Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

The overall U.S. housing market still is struggling to hit its stride, but the remodeling market meanwhile has fully regained its mojo, according to a report released Thursday by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Kermit Baker, director of the centers remodeling futures program, forecasts that spending in the U.S. remodeling market will grow by 4% to 5% this year to at least $330 billion, spanning work on both owned homes and rentals. Thats a slower growth rate than in previous years of the recovery, but it would be enough to make 2015 the richest year for remodeling spending of the past 15, surpassing the previous high point of $324 billion in 2007.

The market is largely recovered, Mr. Baker said. It will resume growth at its historical level, which has been (an average of ) just about 5% year over year for the past 30 years. The main reason: A similar easing of home-price appreciation. The median resale price of existing homes last month of $209,500 marked a 6% increase from a year earlier. In comparison, the increase in 2013 was nearly 10%. Homeowners are less likely to push ahead with an ambitious, pricey renovation if their home equity isnt growing as rapidly anymore.

Another factor sapping a bit of momentum from the robust remodeling market is that homeowners dont have as much motivation now as they did in previous years to install energy-efficient windows, doors and other features in their house, Mr. Baker said. Part of that is because federal tax credits for such improvements have waned. An additional influence is that energy costs, particularly for gas for heating homes, have declined markedly in recent months.

Still other factors will have the opposite effect, keeping remodeling spending from reversing course. Mr. Baker notes that more Baby Boomers are remodeling as they opt to stay in their long-time homes and equip them with handrails, elevators, first-floor bedrooms and other aging-in-place features.

Meanwhile, the remodeling market has listed in recent years toward bigger-ticket, discretionary jobs, including kitchen and bathroom upgrades. The share of overall remodeling spending attributable to such discretionary projects accounted for 30% of remodeling spending on owned homes in 2013, up by roughly a percentage point from 2011, Mr. Baker said. He anticipates that share will continue to grow this year, though he hasnt forecast a specific percentage.

The increase in discretionary remodeling is mostly due to home price appreciation since 2012, Mr. Baker said.

Spending on home improvements and housing prices almost perfectly relate; About 1% of the value of a home is used on home improvement, he said. Prices have come back up, so we think spending came up with that.

Mr. Baker compiled his figures on remodeling spending based on data from the Commerce Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Harvard research.

Anthony Carrino, a partner in Jersey City, N.J., contractor Brunelleschi Construction and a host of remodeling shows on Scripps Networks Interactives HGTV network, says he has seen customers spending more ambitiously in the past year.

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Remodeling Market Has Regained Its Mojo, New Report Says

Figuring out the citys cost has been among challenges

January 29, 2015 | 12:01 am

CEDAR RAPIDS Just one-half inch separates the foundation wall of trucking company CRST International Inc.s new 11-story office tower, CRST Center, going up downtown and the citys 12-foot-tall concrete flood wall that will stand directly in front of it.

However, David Hayek, senior project manager for contractor Ryan Companies US Inc., said the buildings columns under the ground tie in to the concrete footing of the city flood wall to provide additional support for the office tower via building pilings under the flood wall footing.

Hence, a complication: Who pays for what?

The total project is about a $40 million one, and in August the City Council agreed to pay up to $3.95 million for its part. The citys flood control piece of the project consists of three parts;

l A 20-foot-deep shell for a pumping station

l A gate that closes over a storm sewer outlet in the flood wall during floods

l The 12-foot-tall, 30-inch-wide concrete flood wall.

The wall will run along the river the length of the 200 block of First Street SE directly in front of the 11-story CRST Center, the first three floors of which are a parking garage that extends the entire block.

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Sorting it out: Flood wall goes up at same time as CRSTs new tower

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A tree fell Tuesday morning on Kepler Road in DeLand. It struck two cars and sent one person to the hospital with minor injuries, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

A tree fell in a roadway near DeLand on Tuesday morning, striking two cars and sending the driver of one vehicle to the hospital with injuries, a Florida Highway Patrol official said.

Anitra Lark, 35, of Miami suffered minor injuries and was taken to Florida Hospital in DeLand, said FHP Sgt. Kim Montes.

Lark was southbound on Kepler Road when a tree on the west side of the road fell on top of her car. The tree also struck a Chevy Tahoe driven by Steven Queen, 42, of Altamonte Springs. Queen did not get injured, Montes said.

The tree fall closed both lanes of Kepler Road until a county tree removal crew cleared the way, Montes said.

The incident at Kepler Road and Poinsetta Lane was reported at 9:26 a.m., according to a dispatch log.

Initial reports to dispatchers indicated that a woman was pinned inside the car after the tree fell on the vehicle, the dispatch log shows.

Troopers are working to determine who owns the land from where the tree fell, Montes said.

Original post:
Falling tree hits 2 cars, blocks road in DeLand

WHEATON Trees on public parkways affected by the emerald ash borer may be gone by May.

The Wheaton City Council unanimously voted to approve almost $2 million for the trees' removal during a Jan. 20 meeting.

In August 2014, city staff proposed adding more than $850,000 to the 2014-15 budget for the program, said City Manager Don Rose, but held off.

"We never presented [the council] with a budget amendment because we were actually hoping to even request more money," he said.

After the approval, the city is allocating about $1.9 million to combat the invasive insect that infests ash trees and slowly kill them, according to city documents.

When Rose originally asked for the additional funds in the fall, the city still had several thousand of the 6,500 previously identified at-risk ash trees to take down. To expedite the process, the city hired outside workers to supplement Wheaton crews. Now it could be done in only months.

Some ash trees in the community are not yet infected, Rose said, and most are being treated by adjoining property owners. However, treating trees isn't a long-term solution.

"What we were told is that treatment is OK for a while, but you're just delaying it," said Mayor Mike Gresk.

Rose and City Attorney James Knippen also told the council it was not legally obligated to replace any trees on private property.

The council has previously supported plans calling for expanding its tree replacement program. If the city decides to sponsor replacements for its trees, it would cost about $1.2 million over the next eight years, Rose said in August.

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Wheaton City Council ups ash tree removal spending, plans to have trees gone by May