Association Of Home

Maryland may be "America in Miniature" to some, but the state's housing has been tending toward the plus size, the latest census data show. Though middling in overall population, Maryland ranks second only to Utah - the state with the nation's largest households - in the share of its housing with four bedrooms or more, the U.S. Census Bureau reported yesterday. Twenty-eight percent of Maryland's housing units have four or more bedrooms, slightly ahead of Virginia and Delaware, according to the 2005 American Community Survey.

Virginia Housing and the Environment Network will present an all-day workshop entitled, "Green Development in Maryland" from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday at Catonsville Community College.The workshop will examine opportunities and challenges for "green development" in Maryland -- a form of development which maintains environmental integrity, while delivering financial returns for developers. The program is co-sponsored by the Urban Land Institute, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Home Builders Association of Maryland, whose executive vice president, John Kortecamp, will participate in a panel discussion.

DALLAS -- If there's a new house in your near future, chances are it will look something like the New American Home '99, a 3,858-square-foot dream dwelling in the suburbs that was one of the stars of the recent International Builder's Show in Dallas.Among other things, the state-of-the-art house has:* An exterior finish of native fieldstone and light gray brick.* A 2-story turret that houses the entry and a curving staircase.* A linear floor plan that opens the living and dining area to the kitchen and breakfast area.

Maryland is millions of bricks shy of a load.Building contractors and landscapers can't get enough of them.Factories in Pennsylvania and Ohio are working around the clock to fill orders dating to last year, and bricks that are still raw material in the ground have been spoken for.The same shortage is being felt in the Carolinas, Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania, according to the National Association of Home Builders."

Baby boomers are beginning to settle into their destination homes, the places where they plan to spend their child-free years.For many, these homes will become their final addresses.Once folks reach retirement age, they want to stay put. In fact, 85 percent of people older than 65 have no intentions of moving, says Judith Miley, a nationally renowned home redesigner from Ocala, Fla.Often, as people age, their houses become increasingly hostile environments. This doesn't have to be the case.

Here is a partial list of local and national real estate Web sites by organization, Web address and comment.Real estate brokersCentury 21, www.century21.com: Property searches, community descriptions, mortgage and credit information.Coldwell Banker Grempler Realty Inc., www.grempler.com: Mortgage rates, agent home pages, and home searches.Homebuyer, www.homebuyer.com: Offers information on residential and commercial properties as well as loan, title, mortgage, home inspection and insurance information.

Rep. Weller to speak at seminar ThursdayRep. Jerry Weller, an Illinois Republican who serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, will be the keynote speaker for a one-day seminar on alternative financing sources available for developers of low-income housing.Scheduled for 8: 45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at the Washington National Airport Hilton, the seminar will include information on housing tax credits and tax-exempt bonds. A continental breakfast, lunch and cocktail reception are included in the $295 cost.

The conveyor belt runs almost nonstop at the Gold Bond Building Products Co. in Southeast Baltimore, ferrying more than a million square feet of drywall a day.But although the factory's workers are on the production line around-the-clock, it's still not enough to meet the demand.With the recent frenzy of homebuilding, remodeling and commercial construction, builders and suppliers are reporting shortages of many building products, including drywall, insulation and specialty items such as man-made stone.

What's the most important feature in buying a new or existing home? Square footage.Almost half (48.5 percent) of those looking for a new home or resale gave that response as part of Professional Builder magazine's 24th annual consumer survey.In last year's survey, 41 percent listed square footage as their No. 1 priority.Coming in second was a "master retreat," followed by a modern kitchen and a more efficient energy system.The survey also found that consumers expected to live in a new home an average of 15 years.

Manufactured home shipments rose 7% in 1996Factory shipments of manufactured homes totaled 363,411 in 1996, a 7 percent increase over the 339,601 units moved in 1995, according to figures released by the Manufactured Housing Institute.December shipments, however, showed a 4.5 percent decline to 22,947 homes from 24,034 for the final month of 1995.The exception was Texas, where December shipments were 34.6 percent higher last year than they were in 1995. For all of 1996, shipments to Texas were up 20 percent.

LAS VEGAS - If you'd love to purchase a new house but you're sitting on the fence, what exactly would it take to get you to buy? Mortgage rates lower than today's 5 percent range? Smaller down payments? Below-market value pricing? Special amenity packages? Or a big tax credit? What's the magic mix that will get you motivated? Or is it unlikely you'll get off the fence as long as you're worried about the economy and further drops in real estate values? Questions like these are at the core of the housing industry's problem: Builders are stuck with bulging inventories of homes - most of them priced lower than six months or a year ago - that are still not selling.

The nation's financial meltdown dealt a setback to a housing market that was showing glimmers of recovery in Maryland, and local builders said yesterday that they are bracing for another tough year. During a real estate and construction forecast conference, area builders said they are struggling through a period of slow sales and limited financing that has forced housing companies to lay off workers, put projects on hold or rethink the type of homes they can sell. The housing slowdown began about two years ago. Experts at the annual conference in Woodlawn, sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Maryland, said the bloated inventory of new and existing homes was starting to come into balance as new housing starts dropped sharply this year.

Showers that warm to the perfect temperature while the bather is still in bed. Soft lighting that facilitates midnight trips to the bathroom. Dishwashers that can be activated from the other side of the world. High-tech home improvements put a homeowner at ease, saving time and (sometimes) money and creating an aura of futuristic pampering. By comparison, more traditional updates can seem a little bit dull. A new granite countertop, however attractive, can't personalize a room's temperature or dim the lights at the kids' bedtime.

Maryland may be "America in Miniature" to some, but the state's housing has been tending toward the plus size, the latest census data show. Though middling in overall population, Maryland ranks second only to Utah - the state with the nation's largest households - in the share of its housing with four bedrooms or more, the U.S. Census Bureau reported yesterday. Twenty-eight percent of Maryland's housing units have four or more bedrooms, slightly ahead of Virginia and Delaware, according to the 2005 American Community Survey.

Hurricane Katrina's destruction is putting more pressure on the already heated housing market - even in the Baltimore area, a thousand miles away. Market prices nationwide increased 5 percent to 10 percent for lumber and 20 percent to 25 percent for plywood and oriented strand board between Wednesday and yesterday, said Mark Hunt, who manages three local building-material facilities for Builders FirstSource. He attributes the unusually large increase to panic as much as anything else. Lumber and its related products total about a quarter of the cost of home construction.

YASMIN GELLER couldn't sleep until she flew her carpenters to their Illinois headquarters and back to Green Spring Valley to rework the posts that she thought marred the contemporary lines of the 23-foot spiral staircase in her new home. The maple-and-glass staircase - a showstopper - had to be just right. After all, she and her husband, Ira, planned to spend the rest of their lives in the 12,000-square-foot, multimillion-dollar abode. The house was their investment. Another baby. A jewel.

OK, NOW WE HAVE a housing bubble. How do we know? Real estate professionals, who aren't even allowed to think that homes might be, uh, overpriced, are publicly worried. Speculators snapping up homes they won't live in and may not be able to rent have given the market a new tier of foam and raised chances it will all end badly, pros say. There is "a growing presence of investors or speculators or whatever you want to call them, especially in hot housing markets," says David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders.

WASHINGTON - U.S. orders for durable goods rose in September for the third time in four months, and sales of new homes unexpectedly increased. Bookings for items made to last at least three years increased 0.2 percent to $195.7 billion, driven by demand for military hardware and business equipment, the Commerce Department said yesterday. Durable goods orders had declined 0.5 percent in August but rose in June and July. Orders for defense hardware soared 27 percent last month, the most since June.

Hidden under Esther Siegel's white oak flooring lie the first drafts of history. Recycled newspapers and salvaged firewood help make up the sub-flooring in her Takoma Park home. Unlike traditional plywood, the environmentally friendly sheeting material does not emit gas and can be found at local hardware stores. Siegel's floor, like many other parts of her house, is constructed from discarded materials that save her money and energy. The idea of reusing products around the house that are energy-efficient and environmentally friendly is commonly referred to as "green" building.

Bilingual workshop on buying a home set for Saturday Baltimore's Hispanic Liaison Office will hold a bilingual homebuying workshop next weekend. The session will include information about financing options, government incentives and the procedures involved in buying a home in Baltimore. Real estate professionals will provide information and answer questions. The workshop will be the fourth held by the liaison office. It is aimed at increasing homeownership by Hispanics. The event is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at St. Patrick's Church hall, 1728 Bank St. Information or registration: Lorena Beltran, 410-545-6532.