Financial
Financial
<h1>Financials</h1><p class="vocab-desc">Business financials advice, reports, and trends for professional home builders and remodelers. </p>
Cash Isn't Just King, It's Your Lifeline
Four experts explain how paying attention to cash flow can help keep builders from robbing Peter to pay Paul
Business
Show Me The Money
Use these tips to increase margins in 2019
Business
Strategies for Maximizing Profit
Custom home builders talk about what they do on the front end of a project to achieve better margins
Leadership
Is A GMP Contract Right For You?
Guaranteed maximum price contracts require a true team effort and an open-book policy
Advertisement
Financial
Mortgage rates continue to rise
Mortgage rates rose for the second straight week, and could continue to climb higher, according to HousingPredictor.com.
Financial
Survey: Nearly half would walk away from mortgages
Almost half of people surveyed by Housing Predictor say they will walk away from home mortgages if housing prices continue to drop.
Financial
New year opens with more mortgage applications
Home buying activity is on the rise to open the new year. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that the number of applications for home mortgages crept up 2.2 percent last week. However, when the index isn’t adjusted for the New Year’s holiday, the numbers are 47.5 percent higher compared to the previous week.
Customer Service
Survey Defines Custom-Built Home Demographics
New research by Custom Builder magazine provides insights into client profiles, home specifications, and top business challenges. Among the findings: homes are getting smaller, purse strings are tightening, and move-up buyers rule the market. Check out our full report.
Leadership
Snapshot of the custom-home market
Last month, the U.S. Census Bureau released the first batch of the freshly collected 2010 census data of the nation. The big news so far: The official resident population count increased 9.7 percent over the 2000 census to 308.74 million people (the slowest growth rate since the Great Depression), with most growth occurring in the South and West regions, led by Texas.
Financial
Study shows delinquent borrowers don’t always default on second mortgage
A study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia shows that 20 percent of homeowners that go into foreclosure on their first mortgage continue to make payments on a second-lien mortgage. The story was reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Financial
National housing prices corrected to 2003 levels
Real estate prices nationwide have corrected back to first quarter 2003 levels and could wind up near third quarter 2002 prices, according to estimates from John Burns Real Estate Consulting. These prices are a 5 percent correction from the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
Financial
Toll Bros. reports $50 million profit, despite sharp decline in contracts
Luxury home builder Toll Brothers said its new contracts fell 27 percent in its most recent quarter compared to a year ago, The New York Times reported. The company reported a $50.5 million profit, but noted that demand remained erratic.
Financial
Budget proposal would hit home sellers with higher taxes
Under the government’s proposed budget overhaul, Americans who sell their homes at a profit would be hit with much higher taxes. Although President Obama’s deficit commission failed to get the necessary votes, one proposal is to tax capital gains the same as ordinary income. Previously, sellers were only taxed 15 percent on profits exceeding $500,000.
Leadership
Former Simonini executives launch Charlotte-area luxury home building company
Bill Saint and Doug Dozier, former executives with recently shuttered Simonini Builders, have launched a Charlotte-area luxury home building company that will take over where their former employer left off — building custom homes in two former Simonini neighborhoods.