With a 61-acre site and 3 million square feet of programmed space, Flamingo Crossings Village East — designed as half of Walt Disney World’s new home for its College Intern Program — is itself the scale of a small college. The site plan creates a pedestrian-oriented experience for the 5,284 residents by pushing parking and vehicular traffic to the periphery and centering a 4.5-acre Quad in the site, to which all neighborhood pathways lead. Every aspect of the new live/learn/play…

In a previous blog post, NAHB analyzed the national data released by BUILDER Magazine. Earlier this month, BUILDER Magazine also released Local Leaders data on the top 10 builders in the top 50 largest new-home markets in the U.S. (ranking determined by the number of single-family permits) (Figure 1).  The 2022 data shows that the top 10 builders in each… Read More ›

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 39 states and the District of Columbia in May compared to the previous month, while 11 states lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 339,000 in May, following a gain of 294,000 jobs in April. On a month-over-month basis, employment data was strong in Texas, which… Read More ›

The home owners decided to build a generational home. The property posed significant challenges — ancient live oaks with majestic beauty lived there first and were protected — although it has spectacular panoramas of salt marsh, Atlantic Ocean, and the famed Ocean Course. A grand oak is in the middle of the property, with an oak grove beside it. The home’s footprint had to snake around the wide trunk spread of the center oak and the oak groves to its…

The Top 10 builders captured 43.2% of new single-family home closings (i.e., sales) in 2022, the highest percentage on record based on data released by BUILDER Magazine; this is a 9 percentage point increase from 2021, the largest year-over-year increase since NAHB’s tracking began in 1989.  This share represents 276,941 closings out of the 640,500 new single-family home sales reported… Read More ›

While the Bouldin neighborhood in Austin is very low density, comprising mostly single-story and two-story cottages built at the turn of the century, South First Street—which runs through the heart of Bouldin—has been designated as a “Core Transit Corridor.” In Austin, this means that higher density/larger scale developments will be allowed along South First Street, but not allowed within the neighborhoods themselves. Relegating density to major streets only is a unique urban strategy and presented one of the greatest design…

Limited existing inventory combined with solid demand and improving supply chains helped push single-family starts to an 11-month high in May. This occurred despite elevated interest rates and ongoing challenges for housing affordability. Overall housing starts in May increased 21.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.63 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing… Read More ›

NAHB’s Best in American Living Award (BALA) submission process is entirely online. Applicants are required to: Select the award category(s); Submit overall information about the project and the design team (e.g., architect, builder, interior designer, landscaper, etc.); Upload a project design statement, floorplans and photographs; and Sign the content release form. Although each category may have specific judging criteria, most applications are judged on exterior design and curb appeal, interior design and interior architecture, site and home plans, and discretionary…

Solid demand, a lack of existing inventory and improving supply chain efficiency helped shift builder confidence into positive territory for the first time in 11 months. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in June rose five points to 55, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This marks the… Read More ›

This site is 150 feet wide by 230 feet deep, and originally contained a large deteriorating industrial building that filled the lot. The original site was a brown field, and remediation of the site included removal of oil burners, asbestos abatement and demolition of the existing industrial building. This unique neighborhood now comprises seven upscale single-family condominiums. This striking group of homes features both privacy and community, within a neighborhood setting. The common lane, driveways and first-floor plans were laid…