This was an interesting year at The International Builders Show - attendees seemed to be more intrigued with the factory built homes presented by Palm Harbor and Nationwide Homes than the ones the were built using traditional forms of construction.

Kevin Flaherty, VP of Marketing For Genesis and Champion Home Builders teamed up with Paul Emrath, VP for Survey and Housing Policy Research at NAHB to lead a press conference on Characteristics of Modular Homes. Kevin is also Vice Chairman for the Building Systems Council of NAHB and did a great job presenting why modular housing will continue to be a preferred way to build.

Flaherty stated that "builders are looking for new solutions in today's challenging economic climate. When homeowners choose modular construction, as they often do, they experience measurable savings in cost and time."

Emrath shared statistics on how the cost and time savings can be measured with the U.S. Census Bureau's data on housing starts. "The Census Bureau publishes characteristics of new housing, but typically doesn't show detail for modular homes. By tabulating the Census data ourselves, we can see the characteristics of today's modular homes in some detail, and compare modular to site built construction."

The data shows that average start to completion time for a modular home is 5 months currently compared to 6.9 months for a site-built (or as Flaherty called them open air constructed - love that!) home. When I asked Flaherty how long it takes for a modular home to be actually built on one of the Genesis and Champion manufacturing facilities, he said that it typically takes two weeks of plant time for the home to be constructed, but some of their facilities are capable of building 9 homes a day!

So what are the characteristics of a modular home? Expect to find a home that is:

*Green - factory built housing has a lot less waste and the facilities to extensive recycling.

*Well Constructed - modular homes tend to be a "tighter build" due to the benefits of building in a controlled environment.

*Cost Effective - modular construction can offer great cost savings when labor isn't available in an area and when it's a hard area to build in.

Mr. Flaherty also brought up the fact that more private equity companies are getting involved in modular housing because they see the potential. That to me is a great sign that this is a trend that will continue to grow.

We just got back from The International Builders Show and there were so many great things to see and do it's going to take me weeks to catch up! I like having those types of problems though, and after attending the show and having the rare opportunity to hear Ben Bernanke speak about true solutions that can help the building industry, I'm optimistic about what lies ahead.

One of my favorite seminars this year was hosted by the NAHB 20 Club Program which I think is one of the most important groups in the NAHB. Twenty non-competitive builders make up a group that gets together a few times a year to be open about their different business practices and share their successes and failures. Thermador is a major sponsor of this group and their participation has helped to make this program a vital resource for builders. They have made their amazing culinary center available for the 20 Club meetings and have been very supportive in every way possible.

David Riedman - President of Riedman Development and @home Builders has been a member of one of these groups for years, and he has always raved about how important they have been to the growth of his company. He was gracious enough to take time out of his very hectic schedule and share how this group has helped him. He was joined by three other panelists that are also very active, and are very successful in spite of the housing downturn. I think that says a lot for the value of these groups.

Being involved in his local Home Builders Association (he is a past president), the 20 Club and now having more of a national presence is one of the reasons @home Builders is so respected in the Rochester and Western New York housing markets.

If you would like to obtain a copy of his speech and find out more about the 20 Club program, it is available on MobilTape here.

The International Builders Show just ended in Orlando, FL and by the end it was apparent that the show home that attendees were buzzing about was the Net Zero Eco-Home by Palm Harbor Homes.

The home was part of the Professional Builder Show Village and was one of three that the Palm Harbor group brought to the show. Designer Tony Lucas out-did himself this year by creating floor plans and exteriors that gave builders another reason to take a look at factory built housing.

The Net Zero home was actually a "park model" which means that it is under 400 sq. ft. and is built to the RPTIA (Recreational Park Trailer Industry Association) building codes. Cavco Homes has always been a dominant participant in this type of building, and their acquisition of Palm Harbor last year has helped expand their presence in this market. It seems to be a team that is working - they delivered a home that was achievable to many of the attendees of the show and I heard many of them discussing how and where they would live in this home if it was theirs.

To see more images of this home, please check out our Facebook album at: www.facebook.com/lifestylelist and "like" us to let us know you want to see more!

What an amazing day! This has been one of the best International Builders Shows I've attended and today I had the chance of a lifetime - to hear our Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke speak.

I'm not one to spend a lot of time discussing politics, but I was anxious to hear what he had to say about the building industry and the housing crisis. IBS is the annual convention for The National Association of Home Builders and attendence is down by probably 50% from our record years. But there was optimism this year that I hadn't felt in awhile, and I think we are heading in the right direction.

I was impressed by Mr. Bernanke. He didn't make a lot of false promises or try to avoid the situation, instead he shared facts and figures with us that made sense. He also said that we shouldn't expect a quick fix, but I think none of us who really understand teh housing crisis do.

The show may be over for me, but my work is just beginning. I've got so many great new ideas, products and photos to share I don't know where to start! Until I can catch up I put some of my favorites on Pinterest. Take a look, and please "pin" your favorites - I'm anxious to see what you think!

The 2012 International Builders Show is almost here, and I decided to fly in a few days early to get a look at what goes on before all of the crowds arrive.

Today I was met in Orlando with blue skies and 80 degree weather - it's hard to believe it's February! I'm going to take it as an omen of great things to come.

Nationwide Homes - a division of Cavco Homes will have three homes on display and it was easy to see the benefits of building a modular home. There is no way a traditionally built home could be constructed (and then taken down) as quckly as these modular homes are. You could tell this team knows what they are doing -  they were already starting to put furniture in the homes.

Tomorrow I'm going to head inside and see how things are going on the show floor - I'll share what I find here.

One of my favorite calls to receive is from a manufacturer asking us to take a look at a new product. It's so much fun to be the first to see something and to then be able to share it with all of our clients and followers!

Last week was one of those weeks, and ODL - a manufacturer of amazing doors, door glass, solar tubes and other products that enhance the home asked us to take a look at ARRAY.

ARRAY is an innovative light control system that gives users control over the amount of light and privacy they desire. Two sliding panels of perforated powder coated aluminum provide users with a simple way to control privacy and light levels in a highly designed, fully assembled doorglass system.

With a turn of a knob, the panels move from open to closed, and anywhere in between. A simple, intuitive design that brings dynamic levels of light and privacy into the home.

You really have to see it in person to appreciate it, and ODL will be debuting this cool new product at The International Builders Show Feb. 8th -12th. They will be in booth W-2920, so be sure and stop by and see why this could be the door solution for you.

We were honored this week to be featured in a story on education in the Nation's Building News - a publication that goes out to the over 200,000 members of the National Association of Home Builders.

Our founder and Lifestylist^® Suzanne Felber has been active in the association for over 25 years and is a member of the Institute of Residential Marketing. She is also a national instructor of the IRM III course: Lifestyle Merchandising, Advertising & Promotion Strategies.

Attending classes and learning what's new is necessary part of being able to offer our clients the best in merchandising and marketing. We will also be attending the International Builders Show Feb. 8-12 to search out the latest trends in building and design. Join us on Twitter to get our reports directly from the show.

As some of you know our motto has always been "It's All About You". As part of that, we love reading and hearing about your experiences and sharing great sites we find that can help you on your journey.

Our Home Improvements is one of those sites. It's full of real life stories and information than can help you incorporate great design while save money on your next project. The author shares experiences he has had while renovating an older urban home in Cheverly, MD. Steven is also an animal lover and has some really fun ideas on how to incorporate their needs into his remodeling.

Take a look and let us know what you think. And if you have a blog or website we should know about we'd love to hear about it!

I made a great discovery today. The owner of a community named Rolling Hills in Battle Creek bought a home that I merchandised over 7 years ago has been begging me to do some more homes for him. He is such a wonderful referral - when I see him at various industry meetings and conventions he always tells everyone how pleased he was with the "Dog House" model home and when will I do another one. When I saw him at The International Networking Roundtable he talked me into it and we finally set up a project that we would work on together.

Today I FINALLY got to see Rolling Hills and I was amazed! It's a beautiful community in a wonderful part of Battle Creek - anyone would be proud to call Rolling Hills home.

What really impressed me about the community was the management. It was a snowy Michigan day, but the streets at Rolling Hills were cleared and plowed before the main streets were! Everything was spotless, and the manager was not only a delight to be around - she was organized and obviously knew her job.

We are going to be doing a makeover of the clubhouse and a new model home - all to be completed by mid-March. We have a great gameplan now, and as a Lifestylist I learned about the community and residents so it will be all about them. I can't wait to share the end results - stay tuned!