Kermit Baker
Kermit Baker
build maybe might pencil retail sharpening
If you need to build a hospital, you're going to build it. But things that are really maybe more spec -- office, retail and things like that -- might be more susceptible to sharpening the pencil to make sense.
area build creative floor generate incentive setbacks suspicion within
My suspicion is, this 'staying within the footprint' idea has to do with zoning. If there are restriction setbacks in a community, or floor area requirements, there's an incentive to do this. You can't build on, so you build within. That would generate some pretty creative solutions.
buyers cape convenient core fairly half home jobs last moving older population seen smaller spending suburbs value
Over the last 10 years, we've seen a fairly significant core of the population spending more than half the value of their home on improvements. Some of that is because buyers increasingly are moving into older suburbs convenient to their jobs in the city, and they're renovating smaller Cape Cod and ranch-style homes.
niche slice themselves thin
Firms really niche themselves on a thin slice of remodeling activity.
billions dollars economic excellent generates interior market pick position related represents shows signs slack spending
As the residential market shows signs of softening, the nonresidential market is in excellent position to pick up the slack in construction activity. Nonresidential construction not only represents billions of dollars in economic activity, but also generates a lot of related spending in furnishings and interior decor.
instead means phone return three
For consumers, this means they are going to get contractors who return phone calls, and they are going to be able to get two or three bids, instead of just one.
architects design early fairly helps key percentage small trends
Architects design a fairly small percentage of homes, but they really are the trendsetters. It helps us find out early what the key trends are.
appliances fancy
They want the top-line appliances in their kitchens. They want the fancy countertops.
aging generation people wealth
This is a generation that has wealth and longevity. And most aging people don't want to move.
conditions cooling launch picking shaping six slack year
After six years of recession-like conditions in the industry, 2006 is shaping up as the year that will launch a non- residential expansion, picking up some of the slack from a cooling residential market.
caught
Not bigger, but better - that thought has caught on in some places.
changes enjoy hard instincts market predict trends trust
It's hard to predict when or how market remodeling trends change. Trust your instincts and you'll be able to enjoy all the changes you make.
adding bath baths expect four hand homes phenomenal return second three
If I live in a neighborhood that has homes that routinely expect to see two-and-a-half or three baths, and my home has one-and-a-half baths, by adding that second bath I'm going to get a real phenomenal return. On the other hand if I have four baths and I add a fifth, I'm probably not going to get much return at all.
activity expect share
We expect that share of activity to grow.