Sep 17 2020
Follow the Construction of an Architect’s Innovative Home

On a small plot of land near Long Island Sound, construction of The Next Great American Home has started, featuring energy-efficient construction that will withstand storms at less cost than traditional home-building.

Architect Leigh Overland designed the project, where he and his wife will live, to showcase the newest and most consumer-friendly construction techniques. Progress on the house can be seen online, along with descriptions of methods and materials.

Unlike the usual home-building project, the public is invited to witness the various stages of the build and learn about how to construct houses that save money and will adapt to climate change in an affordable way. The construction timetable will be fast-paced, fun and educational.

“This project will offer a multi layered, sensory experience for everyone who visits the building site,” Overland said. “Every sense will be engaged, and it will enhance the experience of architecture that most buildings don’t have. We will demonstrate that, thanks to its progressive preservation approach, this home will transform the way we build and interact with the environment.”

The most obvious break from traditional construction is Overland’s use of Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) instead of wood framing.

ICF consists of hard-foam forms filled with concrete to create the exterior walls of the house. ICF cuts energy bills by up to 70%, and the accompanying air regulation system makes the building healthier by preventing entry to pollen and mold.

The concrete walls make it stronger and much quieter than a wood-frame home and additional features — which can be easily employed on other new buildings — will protect it from severe storms and floods. Overland designed the home with many features to improve sustainability, including triple-paned windows and long-lasting roofing and exterior elements that withstand all types of weather.

More than 50 contractors and consultants have agreed to work with Overland to construct the house and provide customized finishes and features. The goal for the team is to make innovative connections to the home-buying public and the construction industry.

The property is located in an existing neighborhood in Fairfield on Ash Creek. It is scheduled to be completed in early winter.

Leigh Overland holds licenses in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and has practiced for more than 40 years. He has incorporated ICF into his work for the past eight years. has won several awards, and was asked by ABC’s “Extreme Home Makeover – Home Addition” to be the architect for the Connecticut home that aired Oct. 14, 2007. His experience includes hundreds of residential alterations, additions, and new homes, as well as commercial projects including the Waterview, Riverview & Candlewood Banquet Facilities, Waterbury Federal Teachers Credit Union, Wells Fargo and David Lerner’s Investment Regional Headquarters, veterinary hospitals, health spas, St. Elizabeth’s Seton Church, and many well-known restaurants.

Contact him at 203-794-9001, www.ldoverland.com or www.nextgreatamericanhomes.com .

Press contact: Cara Mocarski, Mocarski1@aol.com

CAPTIONS

Photo Credit: Secundino Paulino

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Architect Leigh Overland is all smiles now that the foundation and walls for The Next Great American Home on Ash Creek in Fairfield are being constructed. Instead of wood framing, he and his wife are using Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF).

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A close up view of Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) at Architect Leigh Overland’s new home that over 50 area contractors are working on. This energy-efficient construction costs less than traditional home-building, can withstand storms, and features healthier indoor air quality.

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Aug 26 2020
New Home Sales Surge in July

New Home Sales Surge in July

BY  on 

New single-family home sales surged in July, as housing demand was supported by low interest rates, a renewed consumer focus on the importance of housing, and rising demand in lower-density markets like suburbs and exurbs.

Census and HUD estimated new home sales in July at a 901,000 seasonally adjusted annual pace, an approximate 14% gain over June and the strongest seasonally adjusted annual rate since the end of 2006. The April data (570,000 annualized pace) marks the low point of sales for the current recession. The April rate was 26% lower than the prior peak, pre-recession rate set in January.

The gains for new home sales are consistent with the NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI, which equaled a data series high in August, demonstrating that housing is the leading sector for the economy. Consider that despite double-digit unemployment, new home sales are estimated to be 8% higher for the first seven months of 2020 compared to the first seven months of 2019.

Sales-adjusted inventory levels declined again, falling to a just a 4 months’ supply in July, the lowest since 2013. This factor points to additional construction gains ahead. The count of completed, ready-to-occupy new homes is just 61,000 homes nationwide. Total inventory declined almost 9% year-over-year, with inventory down to 299,000.

Moreover, sales are increasingly coming from homes that have not started construction, with that count up 34% year-over-year. In contrast, sales of completed, ready-to-occupy homes are down almost 24%. These measures point to continued gains for single-family construction ahead.

Thus far in 2020, new home sales are higher in all regions. Sales on a year-to-date basis are 5% higher in the South, 9% in the West, 20% in the Midwest, and 22% higher in the Northeast.

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Nov 14 2019
SIX STEPS THAT CAN REDUCE YOUR EMPLOYEE TURNOVER

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Employee turnover, the loss of good employees, no matter how low that rate is, significantly takes away from your bottom line because it is costly and it reduces productivity. Reducing turnover significantly reduces those replacement expenses.

How much does turnover cost? You have to include lost productivity, lost opportunity cost, (you can’t be spending your time on getting new customers and new jobs while you’re interviewing and training a new employee) and recruitment costs and while there are many variables, research indicates that even for entry level person of say $30,000 in compensation, the replacement cost can be as high as 40% $12,000.e? st can behigh aselyth youh additional things ree

“80% of employee turnover stems from mistakes in the hiring process.” Harvard Business Review

Every contractor has turnover expenses. No employee stays forever. But turnover expenses can be better managed and reduced.

Those who are satisfied with their bottom line, as it is, or believe that these replacement costs cannot be reduced, will maintain their status quo and get by.

Here are six building blocks for improving employee retention by reducing unnecessary turnover.

  1. Targeted candidate recruitment. To make a good soup you need to start with the right ingredients so it is important to clearly define the perfect candidate for your unique needs. Search efforts then need to be designed and carefully targeted to source a pool of those ideal candidates.
  2. Effective interviewing skills. Some contractors are not skilled in the art of the interview and focus too much time on the company and the interviewer. 80% of the interview should focus on the candidate using prepared questions to determine not only the candidate’s abilities and how they fit the requirements of the position, but their unique needs and goals.
  3. Preparation of a unique and acceptable job offer. When you have the right candidate you need to seal the deal. More than just money, it needs to be communicated how accepting your offer will mesh with the candidate’s unique goals in all of their areas of their life.
  4. A comprehensive on-boarding process. This is much more than providing a company employee manual. It is a comprehensive process that starts with day one, then week one, then month one, then year one and beyond to insure a smooth and permanent assimilation into the team and their job. You want to avoid having the new candidate go home after their first day and wonder, “What was I thinking when I took this job?”
  5. Effective management skills. Being an effective, positive leader who is authentic and candid, and provides the investments of ongoing training, tools, techniques and resources necessary to enhance the employee’s development, productivity, satisfaction and retention.
  6. Effective motivating practices. Making it a planned policy to catch employees “doing things right” and providing regular encouragement, helping them to achieve their personal and professional goals, will not only enhance their productivity but increase employee engagement and retention.

If you short change any one of these six building blocks, you diminish the likelihood of getting to the important goals of increasing employee productivity and reducing unnecessary turnover and retaining your key employees.

I provide unique consulting for clients who desire to increase their employees’ retention rates and reduce turnover rates, helping them develop their Six Building Blocks of Employee Retention practices. For an initial consultation call me at: 203-386-8062 or email your request for “retention” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Certified Executive Coach, Consultant and Trainer
Author, "Organizing Your Life" and "The Productivity Handbook"
Productivity Institute
Personal Productivity Solutions to Leverage Your Impact
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062
(800) 969-3773
ctsem@msn.com
http://www.balancetime.com
Follow me on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/timemanagement
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/timeguy

 

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Nov 8 2019
Lower Mortgage Rates Push Housing Affordability to Highest Level in Three Years

With mortgage rates at a three-year low and a healthy job market, housing affordability rose to its highest level in three years in the third quarter of 2019, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released today.

In all, 63.6 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of July and end of September were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $75,500. This is up from the 60.9 percent of homes sold in the second quarter of 2019 that were affordable to median-income earners and slightly higher than a first quarter 2019 reading of 62.6.

The national median home price remained steady at $280,000 in the third quarter, flat from the previous quarter, but a jump from the first quarter when the median price was $260,000. At the same time, average mortgage rates fell from 4.07 percent in the second quarter to 3.73 percent in the third quarter, reaching a three-year low.

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Sep 18 2019
Builder Confidence Hits Yearly High in September

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose one point to 68 in September from an upwardly revised August reading of 67, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Sentiment levels have held in the mid- to upper 60s since May.

Builders’ optimism in recent months is being fueled by low interest rates and solid home buyer demand. However, the trade dispute with China is a growing headwind for the industry, both raising the cost of construction inputs and holding back demand in parts of the country that rely on the manufacturing sector.  NAHB’s latest Home Building Geography Index shows that home construction in manufacturing areas started weakening in the last quarter of 2018.

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Aug 23 2019
The Case Against Exclusionary Zoning

The Case Against Exclusionary Zoning

In a new policy paper, Michael Stegman, a senior housing policy fellow at the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets, argues that the collective impact of decades of layering exclusionary zoning and land use controls is not just higher housing prices. These regulations, he says, are also a powerful contributor to declining rates of economic mobility and productivity growth, and widening disparities in the wealth of white and black Americans.

While having local roots, exclusionary land use practices have clearly become a national problem that Stegman says requires bold national action.

Read his paper, Eliminating Exclusionary Land Use Regulations Should be the Civil Rights Issue of our Time, which can be found at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies website.

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