankruptcy. Based on my research of the facts, I concluded that it...
07/13/2008
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There has been a lot of media focus in the past few months on the historic rise in the price of housing in the United States over the past few years. This rise in price has made housing out of reach for many home buyers. For those who think housing in the United States is unaffordable, consider...
05/10/2008
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As green building grows in notoriety, how can you be assured that your new home or remodel is truly Green. You need to insist that your Builder's or Remodeler's claims are checked by an accredited, third-party certifier. The Building Contractors Association of Southwestern Idaho (BCASWI) has form...
05/09/2008