CBIA said a total of 47,015 permits were issued statewide last year for new homes, apartments, condominiums, and townhomes, up 5 percent from 2010 when 44,762 permits had been issued. The 2011 total still was down 28 percent from 2008, which had held the distinction of the third-lowest total on record with 64,962 permits issued. Records began being kept in 1954 with the lowest yearly total set in 2009 with 36,421 permits issued.

According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB), homebuilders pulled permits for a record-low 21,420 single-family homes in 2011, down 16 percent from 2010. Multifamily permits totaled 25,595, up 33 percent from the previous year.

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Eighty percent of existing housing was built before 1980. Most of those houses are ranch-style. You know — the shoe-box house with the living and dining rooms on the front, the kitchen on the back and the bedrooms all together down the same hallway.

If you’re a homebuyer, you either love ranch-style homes or they bore you. Either way, here are a few things you didn’t know that will help you appreciate them more.

Housing is like the rings of a tree that show the age of a community. As you move further away from your town’s center, you have neighborhoods of Victorian homes, then Tudor cottages, and then ranch-style homes.

All housing reflects the culture of the day. Designed for economy and functionality, ranch-style homes were mass-produced to serve post World War II families and they stayed popular while 78 million baby boomers matured into homebuyers. The 1950s through the ’70s were also the age of the automobile. Ranch-style homes were built in sprawling communities, away from town centers, and mostly accessed by highways. Land was plentiful, so most of these single story or split-level homes are situated on fairly large lots.

But ranch-style homes have their downsides. They lack charm and they’re so ubiquitous, they seem less than special.

But let’s rethink that. These were homes designed as machines for living. They’re modern, part of the design cycle of the jet age. The only thing these mid-century homes need is a little 21st century flair.

Ranch homes are easy to remodel or expand. Most load-bearing walls are on the perimeter, which makes knocking out or moving interior walls easy.

Take the kitchen, for example. In the family-centered ’50s, the kitchen was the mother’s magic kingdom. She would work her magic and emerge wearing her pearls and high-heels with dinner on a tray like there’s nothing to it.

Fast forward 50 years, and you have frantic, two-income families. Time together is precious. Instead of being walled off, the kitchen has become part of the family room now.

When you preview a ranch-style home, don’t think about what’s out of date. Think about how this home can serve your needs today. These homes were built to last. Just replace those Jetson-era Formica countertops with polished concrete, hammered copper or honed granite. Install elegant French doors in place of the sliding glass patio doors. Raise the 8-foot ceilings to nine or ten feet.

Have fun decorating with the latest furniture. Open any furniture catalog and you’ll see a trend toward retro low-slung modern designs, with an emphasis on machines (flat-panel TVs, computers), and family-gathering places like dens, just like the 1950s.

Retro is in because it works, and maybe you’ll find the ranch-style home can work for you.

Written by Blanche Evans

Homeowners who have either decided to stay in their homes or are considering selling may be helping to build momentum in the remodeling market.

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the organization’s Chairman, Greg Miedema, said in a recent media statement that, “With more calls from homeowners and more projects under way, remodelers are seeing better activity in their businesses.”

NAHB reports that indicators for current remodeling market conditions have improved in all regions across the country. “A significant portion of the market improvement came from the measure for major additions and alterations (jobs worth $25,000 or more with a leap to 38.2 (from 32.7),” according to NAHB. The association’s Remodeling Market Index (RMI) measures ranges from zero (very poor conditions) to 100 (excellent conditions) as rated by the remodelers surveyed.

NAHB says several factors could be contributing to better remodeling conditions. “Remodeling does uptick when there are more new homes being built and sold or existing homes being sold because people tend to remodel when they’re moving or when they’re selling. … The other thing that we could be seeing is an increase in consumer sentiment in that people have been reluctant to spend but now are feeling a little bit more confident and more willing to spend. These are things that some of our researchers think might be part of the influencers right now,” says Kelly Mack, Communications Manager for NAHB Remodelers.

Remodeling is, however, a big step for many homeowners. Getting the best value for your remodel shouldn’t come from guesswork; instead, knowing how to find a remodeling company with a solid reputation for delivering quality work throughout the entire remodeling process requires research.

Choosing the best remodeler for your project can often be a tedious process and if you don’t take the time to explore all your options it can result in frustration and too much money spent.

Making sure the company that is doing the remodel asks the right questions, does its homework, and offers full-service design and remodeling under one roof. This will help ensure a quality remodel that meets all your needs.

Steve Walton, Senior Design Consultant for Marrokal Design and Remodeling, in San Diego, California helps clients sort through what can be a complicated process to get the best value remodel.

“When I meet with clients, I have them describe their ideas for the remodeling project. I take a lot of notes,” says Walton. The design consultant then sets another meeting at Marrokal’s Design and Remodeling center. Prior to this meeting Walton has already done his homework and researched any likely obstacles for the remodel. Some companies take on a project and later discover remodeling barriers.

“I get your set-backs, zoning conditions, and height conditions and try to see if there are any issues. That way when we meet at our design center we can start looking at the architectural process,” says Walton.

The full-service home-design remodel company offers homeowners one-stop shopping for their remodeling needs. “I develop a written program based on what my clients’ needs and goals are for their remodel,” says Walton. He adds, “Throughout this I am digging deep and finding out what’s important to my clients. A lot of companies don’t ask these questions but this is how Marrokal Design and Remodeling starts to develop a preliminary budget for our clients.”

While not all remodelers offer full service (from design to construction), this type of company is often popular with homeowners. A full-service company keeps your remodeling project running smoothly by coordinating all of the necessary design, construction developments, and communication with trade companies through one primary source (removing the unnecessary hassle of trying to get numerous trade companies to work together).

Another approach to remodeling that sets quality remodelers apart from the rest is the use of value engineering to design the remodel. “Value engineering” means refining and sometimes redesigning aspects of the remodel to make it more cost-effective which ultimately saves money for the homeowner.

Mack adds that the basic tasks of asking for references, planning your budget, interviewing remodelers, asking about certifications that the remodeler holds, and making sure that all your questions are met will help set your mind at ease before you start the remodeling process.

If you’re considering a remodel, understanding some of the most popular remodeling trends can help you decide which projects may have the greatest appeal for comfort and sale-ability.

Mack says high on the list are creating outdoor living space and energy-efficient remodels to help off-set the cost of utility bills. The outdoor living trend has been steadily increasing says Mack. “This is a trend that we think will grow into 2015.”

Written by Phoebe Chongchua