Lennar

BIASC Members Make the List of the Top 20 Most Trusted Homebuilders in America

According to the results from the 2017 America’s Most Trusted® Home Builder Study by  Lifestory Research, Building Industry Association of Southern California, Inc. (BIASC) members, Taylor Morrison, Richmond American, Khovnanian Homes, Toll Brothers, Shea Homes, William Lyon Homes, CalAtlantic Homes, TriPointe Homes, Meritage Homes, Lennar, Beazer Homes, D.R. Horton, Pulte Homes, and KB Home, have made the list of the Top 20 Most Trusted Homebuilders in America.

After tabulating the opinions of home shoppers and identifying the home builder that is trusted the most among the nation’s largest builders, Taylor Morrison take the top spot on the list. This is the second consecutive year in which Taylor Morrison has been identified among home shoppers as being the home builder they trust the most among the nation’s largest builders.

“Relationships and trust are the foundation of success for any business,” said Taylor Morrison President and CEO Sheryl Palmer, whose company was also ranked No. 1 in last year’s study. “Every day we strive to provide our customers with the resources and support to help them make an educated decision about their most important investment.”

Taylor Morrison operates in 16 regional markets across nine states – Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, N. Carolina, S. Carolina and Texas – and closed more than 6,300 homes in 2015.

The study, based on 31,764 consumer opinions, tracks how trust impacts consumers’ evaluations of home builder brands. Consumer opinions are collected over the course of the prior 12 months in the largest home building markets in the United States. To qualify to participate in the study, participants must have indicated that they were aware of specific brands and actively shopping for a new home.

See the table below for Lifestory Research’s full top 20 rankings.

As iPhone sales growth slows, Apple is teaming up with a handful of builders and using these kinds of test beds to inch its way into the market for Internet-connected home furnishings, a nascent field that has attracted rivals like Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Amazon.com.

The gamble is that pricey wireless home devices will be an easier sell when bundled into the home itself. Builders market granite countertops and brushed-nickel fixtures at thousands of models homes across the U.S. Why not video doorbells?

Unlike Google and Amazon, however, Apple isn't hawking hardware meant to connect the home. Instead, the HomeKit app could increase the value of its iOS ecosystem -- and make it tougher for users to switch to Android phones and tablets.

"We want to bring home automation to the mainstream," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of product marketing. "The best place to start is at the beginning, when a house is just being created."

The convenience on display in the Alameda stucco doesn't come cheap. A single motorized, battery-operated Lutron shade starts at $349. Or consider the Schlage "touchscreen deadbolt," which can be controlled remotely, so you can text an unexpected visitor a code. It can retail for $200. A regular deadbolt fetches $32 at Home Depot -- and there's always hiding a key under the flower pot.

In Fremont, California, about 15 minutes from Facebook's headquarters, Los Angeles-based KB Home is also getting its own Apple house ready. Along with the automated thermostat, lights, security system, locks, fans and shades, it lets you, on voice command, change the color of the light underneath a vanity.

With the words "good night," the light turns purple. With a "good morning," it switches to white.

KB offers wireless devices as upgrades. A basic package runs about $2,000, "which once rolled into a mortgage is pennies a month," according to spokesman Craig LeMessurier. Lennar builds the cost into the price of homes. The Alameda house sells for $1.2 million, though it was a beta model and an actual dwelling wouldn't include $30,000 worth of gadgets.

Apple is also working with Brookfield Residential Properties. and other builders. The companies declined to say when the homes would go on sale.

Consumers will buy about $24 billion worth of connected home devices in 2016, according to Strategy Analytics Inc. Though that's a drop in the bucket compared with smartphones, the research and consulting firm expects those sales to nearly double by 2020.

Read More>>

The best in homebuilding will shine on Saturday, September 10th at the Greater Sales & Marketing Council’s 2016 SoCal Awards. Six industry professionals spent 4 days judging nearly 500 incredible entries of over 40 building professionals and visiting 15 communities traveling 558 miles.

One of the many amazing entries that have been selected as finalists for the awards was Irvine’s first Art Deco-inspired residential architecture design, Harper at Beacon Park, by Lennar, Danielian Associates Architecture + Planning, and Ambrosia Interior Design.

The design combines single family detached living at an entry-level price point.  Bold, contemporary style with open floor plans allow ample room for entertaining or for growing families while creative use of indoor / outdoor living spaces create a seamless transition between the two, making interior living areas feel bigger while maximizing the outdoor space in these motor court homes. 

Another design selected as a finalist for Best Architectural Design for a Multi-Family Community, titled Residences at Westgate, comes from Equity Residential, Danielian Associates Architecture + Planning, and Style Interior Design. The design paid tribute to the site’s historic automotive significance and mid-century modern architecture. The Residences at Westgate includes 88 units, a lavish amenities package with roof-top terrace, and approximately 16,500 SF of ground floor retail and restaurant space along Green Street.

Building Industry Association of Southern California, Inc. (BIASC) members, and building industry professionals from Pasadena, Palm Springs, San Diego, Encinitas, San Juan Capistrano, Irvine, Newport Beach, Lake Forest, in 53 categories have been chosen as finalist to represent the greatest building industry professionals that Southern California has to offer.

Click the link here in order to see the rest of the finalists for the 2016 SoCal Awards. The winners for each category will presented at the awards gala on Saturday, September 10th at the Disneyland Hotel – Grand Ballroom.

For more information contact Lisa Parrish by phone at 909-987-2758 or by email at lparrish@thenationals.com.

HomeAid Orange County's Essential Drive Campaign kicked off with a huge success at the 2nd Annual Builders 4 Babies event Friday, April 29 underneath the Big "A" at the Angels Stadium of Anaheim. Building Industry Association of Southern California members came together to help collect diaper donations, and other essential items, for homeless babies in southern California.

BIASC members, Lennar, Brookfield Residential, Toll Brothers, Shea Homes, William Lyon Homes, the New Home Company, Reliable Wholesale Lumber, and CalAtlantic Homes all participated in the event by collecting donated diapers and building elaborate houses out of the boxes.

“This is a fun way to raise awareness about the need for diapers,” said Dave Prolo, vice president of operations for Southern California Cal Atlantic homes.

HomeAid OC’s goal this year is to collect more than 1 million diapers to be donated to 19 homeless shelters and facilities in Orange County before Mother's Day. Last year, the organization took in 1.8 million diapers.

“Not many people are aware of how important and expensive diapers are,” Scott Larson, executive director of HomeAid OC, said. “The average cost of diapers for a family is $100 a month. So, for some low-income families, they have to make a serious economic decision – food or diapers.”

Because diapers are considered a hygiene item, federal economic assistance programs, such as WIC, do not cover the cost. For more information about HomeAid OC's Essentials Drive go to homeaidessentials.org. To read the full Orange County Register article about the Builders 4 Babies event click here.

Click here for more photos from the Builders 4 Babies event.