NAHB Profiles Typical Remodeler

Have you wondered if your remodeling business is similar to others in the profession?  Did you know that NAHB conducts an annual census of Remodelers each year?

Click here to see the census data of single-family Home Builders at Eye on Housing.

Check out these selected details:

• There were 11,986 Remodelers in 2011, down 7 percent from 2008.
• The average revenue for a Remodeler was $586,234 in 2011
• The median age of the Remodeler in 2011 was 54
• 94 percent of Remodelers were male

In another report, NAHB found that the largest share of business for Remodelers comes from projects valued at more than $100,000.

Read the project size analysis at Eye on Housing by clicking here.

NAHB's profile of a typical single-family Home Builder

Have you wondered if your home building business is similar to others in the profession?  Did you know that NAHB conducts an annual census of Home Builders each year?

Click here to see the census data of single-family Home Builders at Eye on Housing.

Check out these selected details:

• There were 24,159 single-family Home Builders in 2011, down 46.5 percent from 2008.
• The average revenue for a single-family Home Builder was $1.6 million in 2011
• The median age of the Home Builder in 2011 was 53
• 94 percent of Home Builders were male

Gallup: Homeownership rate now just 62 percent

A recent poll by Gallup, the national polling firm, found that the homeownership rate in the U.S. has sunk to just 62 percent, down from 73 percent in Gallup polls conducted in 2006 and 2007.  The poll asked respondents whether they own their own home.

At one time Presidents Clinton and Bush advanced initiatives to increase homeownership to 70 percent, but according to U.S. Census data, the actual homeownership rate peaked at 69.2 percent.

The Census Bureau puts the homeownership at 66.4 percent at the end of 2011.

Read more at MSN.com by clicking here.

Greenville is the ninth fastest growing city in America

According to a report by CNNMoney, Greenville was the ninth fastest growing city in America between 2000 and 2010.  CNN Money analyzed U.S. Census data to arrive at its report.

Read the entire report at CNNMoney.com by clicking here.

Below is a list of the top 10 fastest growing cities in America:


Charlotte, NC, population 1.25 million, grew 64.6 percent
Raleigh, NC, population 884,891, grew 63.4 percent
Cape Coral, FL, population 530,920, grew 60.8 percent
Provo, UT, population 482,819, grew 59 percent
Austin, TX, population 1.36 million, grew 51.1 percent
Las Vegas, NV, population 1.89 million, grew 43.5 percent
McAllen, TX, population 728,825, grew 39.3 percent
Knoxville, TN, population 558,696, grew 33.1 percent
Greenville, SC, population 400,492, grew 32.5 percentSan Antonio, TX, population 1.76 million, grew 32.4 percent

Eight of the ten cities are in Southern states.  Greenville is the smallest city on the list, but if the entire metro area is included (Greenville/Spartanburg/Anderson), the area's population is about 1 million.

Did You Know: Characteristics of Owner-Occupied Housing in the Greenville Metro Area

A recent analysis by NAHB shows how the Greenville are stacks up against other communities in the US when comparing owner-occupied and single-family housing statistics.  Did you know:

• Greenville ranks 99 in the nation in population, with 619,832 in an area that encompasses Pickens County as well.
• Greenville ranks 96 in owner-occupied housing units, with 164,688 owner-occupied homes.
• Greenville ranks 155 in homeownership rate.  The Greenville area homeownership rate is 68.2 percent.
• Greenville ranks 303 in vacancy rate with 3.7 percent of owner-occupied homes standing vacant.
• Greenville ranks 271 in percent of single-family detached housing, with 82.1 percent of is housing stock classified as single-family detached.
• Greenville ranks 228 in median home value.  The median value of a home in Greenville is $142,600.
• Greenville ranks 260 in median income of homeowners.  The median income of homeowners in Greenville is $54,549.
• Greenville ranks 71 in the nation in homes built in 2005 or later.  According to NAHB's report, 11.2 percent of homes in Greenville were built since 2005.
• The percent of owner-occupied homes in Greenville fell 1.7 percent.  Greenville ranks 235 in the nation in the percent increase in owner-occupied homes.

You can read NAHB's report, and view other metro areas in the country, at NAHB.org by clicking here.

NewGeography: South Dominates U.S. Population Growth

Population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau show that Southern states continue to dominate the country in terms of population and growth during the last year.  According to New Geography, Southern states accounted for more than half of the population growth from 2000 to 2011 while having just one third of the country's total population.  In fact, 95 percent of all migration between states resulted in migration to Southern states.

Read the entire report a NewGeography.com by clicking here.

NewGeography report finds that more Americans are moving to detached housing

Conventional wisdom, the national media, and planning professionals would have you believe that Americans are moving to attached housing (apartments and condominiums) in droves.  A report by NewGeography finds reality defies that conventional wisdom.

NewGeography analyzed the top 51 housing markets (over 1 million population) and compared Census data from 2000 and 2010.  The results of their findings include:

• Single-Family Detached housing attracted 79.2 percent of new households
• Multi-Family Attached housing attracted 11.8 percent of new households
• Two-Unit Attached housing attracted 11.3 percent of new households
• Other housing, like mobile homes and boats, declined by 2.3 percent

A total of 4 million new new single family homes were added in the 51 markets, while apartments and condominiums added 590,000 units and attached houses added 570,000 units.

Planners argue that condominiums tend to be more attractive in larger housing markets due to higher land costs.  However, planners and demographers do anticipate a slight shift in preference to attached housing in the coming decades as Generation Y enters the housing market.

Read the entire report at newgeography.com by clicking here.

Homeownership rate falls to lowest level in 13 years

The U.S. homeownership rate fell to 65.9 percent in the second quarter of 2011. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, this is the lowest level since 1998.

According to the American Bankers Association, a 1 percent drop in homeownership equates to 1.1 million fewer homeowners.

Are 30 somethings abandoning the city for the suburbs

By Michael Dey, Executive Vice President

Home Builders Association of Greenville

The challenge of understanding how demographics impacts the housing market is not in the assessment of what has happened, but in the assessment of what will happen.

A couple of years ago I looked at some of the causes of the current housing market crisis. Clearly easy access to financing, access that was too easy, was a major factor. However, in my opinion, the catalyst was demand, or lack of it.

From 2006 to 2009 the population at prime first-time home buying age was extraordinarily small. That is because that age group was born during the lowest birth-rate years since World War II: 1973-1976.

In my opinion lack of demand from people that had to buy a home was the catalyst that created the chain reaction that brought down the housing industry.

Unfortunately that first-time home buyer demand is still lower than normal and is probably a couple of years away from strengthening. Low demand is compounded with the fact that many people who should have been in the market place in the last couple of years have deferred buying homes because they either don't have a job or are under employed, or they are not confident enough to enter the housing market at this time, or they are having difficulty qualifying for a loan, and perhaps a combination of the three. This one-two punch explains why the housing industry continues to "bounce along the bottom": lack of demand.

Demand is coming, but where?

The question I am often asked when I present this data, and one that I have not been able to answer, is where will the next generation of first-time home buyers want to live? That is a very good question and one that is hard to answer; until now.

The professional planners and smart-growth advocates say future demand will matriculate toward more urban settings. I have generally agreed with that assessment and I have wondered if we don't already have enough suburban housing to meet future demand.

However, analysis of 2010 Census data by demographer Wendell Cox demonstrates the opposite trend. According to Cox's analysis, 1.8 million 25-34 year-olds moved to the suburbs during the last decade. At the same time, 1.3 million25-34 year-olds moved away from urban areas around the country.

There is a lot of speculation about why this has happened, but a member of the HBA staff who falls into that age group gave me the most plausible explanation for this trend: "we can't afford to live in the city."

No matter the explanation, the answer to where first-time home buyers will settle may be answered: where their parents settled when they bought their first home.

Read a report on Wendell Cox's study by Joel Kotkin on the Forbes blog by clicking here.

South Carolina to gain one additional seat in Congress

The U.S. Census Bureau released state-by-state population data from the 2010 census. South Carolina will add one seat in Congress beginning in 2012, bringing its total representation to nine—seven in the House of Representatives, two in the Senate.

South Carolina's population grew by 612,000, to 4,625,364, between 2000 and 2010, at 15.3 percent growth rate.

Read the entire report at GSA Business by clicking here.

Quality of Life Driving Upstate Population Growth

The recently completed census found that population in the Greenville County grew by 18.9 percent. According to an analysis by the Greenville News, the newcomers have tended to be more highly educated, and nearly 15,000 of the newcomers to the county since 2000 have been foreign born. As a result, the percentage of those living in Greenville County who have a four-year college degree is 29.1 percent, above the national average.

Reasons sited for this trend include a high quality of life, employment opportunities, proximity to the I-85 corridor and other larger cities like Atlanta and Charlotte, and easy access to the mountains and the coast.

Greenville Growth Tops State

According to a report in the Greenville News, Greenville County by 72,000 residents in the last decade, a growth rate of 18.9 percent. Most of that growth was in the suburban areas outside of the City of Greenville, which grew by 10.3 percent since 2000. Greenville County's population now stands at 451,428. The City of Greenville's population is 61,782.

By comparison, the State of South Carolina grew by 13.7 percent to 4,561,242.

The new population statistics are the result of the recent population census conducted by the Federal government.

Homeownership Rate Falls to Lowest Level Since 1999

The nation's homeownership rate is at the lowest level in more than a decade, hampered by a rise in foreclosures and weak demand for housing.

The percentage of households that owned their homes was unchanged at 66.9 percent in the July-September quarter, the Census Bureau said Tuesday. That's the same as the April-June quarter.

The last time the rate was lower was in 1999, when the rate was 66.7 percent.

Click on this link to read the entire article at Yahoo! Business.

Study indicates South Carolina will gain one seat in Congress after census

The reason our Federal government conducts a census every 10 years is to determine the division of our representatives in Congress among the states. This fact often gets lost in all the hype about the Census. After the Census is completed, Congress reallocates the available seats in the U.S. House of Representatives (435). This happens in time for the General Elections two years after the Census year.

A study by Election Data Services indicates that South Carolina will gain one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in beginning in 2012. EDS estimates that six states will gain one seat in Congress and one state, Florida, will gain two. Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Utah, and Washington are the states in addition to South Carolina expected to pick up one seat in Congress.

When states gain a seat in Congress, that means other states lose seats. Eight states are expected to lose one seat each in Congress: Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Once Congress reallocates seats in Congress, if South Carolina gains a seat, the South Carolina General Assembly will reapportion the state and draw new lines for its Congressional Districts.

Read a complete report on the EDS Study by clicking here.