In what has been a dour past for the economy, finally the light is at the end of the tunnel.

• The national association of Home Builders, Chief Economist, David Crowe delivered his predictions at the international builders show in Las Vegas in January 2010.  His predictions were that starts would rise 24% in 2010 and 50% in 2011.

• The housing industry has been the main catalyst, in bringing the nation into recovery, five times since 1960.  As history repeats itself the economic improvement will drive down unemployment, increase retail sales and the gross national product.

• The Federal Government pumped the housing market with unprecedented give a  ways, like $8000 new home buyer credit.  This has given potential buyers the edge they need to qualify.These sales, according to reports from some area builders, have been favorable. The ripple has caused higher priced inventory to sell.
• As a whole, the industry has done quite well working down its inventory.  The census bureau estimates 239,000 new homes were available for sale on October, compared to 380,000 during the same time last year. That is a 37% decline.

• Home values have increased over the past several months according to S&P’s Case- Shiller Index.  Even median existing home prices rose through out the 1st quarter of this year as measured by the National Association of Realtors. The real good news is new home sales have remained firm since October 2009.

• The United States economy is moving in the right direction. Shadow buyers waiting to build are starting to take advantage of the still good deals in labor and materials. Stock Home Plans are up 31% from 2009. This has been the case among the top biggest National Publishers.

Data used provided courtesy of Carolina Blueprint, http://www.carolinablueprintmag.com/

• Structural elements
• Exterior building materials and systems
• Roofing gutters, eaves, soffits, and fascia
• First and Second floor, garages, porches, decks, and attics
• Plumbing, cooling, and electrical HVAC
• Chimney and roof penetrations
• Grading and Drainage
• Basement foundation and crawlspace
• Grounding and Bonding
• Insulation and ventilation

2.  Cost Savings

• Be your own General Contractor for your new home.
• Hire a licensed General Contractor to oversee the foundation and    framing of the shell.  Then directly hire the other trades people for the job.  This can be challenging but then you are in control of the speed of construction.

3. Super-Insulated & Green Construction

There is a good possibility that oil prices will continue to skyrocket.  A quality insulated home with good air filtration will be a necessity.
Other Green products to consider are:

• Efficient HVAC equipment
• Added/Upgraded Insulation
• Efficient Windows
• Tankless water heaters
• Natural Lighting/ Daylighting
• Efficient Kitchen Appliances
• Paints/Coatings (low VOCs)
• Products with recycled content
• Site Orientation
• Energy Management/Monitoring
• Efficient doors
• Wind/Solar power
• Lighting control
• Groundwater capture/Reuse
• Natural Shading/ Trees
• Detached Garage

4.  Customize the Design:

Clients have different ideas and needs about the home they will spend many years in.  Track homes are similar and offer expensive upgrades for changes.  Find the home closest to your wallet and wish list.  Pay for modifications which are always worth it for a perfect fit.
In the end the best advice is to do a lot of research.  Talk to others who have gone through the process.  Check out references for the General Contractor you may choose.
This process is harder but you can save a years salary and have a better built home.
In addition to saving money by being your own General Contractor the interest on that money can be a few thousand a year.  The added energy efficiency will keep money in your wallet too.  Is it worth it to build your own home?

IT IS ABSOLUTLEY WORTH IT.

 In 2010, our homes continue to play an important role in providing us with a personal space that is restorative; an escape from our otherwise hectic and busy lives.  Whether you choose to entertain friends or spend your quiet time alone, the overall direction of the interior design is toward environments that are comfortable and inviting.

 Below are some quick suggestions for 2010 Home Design Trends.

 • A simplistic more modern atmosphere boasting clean lines.

 • Neutrals are important in the overall decorating scheme.  For example,     browns, taupe, dark chocolate, and shades of gray.  Yellow, Orange and Periwinkle are trendy accent colors.

 • Texture is still important in area rug fabrics or wall coverings.

 • Outdoor living continues to be a prime sport for improvement dollars.

 DON’T BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT AND THINK OUTSIDE THEBOX.  HAPPY DECORATING!

For Decades the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Institute of Building Designers (AIBD) have worked with each other to create more healthy, valuable, secure and sustainable homes.  These organizations are poised to provide leadership and the guidance needed to provide the most cost effective designs for the future.

As seen by the statistics from the survey, functionality is now considered more important then more bathrooms or a larger kitchen in the floor plan.  According to U.S Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, “Kitchens remain the nerve center of the home, doing more with less is the key.” Integrating, kitchens and family rooms will remain a design priority.

Kitchen Trends that ranked important are areas devoted to recycling pantries, computer workstations, and spaces devoted to recharging laptops, cell phones, and PDA’s.

In Bathrooms, the survey found features gaining in popularity, among today’s consumers include water saving toilets, radiant heating floors and universal design elements.

Our newest house plan releases reflect many of the same ideas in the survey.

The best advantage a good builder offers is that they will take excellent care of all the factors that are involved while building a home. All the responsibilities can be well taken care of by a good builder. On the other hand an inefficient builder can make things more troublesome for you. So it makes a lot of sense to do your homework and invest in a good builder. Here is list of some tips that can help ensure that you have selected the right builder, which in turn will help you turn your dream home into a reality.

•    First check out our Preferred Builders section for your state at ArchivalDesigns.com. The builders we list are builders who have worked with us in the past building our house plans for clients
•    Ask friends and family to recommend building firms who have done work for them.
•    Get testimonials and references. Talk to the builders’ previous customers. Go and see the jobs they have done and ask the customers if all went well.
•    Ask at least three builders to provide quotes.
•    Be specific when talking to your builder about what you want and expect.
•    Make sure the builders’ quotes cover everything you would like done, including supply of materials, removal of rubbish and ‘making good’ after the work is finished.
•    Ask for details of how the builder should be paid.
•    Check whether any guarantee of the work will be supplied.
•    Make sure the builder is fully insured for the work to be carried out at your home. Just because a builder has a license doesn’t mean that he is insured against injuries, job site accidents, storm damage or other unforeseen hazards.

Cost is naturally a crucial factor when choosing your builder. You may be extremely impressed by the work of a specific builder but he/she may charge an exorbitant fee. Give away your specs to the builder. Make sure this includes each miniscule detail that you would like to see in your home. You can then ask the builder about the cost for an identical. It’s better if you talk to two or more builders and then opt for the one that offers you the top deal.
There are a lot of choices and decisions to be made when building your house plan. You can’t know it all yourself so it is important to do your research and ask questions from trusted sources.

For more information you can always visit the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) resources available on their website http://nahb.com/.

Fortunately, there are proven techniques that you can use to help you sell your home quicker and some of these may even help you get top dollar for your home.

Follow these 9 proven techniques to help give your home the best chance to sell quickly in a buyers market.

1. Research your asking price

I know it’s very difficult to sell your home for less than what you bought it for a few years ago. It’s even harder if you’re upside down on your home loan.  But you can’t insist on unrealistic price if you want to sell your home in a down market. To get an idea of what similar homes in your area are selling for (what Realtors refer to as ‘comps’), check sites like Zillow.com or HomeGain.com, or you can get an appraisal.

Although you can’t compete with banks that are selling foreclosed homes, you’ll be in a much better position to compete against other sellers who aren’t as flexible on price.

2. Remove clutter from your home

A messy or cluttered home can often be a turn off for prospective buyers. So make sure your house is clean and organized. Remove as much clutter as you can, even if you have to store your stuff in storage. Here are some general tips to help guide you:

•    Tables, desks, and countertops should be mostly clear to show as much surface space as possible.
•    Remove family photos from walls, shelves, and fireplace mantle (if you have one). You want the potential buyers to picture themselves living in the house, not looking at your family history.
•    Remove any unnecessary furniture and put it into storage to give your house more living space.
•    Remove unnecessary electronics, extension cords, and power strips. Most buyers don’t care about your mega entertainment system. And you don’t want it to be obvious that your electrical system is old and lacking.
•    Remove clothing from your closets and put it into storage to make the closets feel bigger.
•    Remove all the extra clutter throughout the house to make it feel bigger and more spacious.

3. Improve your home curb appeal

First impression means a lot, and for your home the name of the game is curb appeal. You do not have to necessarily have to spend a lot of money improving your home, but there are plenty of inexpensive things that can be done to improve your homes appearance if you don’t mind putting in a little “sweat equity”. You want your home to look better than other houses in the area and in a “move in ready” condition.

Here are a few things you could do to improve your home curb appeal:
•    Trim hedges and mow your lawn.
•    Clean all windows and surfaces.
•    Repaint walls, doors, and trims in neutral colors.
•    Replace old window blinds or drapes, and update the window treatments.
•    Power wash or paint the exterior.

4. Fix problems around the house

Now go throughout the house room by room, and take notes of all the things that need fixing. Little things matter and they could turn-off your buyers.  If you noticed them, the buyer will too. Take the time to go around and fix those things one by one. Remember that fixing these small problems doesn’t have to be expensive, but it will take time and effort.

5. Learn the Art of Home Staging

Home staging is not decluttering and cleaning. Home staging goes beyond that and happens after the steps above. It involves much less tangible things that include:

•    Making the home smells fresh and airy. Some will even go as far as baking cookies before a showing to give the house a pleasant aroma.
•    Making sure the temperature is right. You want the potential buyer to feel comfortable.
•    Making sure rooms are properly lit by adjusting the window treatments and turning on/off lights.
•    Arranging pieces of furniture in an appealing manner.
•    Putting vases of fresh flowers on tables, or a small fruit basket on the dining table.
•    Showcasing various fabrics, decors, and knickknacks.
•    Arranging items on shelves, bookcases and fireplace mantels to draw attention to predetermined areas.

6. Leverage the power of the web to market your house

This is the Internet age and you should not let your agent limit your reach. Take advantage of online resources to help sell your house.  For example, put home for sale ads on Craigslist, Zillow, and HomeGain. If you use social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, send out a message to all of your friends and contacts and let them know you’re trying to sell. You can also send out a copy of your listing to people on your email list to see if they know anyone that might be looking for a house in your neighborhood. Often times friends and neighbors can be the best sales resource you have. Use every channel that you have at your disposal!

7. Get a good agent to help you sell

In general, it’s better to work with an agent than trying to sell the house on your own. It’s their full time job to find buyers and show your home. This is harder than it looks and it’s generally better to leave this to the pro. However, you have to remember you’re the boss and that we are dealing with a lot of money here. So don’t just pick any agent that comes along. Call several real estate offices and ask to talk to their top sales agents. Make sure you are comfortable working with the person and ask questions. About.com has a great list of questions for asking a Realtor. You can find it here: http://homebuying.about.com/od/realestateagents/tp/Agentinterview.htm

Another important thing to remember is never go into an exclusive contract with your agent. You want to be able to fire your real estate agent you become unsatisfied with them.

8. Be creative

This is a buyer’s market, but even so, a house is still very expensive for most people. If you have a buyer that needs help to close the deal, consider offering some sort of incentives to make the deal happens. For example, you can offer to cover some parts of the closing costs. This works especially well with first time homebuyers).

Be creative!

9. Don’t be there

When you are having an open house, when possible try not to be present. It’s uncomfortable for you to have strangers in your home, and likewise, it’s uncomfortable to be in other people’s home. So why create any more tension? Leave the house and let your real estate agent takes care of business. Let your buyers look around at their leisure without feeling pressure.

Selling your house in a down market isn’t easy, but you can do some work to make your chances better.  In the end your house will show better, and you’ll be able to sell your house that much quicker.

Located in Morris County, New Jersey’s much sought after Lake Valhalla region, The Estates at Valhalla offer 27 of the most elegant, luxury estates in New Jersey. Each of these estate homes are situated on up to four private acres of gorgeous Montville country side where the beauty of these homes are rivaled only by the natural beauty of their surroundings.  With their use of fine millwork and moldings, classic arches, lavish finishes and extravagant windows featuring striking views, these exquisite homes truly reflect an era where a masterfully designed home was just as much a home as it is a fine piece of artwork.

In addition to his amazing ability to create some of finest homes available today, Larry Gage, along with his interior designer wife, Alexis Gage, have received numerous awards and accolades and have been featured in may prominent media outlets. To view his awards and recognitions click here. After viewing the numerous honors the Gage Group has received, you’ll know why Archival Designs is proud to have worked with Larry to design some of these magnificent homes.

The high end luxury home models of the Estates at Valhalla are open by appointment only. You may contact the Gage Group by visiting their site, http://EstatesAtValhalla.com. To view or purchase the available floor plans, please visit us at http://ArchivalDesigns.com or click on the images below to go directly to the available house plans page.

The Estates at Valhallas Château de la Ravinere Mansion is a variation of the Archival Designs plan Manderston Estate.

Manderston Estate

Chateau de la Ravinere

Manderston Estate house plan is a magnificent 8,327 square foot house plan with 5 bedrooms and 6 total bathrooms. To view more details about this plan, click here.

The Estates at Valhallas Château Palmer and Ashford Manor are both variations of the Archival Designs plan Dysart Castle.

Dysart Castle

Ashford Manor

Chateau Palmer

Dysart Castle is a luxurious 7,800 square foot floor plan with 5 bedrooms and 5 total bathrooms. For more information or to order this house plan, click here.

These luxury hous eplans and many more are available by visiting http://ArchivalDesigns.com.

 Sure, massive photovoltaic installations on rooftops are nothing terribly new, but the ones we have seen are stuck on massive warehouses or elaborate stadiums in foreign lands.  Dow Chemical is doing its best to change that with the introduction of the POWERHOUSE line of solar shingles.  As expected, these solar shingles are aimed at roofers looking to tip their hats to Mother Nature while providing shelter for homeowners.  Unlike most futuristic alternatives, these actually look similar to traditional shingles.

 Dow is calling its new photovoltaic solar panels revolutionary; they come in the form of solar shingles that can be integrated into rooftops with standard asphalt shingle materials.  The solar shingle systems are expected to be available in limited quantities by the middle of next year and become more widely available in 2011.

 The technology integrates low-cost, thin-film CIGS photovoltaic cells into a proprietary roofing product.  The innovative design reduces installation costs because it enables roofing contractors to simultaneously install the conventional roofing shingles and solar generating shingles.

 Roofing contractors will not need any specialized skills or knowledge of solar array installations in order to work with the product.

 Jane Palmieri, managing director of Dow Solar Solutions, noted that the new technology addresses the issues of cost and consumer acceptance.  Theses have been the two biggest challenges associated with solar power.  “Consumers reap the benefits of this innovation.  This product is providing roof protection and electricity generation all from one product, with lower costs, improved aesthetics, easier installation and long-lasting performance.” Palmieri said.

 Margaret Wylde, president and CEO of ProMatura Group, LLC, led an hour-long discussion on prospects for the 50+ market.  She stated “ It’s not time to run out and start great developments at this moment, there’s going to be a gradual pull out from where we are now, and within the next two years we will see a significant rebound.”

 Wylde said that the industry turnaround will occur in a climate of initially slow growth, with job concerns exerting significant constraints on consumer demand, which is the driving force in the nations economy.

 “There is high unemployment today,” she said, “and it is projected to get a bit higher.  New job growth or creation is slow and will continue to be slow for a while.  Jobs just aren’t being filled.  New jobs aren’t being created and some jobs are still being destroyed.”

 Credit availability still remains an obstacle, she said.  Her company’s polling of active adult home builders in September found that credit woes had worsened over the previous six months.

 Seventy-four percent of the builders said that it had become harder to secure credit for business operations; 70% reported tightening in the availability of credit for residential acquisitions and development; and 61% observed that it had grown tougher for their customers to qualify for a mortgage.

 On the brighter side, in a survey in September of 50+ households with annual incomes of $50,000 or more who either purchased a home in the last two years or considered buying one in the coming three years, 68% rated today’s market as “excellent to good” for purchasing a home.

 Despite major obstacles on the job and credit fronts, 74% of the active adult builders contacted last month said they expected to see rising home sales in the coming six months.  “We’ve come to the end of the road in terms of declining sales,” said Bernie Smith, CAASH, ProMatura Group’s chief operating officer.

 Even with business down, Wylde noted that active adult communities have avoided the soaring foreclosure rates occurring elsewhere; 78% of those surveyed in September reported no foreclosures and 9% had one.

 Gauging the potential for active adult housing, she also said that 29% of the prospective buyers identified in the last month’s survey said they would consider buying in a 55+ community, considerably higher than the 8% in the survey who said they lived in age qualified housing, of which about 70% were in active adult housing.

 Active adult buyers, she added, are more amendable to giving up extra space and moving to a smaller home because they are trading size for quality.

To view the information below, simply follow each link. Each link will open in a new window, making it easier for to come back to this page.

U.S. Census Bureau Construction Price Indexes

NAHB’s Housing Forecast

Housing starts, sales and interest rate projections through 2009.

Latest Home Mortgage Interest Rates

Contains current and historical data on fixed and adjustable mortgage rates. Updated weekly.

Characteristics of New Housing

Highlights the latest data on new-home characteristics released by the U.S. Census Department. Includes links to the complete Census report and other trends researched by NAHB.Additional breakouts of this data and other trends researched by NAHB are available at www.nahb.org/constructionstats under “Selected Characteristics of New Housing” (dated 4/3/2008).

Housing Starts

Updated monthly and based on a seasonally adjusted annual rate.

New and Existing Home Sales

Updated monthly and based on a seasonally adjusted annual rate.

New and Existing Single-Family Median Home Prices

Updated monthly.

Home Price Index

The index measures average home appreciation in more than 250 metropolitan markets. Updated quarterly.

Metro Home Building Permits

Local and state data on housing construction rates. Updated monthly.

Employment Trends for Metro/State Markets

Provides metro and state employment data nationwide. Updated monthly.

Local Economic Impact of Housing

Shows how building 100 homes benefits a typical metropolitan area.

Home Building’s Direct Impact on the Economy

Housing’s Contribution to Gross State Product

Measures how much housing contributes to the economic output of each state.

Housing Market Statistics from HousingEconomics.com

Full array of statistical categories available to NAHB members, a limited number available to non-members.

In-Depth Analysis from HousingEconomics.com

Full array of analysis of factors affecting housing and the impact on the industry available to NAHB members, a limited number available to non-members.

This list has been made possible courtesy of the National Association of Home Builders.