Message from Doug...

Market Report

Some interesting information came out recently about the national housing market, as well as the Atlanta market.

Metrostudy recently released its National Residential Economic Report for the third quarter of 2017. Here are some highlights regarding the national outlook:

¨ Housing starts will continue to slowly climb, likely peaking in 2020.

¨ The market is significantly undersupplied, and will become moreso through 2020.

¨ In most markets, the window for land purchases and land development will remain open through 2019.

¨ A surge in the remodeling/renovation market will continue in the near term, partly due to the lack of new home supply.

¨ The market is headed toward over valuation and some markets are already over valued. Still, national values are nowhere near the levels of over valuation seen in 2005/2006.

The Professional Builder Design Innovation Survey revealed homebuyer preferences. Here are a few.

The most important things homebuyers want in kitchen spaces are:

1. Kitchen island

2. Walk-in pantry

3. Breakfast bar

4. Breakfast nook

The most important things homebuyers want in bathroom spaces are:

1. Dual vanities in master bath

2. Additional storage areas

3. Secondary bath or shower only

4. Walk-in, roll-in, or door-less shower

The most important things homebuyers want in living spaces are:

1. Walk-in closet from master bedroom

2. Great room (kitchen/living/dining spaces)

3. Energy-efficient features

4. High ceilings/first floor (9’-0” or higher)

The Atlanta Realtors recently published their Real Estate Market Report. Here are some findings as of September 2017 –

¨ 14,980 Active Listings

¨ 4,517 Unit Sales

¨ $301,000 Average Price

¨ 4,450 New Listings

¨ 3.1 Month’s Supply

¨ $243,000 Median Price

The Holidays Are Here

The Holiday season is upon us. Where did this year go!?!

While driving home on November 6th I saw a home fully lit with Christmas lights. I think that’s a little too early for Christmas lights, but to each his own.

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, there are many things to be thankful for. It has been a busy year for our company, which has been wonderful. I want to take this opportunity to thank YOU – our clients, friends, associates, and everyone that has referred our company to others this year. All of us at Herbert Construction Co. are thankful for all of you.

Throughout the upcoming weeks, I hope you are able to spend time with your family and friends and truly enjoy this holiday season.

To Your Success,

In late September I accomplished a long-time goal of completing an Ironman 70.3 triathlon. After five months of training, I finished the 1.2 mile
swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run – and even beat my goal time by
10 minutes. It was a great experience!

Recent Referrals - Thank you!

It is amazing how quickly the months have flown by!  It doesn’t seem like it has been a whole year since we last celebrated Thanksgiving, but here we are. At this time of year people reflect on the many things that they are thankful for. We are very thankful all year round for the many people who refer our company to friends and colleagues. It is always greatly appreciated!  THANK YOU!!

Rhett Bonner, Bonner Buchanan Custom Homes – Homebuilder

www.BonnerBuchanan.com

Michael Claggett, Firelight Homes – Homebuilder  www.FirelightHomes.com

Rhett Palmer, Palmer Construction Consultants – Engineer  www.PalmerCCI.com

Technical Bulletin #21: How to Prevent a Steep Driveway

A steep driveway like this home in Cobb County could
have been avoided by utilizing one of four options.

Steep driveways leading up to a garage are like a bad gift given to the homeowner from their homebuilder.

The effects are irreversible and pose a constant problem for those that live with them. Children can’t play on them, yard sales are out of the question, and grandparents have a hard time getting out of their vehicles when they visit because their door keeps closing on them.

It doesn’t have to be this way! With a little foresight and planning by the homebuilder, the steepness of the driveway can be minimized.

Lowering the overall elevation of the lot is the best option. If that isn’t possible, here are four additional options that can prevent a steep driveway.

1. Lower the garage floor elevation

For houses with a basement foundation, instead of placing the garage floor near the top of the basement wall, lower the garage floor. This will reduce the slope of the driveway while keeping the First Floor elevation where it needs to be.

When you drop the garage slab you will have to add additional steps to get from the slab up to the First Floor. Many garages built in Atlanta aren’t big enough to accommodate the additional steps. So, the garage has to be made larger to allow room for the stairway and the cars.

For every 7” you drop the garage floor, you need to allow for 11” of stairway tread. To prevent a long stairway extending into the car area, you can create a 4’-0” x 4’-0” landing at the entry door, then have the stairs run parallel to the parked cars.

If you are going to choose this option, make sure you have enough room for the treads and risers in your garage.

2. Set the house farther back from the road

When you set the garage farther from the road, you decrease the angle of the driveway. This may not be possible if your lot is small or your house is already positioned close to the rear building line.

Production houses in metro subdivisions usually have enough room to move the house back, which reduces the angle. Some of the custom homes on infill lots inside the perimeter are very close to – if not touching – two or more of the building setbacks and this isn’t a viable option for you.

When the house is in a subdivision, then the other houses may have already created a typical setback distance from the road. However, if you can move the house just 5’-0” farther back, it will help minimize the slope of the driveway.

Another option similar to this is to keep the front of the house in the same place, but modify the house plans to slide the garage back farther from the road.

3. Lower the house and basement elevation

In most of the houses built in Atlanta with a basement foundation, the walkout level of the basement is what establishes the elevation of the entire house. Builders, land planners and surveyors start by locating where the walkout level will be, and then add to that the height of the basement walls, plus the height of the First Floor flooring system and arrive at the elevation of the house.

An often-overlooked option is to lower the basement floor elevation farther into the ground, which lowers the whole house. This means the basement level is set into the ground and it is no longer a walkout onto the grade.

The basement can be lowered as much as 3’-0” into the ground and still allow for legal egress windows to be used without window wells. In the Midwest this is called a “Daylight” basement. If the plans call for an exterior door in the basement, then a short area well can be added to the outside of the basement to allow the homeowners to walk up and onto their yard.

One thing to note with this option: If the lot topo doesn’t allow for positive drainage of the foundation drain tile to an open area, then a sump pump may be needed to pump any drain tile water up and away from the foundation.

4. Shorten the height of the basement walls

If the original house plans call for 9’-0” or taller basement walls, then those walls could be reduced to 8’-0” tall, which would lower the First Floor elevation.

Basement walls used to be 7’-4” tall (because that is the height of 11 8” cmu blocks). Then, as cast-in-place concrete walls became more popular, 8’-0” tall walls were common because wall form manufacturers made 8’-0” tall forms. Later, 9’-0” tall walls became the standard because they made the basement feel less like a root cellar and more like a comfortable living level.

Recently, we’ve been constructing more 10’-0” and 12’-0” tall basement walls for our luxury custom home builders. 8’-0” tall basement walls are still seen in some production homes across Atlanta.

Even though an 8’-0” tall basement is less desirable, it is an option that will allow you to lower the First Floor and garage elevations.

Planning is key

Before you start grading the lot, determine if the slope of the driveway will be an issue. If so, see if you can implement one of these ideas to minimize that slope and give your homeowners a driveway they can enjoy.