Design Studio15 May 2012 16:26:40 CDTASHI Industry Updatehttp://multibriefs.com/briefs/ASHI/ASHI.xmlenSince laborers have been building homes, the techniques really haven't changed since the late 1800s. While prefabricated homes and what's termed "stick built" still account for the majority of units, there is a trend that seems to be increasing in the U.S. — building homes that are environmentally-friendly.15 May 2012 16:26:40 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4fb1214dd2e341The state's housing recovery is proving especially kind to sellers of high-end homes, a Boston Business Journal analysis of real estate transactions in Massachusetts this year indicates. Sales of single-family homes regardless of price were up 19 percent for the first four months of 2012 compared with the same period last year.15 May 2012 16:26:40 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4fb1201bdce5d2It happened by accident. When Kurtis and Wanda Weller Sakai decided to remodel their ranch house, the original plan was to add a fourth bedroom for Kurtis to use as an office. "We realized that if we went over 500 square feet, the add-on permits would get very expensive," Kurtis said.15 May 2012 16:26:40 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4fb11f78752273Linda Baker writes, "Last fall I wrote a short piece about suburban housing developers moving into the inner city after the housing collapse and building high density infill houses instead of single-family subdivisions. I ended the story with a quote from Eli Spevak, a Portland developer who had been building such small-scale community projects for a number of years."15 May 2012 16:26:40 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4fb11fe61a1da4ASHI is a partner organization in the U.S. Department of Energy's Home Energy Score initiative that will be launching in the second quarter of 2012. The HomeScore assessments consist of evaluating and completing the DOE's online form, and this can be done either as part of a standard home inspection or as a stand-alone assessment. This is a potential added source of income for qualified ASHI inspectors. <br><br> ASHI will soon be submitting the list of names for auditor and QC auditor:<ol> <li>ASHI members who are BPI or RESNET HERS certified to perform the HomeScore assessments <em>(If interested, please contact Mike Rostescu at <a href="mailto:miker@ashi.org">miker@ashi.org</a> to add your name to the list.)</em> <li>One contractor to perform the required follow-up Quality Control assessments nationwide (on 5 percent of all original HomeScore assessments). ASHI is preparing an RFP to locate this contractor. An ASHI member or affiliate member preferred. <em>(If interested, please contact Bill Lewis at <a href="mailto:bill@ashi.org">bill@ashi.org</a>.)</em>15 May 2012 16:26:40 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4fb2c4549fa7b5You will find more than 50 online courses available to you, covering a variety of topics from basics to advanced, diversification/specialty and business management. <br><br> Each online CE module is 2 hours in length and consists of the session PowerPoint presentation along with the accompanying presenter's narrative. To complete each module you will need to complete a 20-question exam. ASHI members earn 2 ASHI CEs upon successful completion of each module. <br><br> <b><a href="http://www.homeinspector.org/education/elearning.aspx">Go to the ASHI e-Learning Catalog</a></b>15 May 2012 16:26:40 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4fb2c440cd4ec6Consumer spending in the U.S. is rising even though hourly pay isn't. The reason: More Americans are finding jobs and putting in longer hours in the office and on the factory floor. Wages and salaries — the total paycheck for all Americans — climbed 2.2 percent in the 12 months through March after adjusting for inflation, according to calculations by RBS Securities Inc. economist Omair Sharif.15 May 2012 16:26:40 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4fb1207b57d4b7Would-be homeowners and actual construction trends show the fracture in a recovering home market, according to a recent survey. The number of renters who would like to buy a home has increased, according to a March survey by the PulteGroup, a Michigan-based home builder.15 May 2012 16:26:40 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4fb11f53f2d948Even if most small businesses don't understand search engine optimization, that doesn't mean they can't be helped by it. For those who don't know SEO from their CEO, it is in essence a means of improving the ranking of your business in the Google search algorithm. This in turn, can help a business move up in Google's search listing.15 May 2012 16:26:40 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4fb12199dadfa9Setting a pricing strategy depends on many factors — the type of product or service you're offering, your own costs to provide it, your expected profit, your customers' locations, the going rate for your industry and other factors. Finding just the right balance among all of the factors is more art than science. Pricing too low or too high can hurt your business.15 May 2012 16:26:40 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4fb121831c08310