Now is a great time to build your dream home.

These days, home prices are affordable in many parts of the nation. Labor and construction costs have stabilized, and interest rates are near historic lows.

When you are considering the next step toward building a home that's all your own -- from design to finish -- here are some things to keep in mind.

CUSTOM OR NOT

Your first step is determining which kind of builder you want: custom or production.

Both builders have advantages and disadvantages.

Production builders are the most popular. Many people believe that production builders are affordable and fast. These builders have several floor plans they use and some level of interior and exterior customization.

When using them, you may be limited in the location of your home, how much the floor plan can be customized and the kind of quality you can expect.

With a custom builder, you limit is only your imagination and budget. While a custom home can cost more than a production or "tract" home, buyers prefer it because they can build on their own land and decide every single aspect of the construction process.

FINANCING

The rest is here:
How to build a home

Orlando, Florida (PRWEB) May 29, 2014

The New Home Star Florida Division is proud to announce the appointment of Jamie Caffelle as Community Sales Manager for Arthur Rutenberg Homes built by Castle Rock Custom Homes, Inc.. Stationed in the sales center at Casa del Lago in Windermere, Caffelle will manage sales for their community on beautiful Lake Burden in addition to lot sales throughout the Orange, Osceola, and Lake Counties.

Jamie joins the New Home Star team after 12 years in high-end new home sales and management with a track record for delivering top tier results. His seasoned perspective, paired with his experience in the mobile technology space, makes him an invaluable addition to the team.

"I look forward to growing with New Home Star over the years to come," said Caffelle. "Their technological capabilities, proven approach, and extensive resources set the bar for excellence in new home sales, and I'm excited to contribute to the work they're doing."

New Home Star is a national sales and marketing firm specializing in the new home space, providing builders with training and outsourcing solutions for their sales teams. With demand increasing for the company's industry-leading sales enablement platform, New Home Connect, Caffelle's hire is part of their ongoing expansion in Florida.

"We are thrilled to have Jamie coming aboard, and excited about the immense value his leadership will provide to Arthur Rutenberg Homes," stated New Home Star Regional Director Bill Traback. "We have grown rapidly over the past quarter, and it's been recruiting talent like Jamie that allows us to drive the high performance our clients seek."

For more information about Arthur Rutenberg Homes, click here. For more information about New Home Star, click here.

Read more:
Jamie Caffelle Announced as Latest New Home Star Management Addition

Custom Home Builders Bunbury WA 6232
Custom Home Builders Bunbury WA. Dagostino Developments is your true local Bunbury custom home builder. Born and bred in Bunbury, Tony Dagostino has been in ...

By: Mediaworx Bunbury

Go here to see the original:
Custom Home Builders Bunbury WA 6232 - Video

Submitted Harbourside Custom Homes has broken ground on its Villa San Remo furnished model, shown in this artist's rendering, in Seneca at Talis Park in North Naples.

Harbourside Custom Homes has broken ground for its Villa San Remo furnished mode in Seneca, a new neighborhood in Talis Park that will showcase 43 luxury residences offering the North Naples communitys hallmark In the Park living experience.

Wrapped by the Sea Dwarf paspalum vistas of Talis Parks Greg Norman-Pete Dye designed golf course, Senecas north and south facing lakefront homesites feature water and double or triple fairway views. Priced from the high $400s to $700,000, each site is 190 to 200 feet deep, 77 to 100 feet wide, and will accommodate residences ranging from 3,200 to 5,000 square feet. Custom home and lot packages in Seneca are priced starting at $1.6 million.

The 3,658-square-foot under air Villa San Remo model will showcase an architectural design by Nilles Design Group and an interior by Bonita Springs-based Vogue Interiors.

The floor plan features a 29-by-20-foot great room, a formal dining room, a wet bar, a double-island gourmet kitchen and breakfast nook, a study, three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, an outdoor living area with a large covered terrace, gas fireplace, outdoor kitchen, pool and spa, and a three-car garage.

The homes covered entry opens to a foyer and wide gallery hallway that provide a see-though view of the great room, outdoor living area and pool, and Senecas spectacular views. The great room, study, and master bedroom all open to the outdoor living area to create a captivating indoor/outdoor living experience that takes full advantage of Senecas one-of-a-kind setting. Beautiful custom ceiling details will be found throughout the home.

Construction of the Villa San Remo is expected to be completed by January. Fully-furnished pricing will be announced as construction progresses.

One cornerstone of developer Kitson & Partners vision for Talis Park is the notion that design matters. As is the case in each of Talis Parks neighborhoods, Seneca will offer all-new designs in a palette of Spanish Eclectic, Italian Renaissance, and Colonial Caribbean architectural styles. Seneca residences will be built by four luxury homebuilders, including Harbourside, McGarvey Custom Homes, Fox Custom Builders and Gulfshore Homes.

The Villa San Remo is the first of five furnished models that will be presented in Seneca. Construction of four additional models by each of the participating builders is expected to start within the next 45 days.

Talis Parks neighborhoods offer the choice of living in a parklike setting or within walking distance of the communitys Grand Piazza.

Here is the original post:
Harbourside breaks ground for model in Seneca at Talis Park

West Australian builders have scooped the pool at a national building awards ceremony, taking out a swag of prizes including the prestigious Australian Home of the Year for an exclusive home that has a cool $12 million price tag.

Giorgi Exclusive Homes took out the top award, winning the 2014 HIA-CSR Australian Home of the Year for a luxury property in Dalkeith.

The builder also won the gong for the best Australian Custom Built Home.

The inner-west resort style home on 1100 sq m has a strong indoor-outdoor connection, a curved roofed and oversized carrara marble staircase with each tread meticulously under-lit with LED lighting.

Advertisement

There are three kitchens, a parents retreat and garages at the front and rear of the property. A CBUS system controls the pool heating, underfloor heating, solar panels and rainwater tanks.

It was the contemporary designs suitability to the Mediterranean climate of Perth that impressed the judges most.

By taking advantage of its aspect, natural light and ventilation is abundant throughout the home, they said.

Other awards won by WA companies in the national awards were:

Devrite Constructions Australian Townhouse/Villa. The judgeswere impressed by the quality and value for money of the forward-thinking trades and exceptional craftsmanship.

Read the original here:
Dalkeith home named the nation's best

During one of the coldest winters ever recorded in Michigan, a mid-Michigan house, built by Freelands Cobblestone Homes and insulated using Dows OutPerformance Home System, defied the odds by costing only $33 per month to heat. It was this home that won Cobblestone Homes the Cross Border Challenge and earned the company the title of 2014 Best American Custom Builder.

The Cross Border Challenge, an energy efficiency competition among U.S. and Canadian home builders, compares homes HERS Index scores, the industry standard by which a homes energy efficiency is now measured in the U.S. and Canada. Its also the nationally recognized system for inspecting and calculating a homes energy performance.

Cobblestone Homes of Mid-Michigan won the American Custom Builder category in the challenge, administered by the U.S. Residential Energy Services Network and its Canadian counterpart.

This is an amazing honor that goes a long way in showing the performance of our homes, even during an unbelievably harsh winter, said Cobblestone Homes co-owner Mark Wahl.

Cobblestones attention to detail, paired with Dows new OutPerformance Home System, combined for beautiful, energy-efficient custom homes that are unmatched in the Great Lakes Bay Region. Plus Cobblestone has the numbers to prove it, said Jim Morey, North American Residential Market Manager.

In the Cobblestone home evaluated during the 2014 Cross Border Challenge, cooling costs averaged less than $5 per month over the past year, and heating averaged $33 per month.

This award-winning homes results are due, in part, to the OutPerformance Home System. The integrated system of insulation and air sealing solutions work together to enhance homeowner comfort, durability and indoor air quality by blocking dirt, dust and allergens and reducing energy leakage, resulting in a home that costs less to heat and cool. The OutPerformance Home System includes the following products:

STYROFOAM Brand Extruded Polystyrene Insulation

FROTH-PAK Foam Insulation

GREAT STUFF PRO Insulating Foam Sealants

Visit link:
Mid-Michigan home cost only $33 per month to heat during past winter

custom home builders phoenix
http://woodridgecustombuilders.com/ - For phoenix home builders in United States, Contact us.

By: Peter john

See more here:
custom home builders phoenix - Video

Moving to Central Oregon in the mid 90s Pacwest Homes and Remodeling built its first project in Sunriver and currently has projects in seven home subdivisions and rural Tumalo.

Pacwest has built custom homes over many years in Central Oregon consistently winning awards each new year including top honors for Best Architectural Design, Best Landscaping and Best Feature for the 2012 COBA Tour of Homes.

Jim Yozamp, president of Pacwest remarks, We are almost native Oregonians, living in Oregon for 35 years and originally from Minnesota. We migrated like many of our customers here from the Valley going to school in Eugene and moving to the Portland area to start our family in 1988. Eventually vacationing and building our first Central Oregon project that led us to move the kids and establish our building brand in Bend.

Pacwest has been involved in many projects in Central Oregon with a long history in the Broken Top subdivision, Yozamp explains, We have completed over 60 projects in Broken Top alone and have multiple projects in planning and currently under construction. We have enjoyed the Broken Top community to work in.

Although the market was at a low several years ago, Yozamp reports that building projects have in recent years ramped up. The market started to accelerate in early 2011 and has stayed steady since about then. Staying true to their building model has benefitted Pacwest. Our model has been mostly custom design/build in the past six years in both residential and commercial, we have had many projects in Caldera, Broken Top, The Reserve at Broken Top, North Rim, Tetherow and Awbrey Butte.

More:
Quality Construction Custom Homes in Central Oregon

Plaza Bonita Homes By Borrego Construction - Santa Fe Real Estate Home Sales
Borrego Construction Custom Home Builders, Santa Fe New Mexico Haciendas Parade of Homes Peoples Choice Award and Best Master Suite Please visit our model home in the Plaza Bonita Subdivision...

By: Plaza Bonita

Read the original post:
Plaza Bonita Homes By Borrego Construction - Santa Fe Real Estate Home Sales - Video

MIROMAR LAKES The first model home is nearing completion in the new Salerno neighborhood on the exclusive Peninsula at Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club.

The San Michele model, being built by Harbourside Custom Homes, is scheduled to open in late May. It will be the first model available for buyers to tour in the new neighborhood of Salerno, a private enclave of waterfront estate homes with optional private boat docks on Miromars 700-acre lake.

The designer decorated San Michele model home is a four-bedroom, five-bath residence with an additional den and large bonus room. The home encompasses 3,693 air-conditioned square feet with a great room design, chef-style gourmet kitchen, formal and casual dining areas and extensive outdoor living space including a pool, spa and optional fireplace and summer kitchen.

The first phase of Salerno has 10 waterfront homesites, with an additional 22 waterfront homesites to be released for sale in the fall. The waterfront Estate Homes in Salerno will range from approximately 3,500 to over 6,000 air-conditioned square feet. Residents of Salerno can water-ski, fish or take a leisurely cruise right from their property. Buyers can choose from a list of preferred builders including Harbourside Custom Homes, Gulfshore Homes, Arthur Rutenberg Homes, DIVCO Construction and Michelangelo Homes. New construction homes are priced starting at $1.5 million.

Salerno is located adjacent to the new Marina on the Peninsula at Miromar Lakes. A parterre garden provides a stunning entry that leads to a roundabout with a sculpture garden serving as the gateway to the Salerno neighborhood. The marina includes boccie courts, fitness stations, boat slips and entertainment pavilions. A European-style water taxi is available between the Marina and the Beach Club.

Miromar Lakes is the No. 1 Residential Community in the United States, winner of the National Association of Home Builders Gold Award for Community of the Year. Miromar Lakes is the only Florida community to win the top honor in the 33-year history of the NAHB awards.

The private resort-style community has a 700-acre freshwater lake, three miles of private, white sandy beach, a full service European Spa and Fitness Center, two marinas, a dynamic social scene, three restaurants, seven Har-Tru tennis courts and golf course, all within one location. The uniquely designed and exquisitely furnished Beach Clubhouse offers indoor and outdoor gourmet dining, a private beachside dining room, a library, billiards room, card room, 50-seat theater and a business center.

The Blue Water Beach Grill features contemporary fare in an open-air setting with panoramic lake and beach views and boat docks, as well as cabana service on the beach. The European-style Spa offers a full-service beauty salon and a fitness center with a Pilates Studio and Aerobics Room. Other Beach Club amenities include a 10,000-square foot, zero-edge infinity pool, concierge services and marine services.

For the golfer, the Miromar Lakes Golf Club has the only Arthur Hills signature golf course in Southwest Florida with the award-winning Tuscan-inspired Golf Clubhouse, which combines Old World charm in an Italian country villa setting. In addition, the Miromar Tennis Club is comprised of seven lighted Har-Tru tennis courts, including a center court.

Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club is a project of Margaret Antonier, founder and CEO of Miromar Development Corp, a multifaceted real estate development company with a portfolio of residential and commercial properties including the nearby Miromar Outlets and Miromar Design Center.

Read more:
First model home nears completion in Salerno at Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club