[New Post] Home Remodeling News: National Remodeling to Pick Up in 2014 published on

Growth in any industry is positive. However, based on a recent report submitted by Harvard Universities Joint Center for Housing Studies through their Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity report, the home improvement segment is predicted to show significant gains as the New Year begins. Even more impressive, according to current home remodeling news, is that this growth in new home improvement projects is based on accelerated growth seen in the final quarter of 2013 – a time period often associated with reduced remodeling projects.

Home Sales And Home Improvement Are On The Rise

Traditionally home improvement and remodeling jobs see significant gains in late spring and early summer months – especially in temperate climates. However, following a 12-month period where the annual growth rate was stagnant at less than 5 percent in early 2013, the Harvard LIRA report showed double-digit growth in the final two fiscal quarters of the 2013 calendar year.

This significant spike in home improvement spending was based primarily on a highly competitive marketplace and improvements in consumer confidence as 2014 approached. However another important factor was the improvement in the overall housing market, which saw growth of over 17% YTD (year to date) and an impressive $150 Billion being spent on new home remodeling and building in the United States last year.

“Existing home sales are still growing at a double-digit pace, and rising house prices are helping homeowners rebuild equity lost during the housing crash,” stated Mr. Kermit Baker, the director of the Remodeling Futures Program at Harvard University that produced the LIRA report. “We expect the first quarter of 2014 to represent a peak of growth in today’s recovery cycle. However, consumers can feel confident that the growth rate will continue to climb into the early spring and summer months of 2014 as well.”

According to the recent home remodeling news release provided by the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales nationwide grew by nearly 12% over the first eight-months of 2012. And as recent homebuyers tend to be the most active in home improvement projects, such as kitchen and bathroom remodeling, the growth in sales of existing or older homes provides several new opportunities for rapid expansion in the home remodeling segment.

The typical LIRA report that is produced by Harvard University takes into factor eight specific indicators of home ownership market activity including:

• Housing Starting Prices


• Pending Home sales


• Final home sales statistics


• Retail Sales at Home Improvement locations


• And several other factors….

As the overall economy is showing signs of improvement, many climate-neutral states like Arizona, Nevada and Southern Utah are also showing an improvement and increase in current home sales. As seen in home remodeling news, It was estimated in the final quarter of 2013, that existing home sales increased by 20% over the same time period in 2012 in Southern Utah. And with consumers making the choice to invest in upgrading their current homes to become more energy efficient, as well as a highly competitive marketplace of quality-home improvement general contractors offering their services, the first few months of 2014 is the prime opportunity to make a smart investment in your home’s future equity.

 

Read the full story at: http://peakonebuilders.com/home-remodeling-news-national-remodeling-to-pick-up-in-2014/

[New Post] Green Home Remodeling Gaining Traction in Scottsdale For 2014 published on

Trends in the marketplace often come and go. But as 2014 begins, green home remodeling is showing signs of expansion. And for home owners in Scottsdale, AZ making the decision to ‘go green’ with all of their home remodeling projects can save time, money, natural resources and spark some creative juices to use eco-friendly materials and procedures to enhance the overall look and feel of their homes.

Three Steps To Complete Your Green Home Remodeling Project

Here are a few things to consider that will make any green home remodeling project easier to achieve this year.

Step #1 – Have an Energy Audit Completed

A great idea to get you started for any home improvement project is to begin with an Energy Audit completed. This will help you the home owner identify some of the areas inside your current space that could use improvement to increase the energy efficiency of the home. Many HVAC specialists can perform an energy audit, but the key is to factor in the results of this audit and incorporate them into any green home remodeling project you intend to undertake. It is estimated that a good energy audit can lead to up to a 50% reduction in monthly energy bills.

Another positive attribute of having an energy audit is that it will help you reduce carbon emissions from the existing house. This will help make your home much easier to maintain and healthier to live in for everybody.

Step #2 – Invest in Quality Materials for your Green Home Remodeling Project

It’s said that you get what you pay for. And this definitely applies to the materials that are used for any home remodeling project. However, when you’re secondary objective is to be environmentally friendly with your remodel a primary concern of yours should be to purchase quality-built materials for this project. Just like in the food industry, many people get hung up on buzz terms when making purchases. For example, if they are looking for healthier beverages they might only buy ‘organic’ or ‘All-Natural’ products. The end result is manufacturers and retailers will make you pay for those ‘buzz words’, while the product may not always be better for you.

The key in home remodeling is not to fall into that trap. Just because a material might say its ‘eco-friendly’ or made from recycled materials does not mean that it needs to be used for a green home remodeling project. The most important element of any responsible home improvement project is to limit the total amount of materials needed. So if you have to replace that ‘All-Natural’ cabinet in two years because it’s warped, you’re really not accomplishing anything ‘environmentally friendly’. Always make sure that any materials you buy will last a long time – that will ensure your project is ‘green’.

Step #3 – Enhance your Home Improvement Project with Sparkling Colors

The final step when planning to take on a green home remodeling project is to consider the roll that color will play. In this regard, think about using dynamic colors that will naturally brighten up a room  and will require less electrical power and fewer lights. This will also determine what type of window treatments you use, or even whether to add a skylight for natural sunlight to enter a room. Remember – the key to any green remodeling project is to conserve natural resources during and after your home improvement project is completed.

Green home remodeling is going to be a growing trend well beyond 2014 as many homeowners in Scottsdale, Arizona realize the several ancillary benefits that responsible remodeling can provide. Make sure to contact a reliable and experienced general contractor that has experience in working on green home remodeling projects to ensure your job is done right, on time and within your budget.

 

Read the full story at: http://peakonebuilders.com/green-home-remodeling-scottsdale-2014/

[New Post] Commercial Tenant Improvements vs. Moving: Which is Best? published on

When business is good, growth is inevitable. And believe it or not, finding productive ways to expand your business operations is a good problem to have. However, when any company is in the process of expanding their capabilities, one of the biggest hurdles that occur is making the decision to expand their current workspace through commercial tenant improvements or picking up and moving to larger and more adequate operating facility.

Improving Or Moving: What Are The Benefits?

There are benefits to both including:

Staying in Existing Location and Expanding

When your company is growing, and you’re considering whether to stay in the current space, there are several reasons why you might want to consider expansion above moving to larger facilities:

• Expanding your current workspace allows you to maintain current workflow. The biggest problem with moving is the logistic nightmare that often comes with shutting down operations, moving equipment and servicing your current customers. And in today’s competitive marketplace, if you can’t continue to fulfill quality service and products to your customers on time – they will find other options.


• Creating commercial tenant improvements allows you to reduce costs. Another benefit of expanding your current location is cost. If you are located in a commercial building with multiple suites or office locations, simply adding onto the current location is much more affordable than moving into new facilities. And although the cash flow might be solid right now, the last thing any business owner wants to do is increase their operating costs significantly.


• When you upgrade your current facility, you don’t have to make ancillary changes. It might seem small, but many business owners never consider the hassles that come with changing contact information (such as business cards, online websites and directories). When customers (new and existing) want to reach you, they depend on posted addresses and phone numbers to be able to contact you easily. And when you up and move, all this info needs to be updated quickly. Again, it might seem insignificant, however many customers will choose other vendors or suppliers that are easy to contact vs. ones they have to aggressively search to locate.

Moving to Different Locations

As your company grows, you might want to consider moving into a new and larger facility. Some of the advantages of this option include:

• The ability to start fresh with additional room to grow. By moving to a larger facility, you’ll be able to consider additional growth if business continues to expand. And although this is a highly positive way to conduct business, the truth is that it’s often difficult to predict business growth – especially in today’s competitive marketplace.


• The flexibility to create customized workspace. Another ancillary benefit to moving to newer locations is the flexibility to create a workspace that is highly efficient and can often lead to higher productivity.


• The opportunity to move to a better location to service customers easier. Finally, when you move to a larger and new facility you often have the flexibility to move to a better location that allows you to service customers easier.

As you can see, both options offer several advantages. However, at the end of the day, it is much more convenient and economically advantageous to grow in your current office space if possible and choose commercial tenant improvements. The key here is to ensure you work with a qualified and reliable general contractor that will work with you to streamline productivity, reduce operating costs and minimize operational downtime; permitting your company to continue working and taking care of your current customer needs. Regardless of what option you choose, always make sure to contact a professional general contractor that will work with you to choose an option that is most advantageous for your company.

Read the full story at: http://peakonebuilders.com/commercial-tenant-improvements-vs-moving/

[New Post] What A Multifamily Construction Company Can Bring To Your Job Site published on

One of the best attributes any successful company can have is flexibility to work through multiple platforms. And in the construction industry, the unique ability for a general contractor to have the skill-set and experience to work on several types of buildings with a multifamily construction company; from apartment complexes to condo’s not only shows flexibility – it also provides construction sites with several ancillary benefits that all equate to getting the job done right, safely, on time and on budget.

Construction workers are a dime a dozen. But finding a qualified and diverse general contractor that has experience in working several different jobsites is a luxury that any project manager would love to have. Case in point; when most new car shoppers make the decision on what type of vehicle to purchase, they often are gravitated to trustworthy brands like Ford, Nissan, Toyota and Chevrolet – companies who have proven to produce quality in multiple consumer segments; from trucks to SUV’s and small compact cars. The same analogy can and often does apply to finding the right general contractor; those who have proven themselves to produce quality results in multiple situations are always more reliable.

Key Reasons To Hire A Multifamily Construction Company

Multifamily Construction Companies Are Diverse

Diversity is a key attribute for any general contractor. The ability to work on new construction projects, from complete ground-up builds to small remodeling projects gives any foreman the confidence in the general contractor’s abilities – and work ethic. Multifamily General Contractors make the choice to have diverse work experience as it also allows them to deliver better results.

For example, if you have a construction project that includes working solely on apartment buildings, hiring an apartment building specialist might seem to be the right choice. However, when you hire specialists that only have experience in one type of construction, and lack creativity or are simply not flexible, this can lead to problems. But when you work with a GC that is used to working through small issues that always tend to pop up on any jobsite, the end results are often better.

Multifamily GC’s Can Handle Changes Professionally

Another big problem that is avoided when hiring a multifamily general contractor is the fact that they tend to roll with the ever-changing worksite environment extremely professionally. It’s an inevitable fact that changes will occur on any jobsite. And when they do, working with a professional who has worked in several different situations and is accustomed to working within changes is an important element to achieving success during the project. Plus, when you work with a multifamily GC, you’ll have the confidence that they will not use those changes as an excuse to not finish the job done as planned.

Finally, making the decision to hire a multifamily construction company is smart as it allows you to build a relationship with a reliable GC that you can feel comfortable hiring for other construction jobs that pop up. Consistency in craftsmanship and work ethic is an important work trait – regardless of the industry. But in construction, it’s truly a luxury. And when you’re in the planning stages of any construction project, you can rely on the expertise of multifamily general contractors to get the job done right the first time and always on budget.

Read the full story at: http://peakonebuilders.com/what-a-multifamily-construction-company-can-bring-to-your-job-site/