DV Wise homes save you energy and money

Coal-fired electrical plants and other energy-producing and industrial manufacturing facilities, mostly built in the 1960s when “environmental stewardship” wasn’t in the mainstream lexicon, may actually hold the keys to the next generation of clean energy: waste heat.

Energy experts, from government agencies to university research programs and private companies, estimate that up to two-thirds of the heat generated by the creation of energy (e.g., fuels such as coal burned to generate electricity) dissipates into the air via smokestacks and other vents—a waste stream that also includes carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

Capturing that heat and either recycling it into a facility’s operation or putting it back into the power grid, however, has the potential to offset more energy consumption than renewables such as solar or wind power. According to the EPA, comprehensive waste-heat recycling from industrial, municipal, and agricultural uses would equal the energy generated by nearly 70 nuclear power plants.

Several solutions are emerging, including semiconductors that convert ambient heat from a steam or waste pipe into electricity to models such as the Green Machine by Nevada-based ElectraTherm that uses pressurized waste heat and a small turbine to recycle energy to the grid. Designed to scale up or down depending on the facility and amount of waste heat, the system can cost up to $200,000 per unit (other industrial waste-heat systems can be up to 100 times that) and returns its investment within five years, according to the company—perhaps less given applicable tax credits and utility rebates.

By:Rich Binsacca

www.dvwise.com

The 15% consensus increase, gleaned from the forecasts of six leading housing economists, is a far cry from the 20% to 50% surge in housing production that economists were calling for as the year began. Those predictions were based, among other factors, on the 20% acceleration of housing starts from January through October 2009.

The speed-up continued on pace through the first four months of 2010. But after the expiration of home buyer tax credits, which apparently pulled forward demand, housing starts slowed dramatically to a meager 549,000 seasonally adjusted rate in June. That’s below the 554,000 homes started last year.

Slow job growth, weakness in the overall economy, and continued deflation in home prices have forced adjustments in forecasts. But housing economists remain very bullish about the industry’s prospects later this year and into 2011. 

The NAHB, for instance, expects a 14% increase in housing starts this year. Chief Economist David Crowe believes that housing construction “will slowly improve throughout the second half of this year and into next year, bolstered by continued low mortgage rates, affordable housing prices, and an improving jobs market.”

In his latest economic note, Crowe put a positive spin on the June figures for total housing starts. First, he noted that single-family starts barely moved, “suggesting that they are at or near bottom.” Second, he said the monthly numbers for multifamily activity, which are typically very volatile, don’t look so bad when adjusted for quarterly activity.

IHS Global Insight was one of the most optimistic forecasters at the beginning of the year, calling for a 49% increase in housing starts. Chief Economist Patrick Newport now expects only a 14% increase in 2010 to 638,000 starts, followed by big increases in 2011 (962,000, or 51%) and 2012 (1,347,000, or 40%).

“The key for housing going forward is job growth,” says Newport, who expects the economy to add about 800,000 jobs in 2010, followed by 2.7 million, and 3.5 million increases in 2011 and 2012. Through June, the private sector had added 593,000 jobs, though employment remains 7.9 million below December 2007 levels, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The household formation rate will pick up once job growth takes off,” Newport says. “Increases in the household formation rate, in turn, will reduce the housing glut, and this will stimulate new construction.”

Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft remains among the most optimistic of housing forecasters. He’s still calling for a 19% increase in new home starts this year to 660,000. He believes that low mortgage rates, more affordable home prices, and an improving jobs outlook “should keep the trend in sales generally headed upwards toward year end and into 2011.”

Nothaft also has one of the most bullish forecasts going forward. He projects that housing starts will rise to 1 million next year, 1.5 million in 2012, and 1.8 million in 2013.

By contrast, Wachovia’s Mark Vitner has emerged as one of the most bearish housing forecasters. He expects housing starts to eke out only a 5% gain this year, due to summer weakness, though he’s calling for a big increase to 850,000 units next year. His forecast is contained in Wachovia’s Monthly Outlook.

“We now expect residential construction outlays to fall 7.5% during the third quarter but then look for a legitimate recovery in home sales and new home construction to finally take hold later this year,” says Wachovia’s July edition. 

The economists at Fannie Mae believe that job security will be the key to housing’s turnaround, even though housing is affordable now due to low mortgage rates and nominal housing prices. “As long as households are concerned about job security, affordability will not be the biggest driver of housing demand,” write Chief Economist Doug Duncan and Orawin T. Velz in their July forecast.

Another drag, the Fannie Mae economists say, will come from homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth. Five million homeowners had a mortgage with a loan-to-value of 125% or more in the first quarter of the year, according to First American CoreLogic.

Nevertheless, Fannie Mae still forecasts a 17% increase in housing starts this year to a 648,000 level, and a 44% increase to 932,000 starts next year.

PMI, the mortgage insurer, recently cut its 2010 new home sales forecast in half. Going into the year, the group was calling for a 19.9% increase in new home sales. Now, it only forecasts 9.4% growth. David Berson, the former chief economist at Fannie Mae, leads the forecast team at PMI.

“The expiration of the second tax credit has hit housing activity hard,” PMI wrote in its latest newsletter, “after having drawn sales forward into March and April. Moreover, all of the near-term leading indicators of housing activity suggest no pickup in coming months (and perhaps even additional declines.)”

PMI is predicting a 48.7% increase in new-home sales next year, though.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s.com, said at our Housing Leadership Summit in May that housing starts should reach about 700,000 this year, then rise to 1 million in 2011, and about 1.7 million in 2012. He described 1.7 million housing starts as consistent with demographics in a normally functioning economy.

Zandi recently said on PBS that the housing market appears to be “double-dipping.” He told PBS audiences that house prices will continue to decline this year as foreclosure sales and short sales pick up later in the year.

Nevertheless, Zandi has one of the more optimistic forecasts for growth this year. Moody’s expects starts to finish 2010 21% higher than the year before.

http://www.builderonline.com/economic-conditions/economists-still-forecast-housing-growth-in-2010.aspx

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Government-sponsored mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate for 30-year fixed loans this week was 4.57 percent. That’s the same as a week earlier and the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.

The last time home loan rates were lower was the 1950s, when most mortgages lasted just 20 or 25 years.

Rates have fallen since the spring. Investors, concerned with the European debt crisis, have poured money into the safety of Treasury bonds. Treasury yields have fallen and so have mortgage rates, which tend to track yields on U.S. debt.

However, low rates have yet to fuel home sales and have sparked only a modest increase in refinancing activity.

The housing market has slowed since federal tax credits for homebuyers expired at the end of April. And the latest decline in mortgage rates is unlikely to boost the market.

Mortgage rates have hovered near record lows for some time, so most people who can afford to buy homes or qualify to refinance their loans have already done so in the past 18 months. Doing so again wouldn’t be worth the cost for most.

Meanwhile, millions of Americans are unable to take advantage of the low rates. Many have seen the value of their homes plummet and have little or no equity. Or they lack good credit or steady income to get or refinance a mortgage.

Rates could go lower and still not budge the housing market, analysts say. That’s because a person without a job can’t afford a home and a person worried about losing their job is unlikely to do so either.

To calculate the national average, Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day.

Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to an average of 4.06 percent, down from 4.07 percent last week. Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.85 percent, up from 3.75 percent a week earlier.

Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to an average of 3.74 percent from 3.75 percent.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount. The nationwide fee for all types of loans in Freddie Mac’s survey averaged 0.7 a point.

by Alan Zibel,  AP

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Turning the tables on young men, young women will be the demographic group to watch, as they come to the housing market better educated and with higher paying jobs than their male counterparts.

In an NAHB webinar on June 30, James Chung, president of Reach Advisors, cited some demographic statistics about the U.S. population that ought to have an especially upbeat ring in the ears of the developers of multifamily rental properties. However, he cautioned that the dynamics of the marketplace will be dramatically different.

“The demographic winds have clearly changed for residential real estate,” Chung said, “from massive tail winds to massive head winds ahead. The good news is that multifamily still has some tail winds ahead after the storm subsides, much more so than other sorts of real estate, but the wind in the sails will be different from the past.”

Less Money to Spend on Housing

Nobody quite knows for sure how the emerging economy will color the behavior of consumers, but as the U.S. population begins to get back on its feet financially it is unlikely that typical housing consumers will have the wherewithal they once had to spend on housing.

In terms of household income, statistics from the Census Bureau depict a decade in which the top 10% captured 50% of all U.S. earnings and the top 1% landed 25%, he said. In inflation-adjusted dollars, from 2000 to 2008 incomes were down for every age group up through the younger half of the baby boom, those aged 45 to 54, who saw their median income plunge almost 12%.

The younger baby boomers, the large majority of whom are well-established home owners, will be able to soften that blow by falling back on healthy amounts of home equity, according to Chung. But that won’t be the case for Generation Y members, who have feet planted in both the 15-to-24-year and 25-to-34 age groups, both of which experienced a decline in median household income in the 7% to 8% range through 2008.

Born roughly in the 1980s through 1990s, members of Gen Y had actually been spending more than prior generations at their age even though they had less income than those who had preceded them, Chung said. But their high-spending ways began fizzling out with the onset of the recession, he said, as the subsidies they had been receiving from their parents started “shrinking fast.”

The nation’s current job situation remains at detrimental levels for housing, Chung reminded his audience, with roughly 20% of the workforce out of work, underemployed or so discouraged that it has dropped out. Returning to full-employment will need some time, maybe not as long as the decade or more the Japanese took to recover following the collapse of their financial institutions in the 1990s, he said, but that scenario is a more likely outcome for today’s precarious U.S. economy than the rapid job creation that used to occur in the aftermath of recessions.

What young women are able to earn in the period ahead and how well they fare on their career paths will have implications for housing, he indicated, perhaps enabling them to pass more quickly than expected through the upper end of multifamily rentals into the first-time buyer market.

The amount of support that prospective renters and buyers receive from the economy remains a major unknown, but Chung laid out some demographic numbers and market research on Gen Y that builders should be digesting now.

U.S. Population Keeps on Growing

The best news the demographics have to offer housing is that the U.S. population, unlike in most other industrialized countries, will continue on an upward march, growing from 300 million five years ago to 350 million 15 years from now and 400 million in maybe 25 years from today.

However, part of the challenge, he said is that this boost will be coming from segments of the population that don’t have the highest incomes. The number of individuals of mixed race will be growing the fastest — by about 150% — over the quarter-century span when the population shoots from 300 million to 400 million. The mean household income of that group is below the income of whites and Asian Americans. The second fastest growing group by race will be Hispanics — with a surge of about 120% — and they earn far less even than Americans of two or more races.

Appearing prominently in this population mix along with aging baby boomers, multifamily developers definitely have to pay attention to Gen Y because it is accounting for the bulk of demand in the rental housing market. Those in the prime renting age bracket of 22 to 30 will grow 17% from 2000 until 2020, when they will peak at more than 40 million strong, higher than the previous peak in 1985 fueled by the boomers.

Members of Gen Y are coming under income constraints not only because they are young but also because they increasingly belong to lower-earning racial groups. Forty-five percent of this generation is not Caucasian.

Gender Counts

But Gen Y is also where gender comes into play and women are achieving more than men, reversing the income gap between the sexes in the workplace. In 1972, men were 1.5 times more likely to earn a college degree than women; today it is the exact opposite, he said.

Women working full-time receive only 79% of the pay men earn on average, but single women in their 20s working in an urban environment are earning 105% of what their male counterparts are earning, and in some markets their paychecks are 120% of the men’s, he said.

As a result, multifamily builders can expect to see more young women popping up, especially where they are renting a higher-end premium product, Chung said. Additionally, these women are taking a longer time to get married and have children, and this is “dramatically shifting the demand and need for housing, reshaping rental housing demand as they go through the cycle.”

Multifamily rentals will also be running into some competition from homeownership among Gen Y women, part of a more general trend in which single women are accounting for 20% to 25% of first-time home purchases. As the job market tightens up, Gen Y women are likely to be a primary market for first homes.

Even so, Chung indicated that Gen Y women aren’t always easy to read. Despite their higher incomes, “their preferences are different,” he said. In studies of their values “they are much more willing and thoughtful about making tradeoffs and less willing to spend more.” They are more fiscally conservative than young men.

They are also responsive to housing that provides security and that enables them to create their own environment.

“A feeling of safety and security is huge,” he said, “and not to be underestimated. It’s not just about lock systems, but ways you can signal safety and security, and beyond the four walls,” such as feeling safe when jogging in the morning or evening.

Little details are also important. “Young women are many more times likely to read for pleasure than young men,” said Chung. “As you shrink space, this has implications for what built-ins you want to have, what you put on the coffee table in marketing. The differences between the sexes are getting much bigger than seen in the past,” including how they spend their leisure time. “And we haven’t seen how this will be playing out.”

Consumers Are Up in the Air

With men and women alike, builders are going to have to grapple with “fissures in consumer behavior,” according to Chung. “This is the first time we have seen so many consumer decisions up in the air.” Consumers are rethinking their prior brand preferences, their aspirations, where they want to focus their spending and where they are shaving it.

Also bridging gender differences, members of Gen Y have “technological expectations well beyond the rest of us,” he said. “They are using that to customize their lives on line and off line; their relationship to the digital world is different.”

In a generational split with the baby boomers, Chung said that demand for outdoor recreational amenities is softening among Gen Y at the same time that baby boomers continue to strenuously push for it. “A shift is going on,” he said.

Chung said that there are now markets in the country where the dynamics look favorable for new residential development. However, “there is very little correlation between construction and fundamental demand drivers.”

The real correlation is between home building and the availability of credit, which is notably lacking at the current time. “People are on the sidelines waiting to build,” he said, and when the necessary capital does arrive there will probably be a spike. “Capital availability will open up faster for multifamily,” he predicted, “because the fundamentals in many markets are better for multifamily.”

Source: NAHB

www.dvwise.com

DV Wise builds custom homes in the Lake Norman NC region

A product is only as sustainable as the sum of its parts. In the case of cabinetry, there are quite a few parts to add up.

When selecting cabinetry for a green-built home, dedicated research is required to break the products down and evaluate the origins of the wood used to make the raw materials, the resins that bind them, the chemical content of the glues used to adhere the parts together, and the VOC levels of finishes. 

Raw Materials

The base components of most wood cabinetry today are made with hardwood plywood, MDF, or particleboard. While these materials are more resource efficient than solid wood, manufacturing them historically has involved formaldehyde-laden resins; the high formaldehyde content off-gassing from some man-made materials creates health concerns, according to the Healthy House Institute, especially for people with chemical sensitivities.

Several major manufacturers of composite wood panels, including Timber Products and Columbia Forest Products, have already been working with resin manufacturers and refining their manufacturing processes to create no-added-formaldehyde (NAF) or no-added-urea-formaldehyde (NAUF) products. Columbia’s PureBond NAUF plywood, for example, utilizes a soy-based adhesive.

“The formaldehyde levels of [composite] products have come down dramatically over the past 10 years,” says Dick Titus, executive vice president of the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA).

Helping the push are the most recent emissions requirements from the California Air Resources Board (CARB); once phase two of the rules begin in 2012, they will be the strictest regulations in the world. Though the laws are specific to the Golden State, most panel manufacturers and cabinet companies are changing over their stock across the country. There is also speculation that similar emissions regulations may be adopted at the federal level.

In addition to CARB compliance, some composite panels may carry the Composite Panel Association’s Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) certification, which verifies formaldehyde emissions lower than government regulations and the use of recycled and/or recovered wood fiber.

Indeed, along with formaldehyde, consider the resource origins of the wood panels for recycled content (some certified by Scientific Certification Systems) and/or for sustainable harvesting as verified by the Forest Stewardship Council or the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, among others. Certified products may carry a slight price premium.

Finally, you’ll also need to examine the woods that make up the veneers and solid wood trim, doors, and drawer fronts. Austin Energy Green Building’s Sustainable Building Sourcebook recommends domestic hardwoods or certified, sustainably harvested tropical hardwoods as the most environmentally sound choices. “Veneer-grade domestic softwoods are often harvested from old growth timber, and non-certified tropical hardwoods are too often harvested in a manner that is devastating to the forest,” the group advises.

And, be sure to enquire about the chemical content of the glues used to adhere the veneers to the cabinet box; non-solvent-based adhesives can be comparable in performance and cost, Austin Energy says.

Alternative Materials
Though traditional composite wood panels dominate, alternatives exist that offer their own environmental benefits or trade-offs.

Solid wood is one option that will eliminate formaldehyde concerns, but it lacks the materials efficiency of an engineered product, is fairly rare, and is more expensive.

Weyerhaeuser makes composite panels using Lyptus, a Brazilian-grown wood that can be harvested for lumber in 14 to 16 years. Like bamboo, another cabinetry alternative, Lyptus offers the benefits of rapid renewability but does have to be shipped a longer distance. Wheatboard, made from waste stalks, is another option gaining attention.

As with traditional composite panels, ensure alternative engineered materials you select utilize formaldehyde-free resins.

Though more rare here, some metal cabinets can be a green selection from both a resources and health standpoint. For example, St. Charles Cabinetry says its metal options contain more than 70 percent recycled material and are 98 percent recyclable; the products’ baked-on powdercoat finish is considered hypoallergenic.

Finishes
Though low-VOC finishes are becoming more readily available, they’re not yet widespread due to concerns that are similar to those made during the transition to healthier paints: The quality and richness aren’t always equivalent and the application may be unfamiliar.

Still, the options have come a long way and you should enquire with your supplier about what they have available. For instance, Crystal Cabinetry offers a Valspar ULF topcoat that is Greenguard Indoor Air Quality certified.

Managing buyer expectations is key, as popular high-sheen finishes are harder to get in a low-VOC formula, and some natural-based products may have a slightly different look.

Reuse and Recycle
For remodelers, the greenest choice would be to protect and salvage as much of the existing cabinetry as possible. Refacing is one option, although the same questions need to be asked about the new adhesives and finishes.

At the very least, consider repurposing discarded cabinetry for the garage, workroom, or other lower-profile spaces.

There aren’t many options for recycling cabinetry, since veneers and finishes make separation difficult. Before trashing unwanted pieces, explore local options for donation, such as to a Habitat Restore, or consider listing the materials on Craigslist or Freecycle.

Putting It All Together
With the many components that need exploring, it’s easy to get bogged down by the product selection process.

The KCMA’s Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP) aims to ease some of the burden by recognizing manufacturers who meet requirements in five key areas: air quality, product resource management (wood origins and content), process resource management (manufacturing processes), environmental stewardship (including documentation of environmental quality commitment), and community relations. Manufacturers must earn points in all five areas to qualify.

About 140 brands—70 percent of the U.S. cabinet market—are certified under the program, says Titus.

To meet the ultra-green needs of his buyers, Texas builder and remodeler Don Ferrier works with custom cabinet shops. Though it takes a lot of legwork and documentation, this control ensures the products going into his tightly built homes won’t negatively affect indoor air quality.

Kati Curtis, ASID, LEED AP, of Nirmada Interior Architecture and Design in New York City, also relies on the control custom shops provide. It requires hand-holding at first to help them find and become familiar with new materials, she says, but they learn quickly and costs come back down.

Customers also begin to come around: “When it goes in and there’s no smell, and they understand it, then they see the value,” says Curtis.

Expect other buyers to follow. “With new generations of buyers in the market,” says Roger Rutan, vice president of sales and marketing at Timber Products, “you’re going to see a difference in demand for cabinetry that will fundamentally change the shape and look of the marketplace.”

by Katy Tomasulo, Deputy Editor for EcoHome.

www.dvwise.com

DV Wise Inc is a Certified Green Professional Builder

NAHB has petitioned the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to rethink a new “interpretive rule” that changes the accepted definition of a showerhead and limits the usefulness of additional hand-held devices designed to improve a shower’s accessibility for the elderly or disabled.

With the new interpretation, the allowable gallons-per-minute flow applies to the entire shower stall, rather than individual showerheads.

“DOE said the change is intended to improve water efficiency, which is a goal we support. Unfortunately, the solution goes too far,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones.

“Most people want to stay in their homes as they get older, so it’s very important to be able to identify and then remove any barriers within the home that can restrict these older home owners’ ability to live independently,” Jones said. “Modifying a traditional shower stall with a single showerhead by adding a flexible hose is one such improvement.”

Similar modifications — included in NAHB’s Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) designation — are also helpful for the disabled or others who take seated showers.

Created in partnership with AARP, CAPS provides a curriculum and educational designation for remodelers and designers serving the “baby boomer” population. More than 4,000 housing professionals have now earned the designation.

Under DOE’s proposed definition, a shower with two showerheads — each with fully pressure-controlled and anti-scald control valves and individual shutoffs that are easily accessible from both inside and outside the shower stall — would not work effectively under the new definition because the total amount of water pressure would have to be split between the two heads.

The rule potentially bans the installation of spa-style showers and similar features popular with many new home buyers — limiting consumer choice, but not necessarily saving water.

“DOE would have to come up with a ruling regarding the number of showers people are allowed to take and how many minutes they can last — and I don’t think the agency is prepared to go that far, for good reason,” Jones added.

“Had the agency gone through the typical notice-and-comment process in which manufacturers, suppliers, builders and consumers have an opportunity to review and offer suggestions for improvement — DOE might have addressed these concerns in a more equitable and informed manner,” Jones said.

DOE may review comments submitted by NAHB, plumbing and fixture firms and other advocacy groups, but it is not required to consider them in its final decision.

Source: NAHB

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For some it may be something as simple as remote or automatic control of a few lights. For others, security may be the central application. Still others may choose to install advanced controllers or use voice recognition. As a very basic definition, we tend to refer to home automation as anything that gives you remote or automatic control of things around the home.

 Adding home automation to an existing home is surprisingly affordable and simple. Our average product costs less than $40 and most require no new wires! We’ve taken the guess work out of what to buy and created a “Good, Better & Best Product Comparison Chart” for both existing homes (retrofit) and new construction homes. We included everything from lighting control, surveillance, irrigation, whole home audio/video and more!
We at Smarthome think that home automation should be what you want it to be. Check out our Interactive Home Tour to see what a Smart Home is all about. Whatever your “MVP” automation project might be, we’re confident that using it will make life around the home more convenient, safe and fun!
 
 
What Can I Control?  
Lighting
Probably the most popular control category and a great way to get involved with home automation. Starter kits begin at less than $60 and are plug-and-play easy to install. Dim light fixtures you could never dim before, and control them from anywhere in the house (or world via the Internet).

Security Systems & Access Control
Have your home call you and/or loved ones if there is an alert situation. You can save money on security monitoring services or even monitor for non-traditional security events like water in the laundry room or basement. Additionally, Smarthome products include devices that will allow you to unlock the front door to let friends in or close the garage door from your office via the web.
Home Theater & Entertainment
 Just imagine replacing that pile of remotes with just one controller. Now, imagine not having to know all 10 steps to starting up your home theater – just press the HBO icon and your home automation products/system will do the rest. In-wall and in-ceiling speakers are especially popular with homeowners as they provide beautiful sound throughout the house while adding no clutter whatsoever.

Phone Systems
Phone systems that are usually used for small business applications are surprisingly convenient in the home. With caller ID and a home automation controller you can even screen your calls for only those you wish to cause your phone to ring. Voice control software turns every phone in your home into a remote controller.
Thermostats
Remote-control thermostats allow you to adjust the temperature from bed at night or even from a cell phone while on your way home (or to your second home!). They can even trigger a notice to you if the temperature gets too low (to prevent pipes from freezing) or too high (to protect your pets, plants, etc.).

Irrigation
 Have your sprinklers turn on only when it’s not raining. Some of our customers even turn the sprinklers on when there’s motion in the yard at unwanted times – imagine an intruder trying to explain the wet clothes to the police!
Cable & Structured Wiring
Home automation can be accomplished using various types of connectivity. What’s great is that many of today’s home automation products need no new wires – so they are perfect to retrofit into an existing home. If you are building new or doing a major remodel, please consider adding networking, audio, video and control wiring while it is easy and relatively inexpensive. Later on you’ll be happy you did.

 
How Can I Control Them?  
Remote Control
Remote control gives you the convenience of controlling lighting, appliances, security systems and consumer electronics from wherever you happen to be at the time, like your couch, car or even in your bed. There are several different “methods” of controlling devices remotely.

What are the Benefits of Home Automation?  
Convenience
We’ve all gotten used to controlling our TV from the couch; just wait until you are able to dim the lights as well. Imagine adjusting the temperature from your bed or controlling the volume of your whole-house audio system from any room. Or imagine the wall/ceiling heater in your bathroom coming on automatically on chilly mornings 5 minutes before your alarm clock goes off so that it is warm when you enter. Many Smarthome products also save energy — we’ll all agree that’s a nice convenience.

Safety
We’re all used to opening the garage door from the car, but you’ll be surprised how much safer you’ll feel coming home to a lit home and even turning on more lights from your keyfob remote upon your arrival. With a couple of basic products you can have your whole house light up like Fort Knox when there is motion detected at any corner of your house. Imagine your house sending you an email if there is motion where there shouldn’t be any. Or you can have your security system call you if there is an alarm, which might include your typical security alarm or even a low or high temperature or water in the laundry room or basement.

Fun
High-tech products for the home are fun to use and share with others. Whether viewing visitors at your front door on your TV or tuning your stereo by using voice recognition, you’ll find home automation surprisingly enjoyable. And when it comes to impressing the friends, you’ll be happy to show off your newfound applications. 
http://www.smarthome.com/homeautomation.html

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After two months of modest improvements, the AIA’s ABI increased once again in April with a 2.4-point gain over March for a score of 48.5. While this reflects a continuation of the overall decline in demand for architecture services, the AIA notes that it also is the highest ABI since January 2008. Inquiries for new projects increased again, as well, scoring 59.6, up from March’s score of 58.5.

Still, don’t expect a swift recovery. “The construction industry tends to lag behind the overall economy as conditions improve following a recession,” says Scott Frank, AIA’s director of media relations. “The three-month uptick is very encouraging for the design and construction industries, but recovery is happening at a slow pace.”

“Tight credit continues to be a problem, particularly for smaller architecture firms. We have heard reports of countless projects being shelved indefinitely or canceled outright because banks are not lending for real estate projects,” Frank says. “If that persists, then it could jeopardize a full recovery.”

The U.S. Census Bureau’s April New Residential Construction Report also shows some continued improvements, although permits for all types of housing declined significantly.

Permits for privately owned housing units fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 606,000, 11.5 percent below March authorizations, and permits for single-family units declined 10.7 percent to a rate of 484,000 units. Authorizations for units in buildings of five or more units fell 14.9 percent from March.

Overall starts of privately owned housing units rose 5.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 672,000. Single-family housing starts increased by 10.2 percent from March to a rate of 593,000, but starts of units in buildings with five or more units fell 23.6 percent. Completions for all housing types increased in April, with overall privately owned housing unit completions going up by 19.2 percent to a rate of 769,000. Single-family housing completions increased 14.6 percent to a rate of 564,000 and completions of units in buildings of five or more units jumped 33.3 percent from March.

Although there are several ways the housing recovery could be derailed, the economy finally appears to be getting back on its feet, according to economists at the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Construction Forecast Conference in May. But it’s important to remember that the design and construction industries didn’t go bust and bottom out overnight, and they certainly will not bounce back overnight, either. Economists predict it will take nearly three years to return to normal and even longer to reach a full recovery.

However, “the housing market is coming back to life, GDP is up, and unemployment is decreasing,” AIA’s Frank notes. “The construction industry is likely to catch up to the overall economy through the rest of this year and into next year.”

The outlook is much less frightening moving forward than it has been for the past few years. According to NAHB forecasts, 2010 will be a year of stabilization in home prices, healing of credit conditions, and a return of builder and consumer confidence.

Increasing job formation and rising employment will drive demand for housing, and although there currently are about 10 million vacant homes on the market, Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, expects increasing demand will work through that excess housing in less than two years.

Housing demand sank to its lowest point in 2009—bottoming at 550,000 units—after peaking at 2.1 million in 2005. In response to increasing demand for housing, Zandi said during the NAHB’s conference, “I expect single-family and multifamily starts of approximately 700,000 units this year, closer to 1 million in 2011, and by 2012 closer to trend, which is about 1.7 million units.”

Unfortunately, foreclosures are likely to rise as strategic defaulters walk away from homes that have plunged in value, Zandi predicts, which could hinder the recovery. However, according to David Crowe, the NAHB’s chief economist, areas of the country that experienced a less dramatic boom and bust, and therefore suffered the least economic impact and have the least risk of increasing foreclosures, will be the first to recover.

Overall, lenders are starting to loosen restrictions, making access to mortgage credit more available. Zandi notes lending conditions should continue to improve through 2011. Also, access to jumbo loans will improve as lenders begin to feel more comfortable with the credit environment. “Jumbo lenders will become more aggressive and we’ll see more lending as we make our way through 2010 and into 2011,” he says.

Crowe predicts that although remodeling fell off during the housing downturn, it didn’t suffer nearly as much as new construction. Remodeling will pick up during the recovery and may even improve at a better rate than the overall construction market, according to Crowe. “People whose home values have been damaged may in fact decide to stay in place and remodel rather than move as they would have in the past,” he says.

By Stephani L. Miller

http://www.customhomeonline.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=204&articleID=1299436

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DV Wise builds dreams of all sizes

Spring is typically the season when people shop for houses. Many families like to complete their home purchase by the end of the summer so as to not uproot their children during the school year. And let’s face it: houses just look more enticing when flowers are out. But the real estate bust and economic downturn have made the past few housing hunting seasons rather slow. Some buyers have waited on the sidelines hoping prices had further to drop.
This year looks to be different. Already, falling interest rates, an improving economy and a last bit of economic stimulus are helping the housing market stage a revival. In April alone, sales of existing homes jumped 23% from a year ago, according to the trade organization National Association of Realtors. Sales of new homes rose even faster, up 48% from a year ago. What’s more, a growing number of economists believe the three-year plunge in housing prices is at an end. (See pictures of Americans in their homes.)
“Units, volume and sales price are up on all fronts,” says real estate broker Todd Hetherington, who is based in Alexandria, Va. “Houses that are priced well are getting multiple offers in the first week.”
For now, though, housing prices, like everything else, remain rocky. According to the S&P/Case-Shiller nationwide index, home prices fell 3.2% in the first quarter of 2010, down from the already low levels where they stood at the end of 2009. And home prices may stay down for a little longer. The continued recent slide in the stock market is hurting consumer confidence and likely to make some people pause before buying a house. Foreclosures aren’t helping the housing market either. The government’s home-loan-modification programs have helped keep a relatively small amount of home owners out of foreclosure. But more repossessed homes are now starting to land on the market, driving up the number of houses for sale and holding down prices. In addition, some economists are concerned that the expiration of an $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers, which essentially ended in April, will hurt home sales. Indeed, the Mortgage Bankers Association said last week mortgage applications for new home purchases fell to the lowest level since 1997. Lastly, mortgage credit remains tight, making it hard for some prospective home buyers to qualify for a loan. (See high-end homes that won’t sell.)
“We think the tax credit has dragged a lot of house sales forward, and we think we are going to pay for it,” says Jay Brinkmann, the chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association. He expects home sales to drop 5% in the fall of 2010.
Nonetheless, a growing number of economists believe this spring could end up being the start of a sustained rebound in the housing market. The biggest driver of that rebound will likely be interest rates. Though rates were expected to rise this summer, the continuing problems in Europe are driving down rates in the U.S., which is still seen as a safe haven for investors. The result is that mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest point in a year and are expected to continue to drop through the summer. In general, for every percentage-point decline in mortgage rates, houses effectively become 10% cheaper.
A recent study of 92 economists by financial-products firm MacroMarkets found that on average housing prices are expected to drop slightly in 2010 and begin rising again next year. That means that for the first time in years someone who buys a house this spring will most likely see their home appreciate in the next year. And rising housing prices, just like falling ones, tend to feed on themselves.
“Low interest rates will be a powerful incentive,” says William Hummer, chief economist for Wayne Hummer Investments. “People who want to be home owners will get back into the market.”

By STEPHEN GANDEL

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Meanwhile, panelist Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said he expects solid job growth to help buoy the housing recovery. He is anticipating average monthly job gains of 125,000 this year, 250,000 in 2011 and 300,000 in 2012. He also pegs GDP growth at 3% this year, approximately 4% in 2011 and close to 5% in 2012. Our other panelist, Macroeconomic Advisers President Chris Varvares, had a somewhat more optimistic outlook than Zandi, saying that GDP will rise 3.7% this year and that annual housing starts will hit about 1.2 million by year-end 2011. All of the panelists agreed that the Federal Reserve will likely maintain interest rates near rock-bottom levels through the end of this year, that the chance of a double-digit recession is fairly remote, and that policymakers will need to take action within the next two years to increase revenues and cut spending in order to keep the housing and economic recovery on track. For detailed coverage of the forecast conference, please see our press release and the next edition of Nation’s Building News Online. Contact: MondayMorningQuestions@nahb.org. 

Source:  NAHB

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