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Financial

Business financials advice, reports, and trends for professional home builders and remodelers.


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The Five Foundational Cornerstones

Business coach Scott Beebe shares insights into the often ignored business basics that could be the difference between long-term success and failure




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Business

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.

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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.

Financial

Mortgage applications tumble as interest rates climb

Rates on home mortgages climbed this past week, causing mortgage applications to plummet, according to HousingPredictor.com. The average rate on a fixed 30-year mortgage climbed to 4.46 percent, showing that the foreclosure moratoriums enacted by major lenders are affecting the housing market.

Financial

Real-estate price cuts hit 18-month high

For the second straight month, a record number of home sellers have cut the price on their house at least once. As of Nov. 1, 27 percent of sellers had lowered the asking price, the highest number in 18 months. In several cities, those numbers were even higher.

Financial

6 markets positioned for recovery in 2011

Most experts agree that very few housing markets will experience a full recovery in 2011, but HousingPredictor said six cities, including Denver, Fargo, N.D., and Washington, D.C., should make solid gains next year.

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