It May Be Time for Builders to Get Back in the Game

Housing markets in California that have been among the worst hit by the current downturn appear poised for recovery, according to speakers at PCBC in California on June 17-19, but the marketplace that emerges there and in other parts of the country in the coming months and years will be far different than what preceded it, they said.

Builders were advised to prepare themselves to do business with prospective home buyers who are looking for a place to live rather than a quick financial investment, and they were told they will have to balance consumers’ diminished, more realistic expectations with their ongoing desire to find a new home that is nevertheless innovative and exciting. ...

Green Not Always an Easy Sell to Skeptical Consumers

Although “green” is now very much in the nation’s vernacular, green builders should not assume that consumers are sold on sustainability, Suzanne Shelton, president and CEO of the Shelton Group, told the NAHB National Green Building Conference last month in Dallas.

Shelton said that prospective buyers of green homes are more concerned about what sustainable features will do to improve their lives than to save the planet, and at a time when the state of the economy is the leading concern, consumers are looking to save money on energy but also to avoid paying some of the higher prices they associate with green. ...

New Guidelines Needed to Appraise Distressed Properties

Using foreclosed and distressed sales as comparables with appraisals on single-family homes without adequately reflecting the differences in the condition of the respective properties is needlessly driving down home values, according to NAHB.

"Any home buyer can recognize the difference between a well-kept home and a distressed property that is damaged or not properly maintained. So it only makes sense that an appraiser should be required to consider the overall condition of a property and the specific factors related to a foreclosure or distressed property sale when selecting and adjusting the value of comparables," said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson. ...