Over the past several weeks, I have been thinking about the environment that will define homebuilding and real estate development as we emerge from the Great Recession. The way that most developers and builders are currently organized, staffed, strategizing, and operating does not fully appreciate what that environment will be. That fact will create peril for some and great opportunity for others. More>>>

Spring has historically been the best time of the year to sell houses. The old place won’t do anymore; it is too big, or too small. Or families want to move to where the schools or better. Magically between late January and late May those decisions come to fruition contemporaneously with the forsythia, the tulips, and the emergence of crabgrass in the lawn. More>>>

Names are important. What we call ourselves and what others call us helps to define who we are and what others perceive us to be. They can also influence what we become in the future. More>>>

I have been thinking a lot about how the housing market works itself out of its current situation and into whatever the new “normal” will be. The current “normal” is pretty easy to figure out: still a significant number of foreclosures working through the marketplace, the private builder community decimated, bank lending nearly non-existent, and mortgage lending on life support. The new home activity seems to be centered on entry level product that has been stripped to the bone to provide “value” and to be able to compete with the seemingly endless wave of foreclosures. More>>>

Why CEOs and boards of directors at home building firms should demand independent operational audits in addition to their financial examinations. More>>>