Argus Bits

How Do You Estimate Lot Premiums? In a housing pro forma, the majority of revenue is typically in the category...

What Affects House Construction Costs? In creating a plan and pro forma for a new project, one of the key...

What Are Redevelopment Agencies? In many states and cities, redevelopment agencies are created to encourage development in urban areas that...

Are Assemblages Difficult? As a general rule, I think that most land developers would prefer to deal with only one...

Pros and Cons Of Gated Communities? For the most part, everyone would think that a gated community increases home values...

Why Are Site Costs Negotiated? While a land transaction is in escrow, the buyer is typically conducting all of its...

Key Findings In A Market Study? At the very beginning during the land acquisition process, the market analysis is a...

Are Condo Conversions A Good Opportunity? I recently was in a discussion about the merits of looking at condo conversions,...

Do Soils Affect Foundation Design? As the term would imply, the foundation of a home provides the basis and stability...

Wood vs Steel Framing? Especially in production housing, you do not often see steel framing in place of wood.  Reportedly,...

Who Prepares The PSA? In a land transaction, the Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) is the key legal document for...

Do Single Story Homes Cost More To Construct? Whenever I have run a cash flow or pro forma in past...

Does Lot Width Matter? In every market, you need to focus on the lot size to make sure it is...

What is Absorption? As noted before, our industry tends to have some terms that may seem to be a bit...

Acres - Gross vs. Net? In the process of site planning, financial analysis, and land development, one of the main...

What Is A Development Agreement? When you are trying to obtain entitlements for a project, you typically will have some...

Why Is Parking Such A Factor? More and more, particularly with infill projects, the parking requirements from the local jurisdiction...

How Do Option Contracts Work? In a previous post, we talked about option contracts as they relate to longer escrow...

Why Are Escrow Periods So Long? In most real estate transactions, escrow opens when the purchase agreement is fully executed...

What Makes Up Finance Costs? In a previous post, we talked about indirect and soft costs related to construction.  One...