A majority of the nation’s home builders have been offering incentives this summer to boost their sales in a generally cool marketplace, according to a recent NAHB survey.

The polling — which was conducted in June in conjunction with the monthly Builders’ Economic Council survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index — also found that some builders are using incentives to fill the void now that the May 1 deadline for signing a sales contract to qualify for the home buyer tax credit has come and gone.

“Some builders have, in fact, introduced new incentives in response to the expiring tax credit, but only a relatively small number compared to the number that historically advertise some type of special sales incentive,” said Paul Emrath, author of the special NAHB Housing Economics study, “Builders’ Use of Incentives After the Tax Credit.”

“Moreover, a relatively small share of the builders who currently advertise one of these incentives is explicitly marketing the incentive as a replacement for the tax credit,” he said. Read More

Not content to let a far less than spectacular economy or the dog days of summer stand in its way, McKelvey Homes in St. Louis is on track to double its home sales this year and make significant headway in digging out of the worst housing downturn in generations.

“We are not sitting around waiting for the economy to improve,” said Jim Brennan, president of the company. Established in 1898, McKelvey Homes is the oldest residential builder in the area, and the family business was purchased by Brennan from the grandson of its founder.

McKelvey is also the only local builder that was able to increase its home sales in 2009, an achievement that Brennan attributes to an adherence to conservative business practices, an established reputation for quality and the ability to adapt quickly to changing demand in the marketplace.... Read More

Builders need to talk to appraisers and lenders to ensure that they receive an accurate valuation of the new homes they are selling, according to panelists participating in an NAHB webinar on Aug. 4.

The lines of communication have been down for a considerable period of time, largely as the result of difficulties in interpreting the meaning of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct that was put in place by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prevent builders from having an inappropriate influence on the appraisal process.

Unfortunately, with insufficient information from builders about specific homes and the local marketplace, in a downwardly spiraling marketplace appraisers began relying excessively on short sales and foreclosures, properties that often are not comparable to newly constructed homes because they have been neglected and are run-down.... Read More