Similar to Just-in-Time (JIT) and Total Quality (TQ), Lean Design and related construction principles represent a way of doing business that has, through repeated best practices, proven to be a way of doing construction with more efficiency, savings, less waste, and greater value. Clearly, these sound like wonderful buzzwords, but the approach is geared to maximize the most out of each resource used and reduce slack time, loss, over-expending and shrinkage as much as possible, all of which contribute to the cost of a construction project over time. 

Lean Design definitely involves rethinking and reconsidering how a construction project and related project delivery is approached. For decades many have viewed the design and build process for facilities…

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August 2016 mortgage rate forecast (purchase & refinance)


Mortgage Rates Forecast For August 2016

Eight months into 2016, and mortgage rates are making a monkey out of Wall Street predictions.

According to Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage rate survey, 30-year mortgage rates are holding low, closing last month at 3.48%, on average, nationwide.

30-year mortgage rates are down more than 50 basis points (0.50%) since the start of the year. 15-year mortgage rates are down by a similar amount.

If you purchased a home within the last year, or if your mortgage is more than a few years old, you could possibly benefit from a refinance.

More than 7 million U.S. homeowners are potentially eligible to refinance. And, if you're buying a home, it's a good…

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Encouraging news about consumer earnings could lead to more home sales in an already healthy growth market, even if the labor market is less certain.

On Monday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York(New York Fed) released its latest Survey of Consumer Expectations, which showed that consumers’ earnings and income growth expectations rebounded while medium-term inflation expectations rose in June. Median expected household income growth rebounded from May’s sudden decline, increasing from 2.4 percent to 2.8 percent, the survey reported. Barring the blip in May, income growth expectations have been trending upward since January.

Likewise, median household spending growth expectations remained steady, at around 3.6 percent, as did perceptions of credit…

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Encore residents and guests can now fully enjoy this fabulous private amenity center.

We invite you to come in and take a look around, meet the wonderful lobby desk staff and our knowledgeable concierges. They are ready to assist with a variety of needs: transportation, which is complimentary inside Encore and to most theme parks, theme park tickets, ideas for exciting things to do in and around Orlando, and many other additional services you might desire.

Go upstairs to get a taste of Finn’s, our fast casual restaurant with its fabulous views from the terrace; or stop by for a drink at the Shark Lounge. If you are on the go, check out the Grab & Go market for pre-packaged snacks and beverages. The children will enjoy the Hang Ten Hideaway with…

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Freddie Mac Forecasts Best Housing Year in a Decade

The recent predictions from analysts of a dark year for housing based on tight inventory combined with rapid home price appreciation and slow wage growth may be a little off base, according to Freddie Mac’s March 2016 Monthly Outlook released Thursday.

Freddie Mac is predicting that housing fundamentals such as home sales, housing starts, and prices will all reach levels not seen since 2006, right in the middle of the housing bubble and two years before the crash.

“Housing markets are poised for their best year in a decade,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sean Becketti said. “In our latest forecast, total home sales, housing starts, and house prices will reach their highest levels since 2006. Low…

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Existing-Home Shortage Has a ‘Domino Effect’ on the Market - Ask the Economist

What is your take on the housing inventory situation?

I don’t believe there is a shortage of new housing inventory. There is a shortage of existing housing on the market, and that’s the trickle effect. If there is a shortage of existing homes, that’s where brand new homebuyers come from—selling existing homes. If the existing homeowners are unwilling to sell for a variety of reasons, then they basically are not released to buy the new homes. The new home market is waiting on existing homeowners selling their current home to build more new homes.

It’s a domino effect—some existing homeowners can’t sell because they don’t have enough equity in their home to come out…

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Home Sales on the Rise

LAKELAND — Both the state and local housing markets carried their momentum from 2015 into the start of the new year with home sales on the Rise

The latest report from Florida Realtors revealed year-to-year increases in closed sales and median prices for single-family homes. Statewide, there were 16,259 closed sales for existing single-family homes in January, which is a 2.7 percent increase from last year. The $199,000 median sale price for those homes also represented a 13.7 percent increase from a year ago.

“Florida’s housing market remains on a steady path,” said Matey Veissi, president of Florida Realtors, in a press release. “While inventory levels are tight, the month's supply of homes for sale remains…

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Collection Records Show Many Renters Who are Evicted are Repeat Offenders

An effective way to predict the behavior of renters is through examining rental-related collection records, according to a new analysis from TransUnion.

According to TransUnion, involuntary turnover (which includes defaults as well as evictions for other reasons) costs property managers about $3,500 per unit in court costs, lost revenue, and other types of expenses.

“Rental evictions and collections records offer a unique, insightful look into a resident’s current record,” said Mike Doherty, SVP of TransUnion's rental screening solutions group. “Rental-related collection records may be timelier than eviction public records—which can take weeks or months to process through…

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