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RED BLUFF - A house built in 90 days - from the pouring of foundation to the handing over of the key. That's the wave of the future in home construction, according to Tuscan Homes general manager Tom Furze. He walked through the interior of a home on Faye Street Friday where just four days earlier the concrete foundation had laid exposed. The four-bedroom, two-bath, 2,300-square foot home was built in Arizona and shipped to Tehama County on the back of trucks. But this is not a manufactured home. It's modular, built in three pieces that were moved into place by a crane on Wednesday. The difference between a modular and manufactured home is like night and day, according to Furze. A modular is a stick-built home (using 2x6's), is energy-efficient and will appreciate over time.
October 18, 2006 - From a country cottage to a suburban Arts and Crafts style bungalow, and from pre-assembled wall panels to an entire structure, panelized construction provides a cost-effective, resource-efficient alternative to traditional home construction methods. .
Puget Sound homeowners' quest for convenience might outweigh potential maintenance risks when it comes to features of new-home construction, according to a recent examination of building trends by PEMCO Insurance. For example, the survey indicated that a laundry room inside the house is riskier. .
Homebuilders in central Ohio are getting hammered by a downturn in the housing industry that stretches nationally. Construction in Franklin and Delaware counties combined is about half of what it was at this time in 2004, said Jim Hilz, executive director of the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio. Declines are turning out to be deeper than expected, according to economists for the National Home Builders Association. Home construction nationally is expected to fall 11.5 percent this year followed by a similar drop next year. Trend lines are even worse in central Ohio. "The layoffs in the industry among builders, suppliers and subcontractors are numerous," Hilz said. The number of building permits issued in Franklin County for single-family homes through July was 36 percent less than at the same time last year, Hilz said.
Two monthly housing market indicators have been released so far this week, both relating broadly to home construction and showing a continued slowing of the housing sector and a related loss of builder confidence. The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have published their joint report on new residential construction for August 2006. The survey covers the number of building permits, housing starts, and housing completions throughout the country and it reported a further retreat in each category from the previous month and double digit drops in two of the three categories since the same month in 2005.
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APPEAL: Shelby Township is one of the fastest-growing communities in Macomb County as measured by new home construction. This is rapidly changing many areas, especially the northern and eastern sections of the township, from a mostly rural to a suburban landscape. According to Shelby Township's master plan, 5,300 new single-family homes were added between 1990 and 2002. And according to Housing Consultants in Clarkston, nearly 4,000 residential building permits have been issued since 2000. Sewer lines are being constructed along major streets, helping to add to the growth of this attractive community that offers a variety of subdivisions, some with man-made lakes and water fountains. The northern and eastern sections have larger lots and larger houses. Almost 100% of the township has city water, and about 55% has city sewers, township Supervisor Ralph Maccarone says.
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