COLUMN: Building industry tops off 2000

It's New Year's Eve, the perfect time to count our blessings.

n Kaufman and Broad of Nevada is thankful for having merged with Lewis Homes. In 1999, the first year of the merger, the company posted 2,885 sales. In 2000, K&B reports local sales of 3,013, once again, the gorilla on the block.

n Staff members at the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association got into the holiday spirit by adopting a family through HELP of Southern Nevada.

Instead of giving gifts to each other, they gave a hand to a less fortunate family in the community. Staffers pooled their shopping money and purchased clothing and toys.

n While my husband was channel surfing Christmas weekend, he happened along the Wendy's Three Tour Challenge, a made-to-order promotional piece for Lake Las Vegas Resort. Because the tournament was held at the Reflection Bay golf course, the shots of the custom homes on SouthShore were spectacular.

As time goes by, that area is looking more and more like Lake Cuomo in northern Italy.

The ESPN commentators made several references to the Hyatt Regency, where they stayed, and the shots of it from the blimp were breathtaking. In fact, the whole area looked even better than that award-winning advertisement put together a couple years ago for Lake Las Vegas by the Merica Agency. Of course, the video of the Strip was fabulous. It's always interesting to see our town through the eyes of others, such as the television directors assigned to the golf tournament.

n The Southern Nevada Home Builders Association will conduct its 2001 Installation of Officers and Directors Gala/Silent Auction at 6 p.m. Jan. 13 at The Mirage.

Longtime Las Vegas home builder Mark Doppe, chief executive of Carina Corp., will be installed as president.

n LeRoy Hanneman, president and chief executive officer of Del Webb Corp., is giving thanks for the company's ability to meet the needs of the aging population. In a speech at a recent economic conference, Hanneman said Webb is headed for its fifth straight year of record earnings as the first of 76 million Baby Boomers begin to enter the company's target "55-plus" market in 2001.

n Jean Norton, chief assistant to Administrator Charles Horsey at the Housing Division of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry, recently posted her fourth annual study of the apartment market in the Greater Las Vegas Area.

The hard-working Norton reported the vacancy rate in Las Vegas was 4.9 percent, a tightening of available rental units but a good level for a healthy market and good news for investors.

n The home-building industry figured out how to tread water during 2000. A couple of company owners left town, but those who stuck it out figured how to cut costs and try to make a profit in a market that allows no mistakes.

Finding affordable land was the primary concern of builders from all segments of the market. A few companies bought up some good chunks of land from firms that opted out. A few companies sucked up BLM land that was made available. Infill is looking more attractive as a siting option.

When the final numbers are counted by marketing guru Dennis Smith of Home Builders Research, the number of new homes sold in 2000 should be close to the number of new homes sold in 1999.

n On a personal note, thanks to all the people who stuck by me during the two years I was taking chemotherapy for hepatitis C. It was a tough go, and I wasn't very pleasant or easy to get along with during that time. In October, the gastroenterologist who was treating me pronounced me cured of that deadly disease.

Happy New Year.

Carmel Hopkins, real estate product manager for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun, can be reached at 380-4574. Her e-mail address is Carmel_Hopkins@ lasvegasnewspapers.com. Snail mail is P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.

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