Oklahoma Home Builder News

The top three were the same for all homes priced under $5 million

Point2 Homes, a real estate listing website, analyzed the language in 1.2 million home listings across the U.S. and came up with the most common phrases.

The three most frequently-used feature descriptions for homes priced under $5 million were: “granite countertops,” “hardwood floors,” and “stainless steel appliances.” Next on the list: “open floor plan,” “fenced backyard,” and “covered patio.”

For homes priced under $250,000, other words in the top 10 had to do with minimizing post-purchase costs, to attract first-time buyers who wanted to keep a lid on expenses. So, “new roof” and “move-in ready” were among the most common.

In the $250,000 to $499,000 range, words like “dual sinks,” “natural light,” and “formal dining room” rounded out the top 10. Meanwhile, in the $500,000 to $999,999 range, the most popular feature descriptions after the top three that all listings had in common were: “perfect location,” “gas fireplace,” and “vaulted ceilings.”

Among homes in the $1 million to $5 million range “wet bar,” “French doors,” and “natural light” rounded out the top 10 phrases.

Where it gets interesting is when listings were priced over $5 million. Then, the top three phrases were: chef kitchen, pool and spa, and ocean view. That was followed by “wine cellar,” “gourmet kitchen,” “guest house,” and “hardwood floors.”

Focusing just on adjectives, rather than descriptive phrases, the report said “large,” “new,” and “spacious” were among the most common, regardless of price. For locations, “cul-de-sac,” and “close to restaurants and shopping” were frequently used.

Among the most popular descriptive phrases for the exterior of homes, the list was topped by “fire pit,” “private backyard,” and “mature trees,” the report said. Also in the top 10: “sprinkler system,” “large deck” and “storage shed.”

 By Kathleen Howley

On Friday, Dec. 13, Dolese Bros. Co. acquired Standard Material Group assets including the land, buildings and batch plants in Piedmont, Del City, Newcastle, Cushing and Chandler.

“We look forward to adding the Standard Material Group employees and their former locations to the Dolese team of people who are building communities from the ground up,” Dolese Bros. Co. President & CEO Mark Helm said.

Dolese is headquartered in Oklahoma City operating more than 65 facilities throughout Oklahoma offering full-service construction supply and material operation.

This story shows the impact that Tulsa HBA has on the students from Ryal School each year!

The NAHB International Builders’ Show® is looking for two video bloggers — or vloggers — to feature their phone-created content on the IBS social channels.

It’s time for young professionals attending the 2020 IBS to show their creative side and share their experiences as an IBS attendee. To be considered, just submit a selfie-style video (around a minute) showcasing your onscreen awesomeness and explain why you should be one of the official 2020 IBS vloggers.

Requirements:

• NAHB member in good standing
• 45 years old or younger
• IBS veteran planning to attend the 2020 show
• Committed to posting before, during and after the show

How to Apply:

• Join the NAHB Young Professionals Facebook Group
• Post your selfie-style video (around a minute) in the Facebook group

Submission Deadline: Videos must be posted in the Facebook group by Dec. 31, 2019.

Winner Notification: The winners will be notified Jan. 6, 2020.

If you have any questions, please contact Topher McLarty.

You’re home for the holidays. The halls are decked with boughs of holly. Dad’s drinking eggnog, mom’s drinking almond-nog, your sister is drinking vegan oatmilk chai-nog; all is well … and then it happens. You make one comment about how maybe your mom’s gingerbread house could use some tasteful landscaping, and she takes the opportunity to make a jab about how maybe “you could stop paying money to live in a stranger’s basement.”

You brought up the contentious topic of housing, and now the tidings of comfort and joy have left the building.

Or have they?

As a gift to you this holiday season, the elves at the National Housing Center are offering this simple guide to help kids from one to 92 navigate conversations about housing.

When your dad puts his feet on the ottoman, looks you in the eye and lectures you on the immutability of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (“If it worked for my generation, then it will work for yours.”)

Let your dad know that we’re going to need sensible housing finance reform if we’re going to keep the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage as an affordable option. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – the government sponsored mortgage guarantors – have been in conservatorship for 11 years. That’s not sustainable, Dad. It’s important that any new structure include an explicit federal backstop for the housing finance system and protect taxpayer liability. And, we need to provide an effective financing system for multifamily housing.

When your daughter’s TikTok goes viral – wherein, to the tune of The Commodores’ 1977 hit “Brick House,” she blames the older generations for ruining the housing market – and you decide to make this a teachable moment.

Make sure she understands that, for most home builders, the cost of complying with building regulations and codes can account for up to 25 percent of the total cost to build the home – and even more for multifamily housing. Explain to her that housing affordability is a supply-side issue. When regulatory compliance creates roadblocks to making housing affordable, it’s no surprise that homeownership and rental opportunities are being pushed further and further out of reach. And, we need permanent trade solutions to fluctuating material prices, like softwood lumber and Chinese steel, to ensure that housing can remain affordable. Also, your daughter is no longer listening. Just a heads up.

When your son asks if his girlfriend can move in with him in your basement because her part-time job and Uber gig don’t bring in enough money to rent an apartment.

Make a point to let him know there are more than 335,000 unfilled jobs in construction. These are good-paying jobs with benefits. Carpenters, electricians and masons make an average national wage over $51,000 a year, more than three times what a minimum wage worker takes home annually. It’s enough that he should be able to finally move out of what he calls his “garden-level apartment” and, as we all know, every time an adult child moves out of their parents’ house, an angel gets its wings.

When your parents keep reminding you that your cousin Amber is already married and has a nice house in the suburbs with granite countertops (and they have a Bernese Mountain Dog, and fresh eggs every day from their six chickens, and her husband makes the most amazing homemade gin).

Remind them that homeownership is a great option for some – and that you understand that for many households it represents a primary source of wealth, financial security and a gateway to the middle class. But the bottom line is that it is all about housing choice. Some people prefer to rent, and others are unwilling or unable to take on the financial responsibility of owning a home. And the gin isn’t all that good, anyway.

When your grandma doesn’t want to put out the Santa and reindeer decorations in her front yard because “this is probably the year y’all put me in the old folks’ home.”

Gently let her know that there are many options for people who want to stay in their homes as they age. In fact, aging-in-place remodeling is the fastest growing sector of the remodeling market. By hiring a Certified Aging in Place Specialist, she can get what she needs most: reassurance that you’ll help her make the choices that will help her stay in her home safely and securely. By modifying her home with additional task lighting, grab bars, lever door handles and other features, you all can make sure that holiday traditions (and grandma) are around for years to come.

The Moore Home Builders Association purchased clothing, hats, socks, jackets, sweat shirts and socks for 133 students at Dimensions Academy in Norman, then delivered those Christmas bags of cheer on Wednesday with the help of the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office. Pictured from left to right are: Marvin Haworth, Deputy Phillip Garbriel, Deputy Rafael Hernandez, Sheila Haworth, Deputy Chazdon Anderson, Dimensions Principal Linda Mace, Timmy Smith, Karen Ewing, Sheriff Todd Gibson and Capt. Mike Finley.

-An assortment of clothing and hand-sewn blankets filled Christmas bags of cheer that were delivered Wednesday to 133 alternative education students in Norman.

The project was a joint effort of the Moore Home Builders Association, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office and The Linus Project, which is a ladies’ quilting group that meets at Moore’s First Christian Church one Saturday each month.

“Every year we try to do something that helps our youth,” said Sheila Haworth, executive officer for the home builders association. “It’s like Sheriff (Todd) Gibson was saying, ‘This is a really important project because if we can’t keep these kids in school they won’t have a future.’”

Students were delighted, excited and almost beyond belief when county deputies delivered the gift bags to Dimensions Academy earlier this week. Dimensions Academy is the alternative education program for Norman Public Schools.

“They (students) looked like they had blank stares on their faces,” Haworth said. “Some of them were like, ‘that’s all for us?’”

The students wrapped the hand-sewn blankets around their bodies and “kept them on the rest of the day,” she said. “It really got their morale up.”

Linus Project spokeswoman Sharene Anderson said her group became involved in the school project because “there was a need.”

“That’s our mission — to provide for children in need and especially the homeless and abused children,” she said. “This is our drive. It’s our life.”

Depending on their schedules, the quilters spend anywhere from “every waking moment to a few hours a month and everywhere in between” on their blankets that are donated to variety of causes.

The quilters gave 140 double-sided, fleece quilts to The Dimensions Academy project, Anderson said. The Linus Project was founded in 1995 and serves Canadian, Cleveland, Grady, Kingfisher, Logan, McClain and Oklahoma counties.

The home builders association, through its $3,500 monetary donation and two other contributions, spent about $4,500 on clothes, hats, socks, jackets, sweatshirts and socks for the 133 students. Haworth and retired teacher Karen Ewing shopped from February until November purchasing the clothing items at any store that offered discounts, including some in Texas.

During one shopping spree, the women loaded a buggy with 120 fleeced jackets at a Norman Old Navy store. The jackets originally sold for $29 each, but the women only paid $8 per jacket.

Prior to that, Haworth and Ewing made a trip to an Allen, Texas, shopping outlet where stores were having going-out-of-business sales. During the trip, they spent about $700 for clothes, including some from name brand store Lou LaRue.

The donations also helped the women purchase enough clothes to establish a clothing pantry at the school for future needs.

-Tim Farley of Norman Transcript 

Article by Norman Transcript