Sarasota Florida Homes for Sale » Florida Construction News

Solar Energy – Great News

The Biggar Team — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:46:40 +0000

The Federal Investment Tax Credit of $2,000 has been removed and replaced by a 30% tax credit on the installation of your solar system.

What will a solar system cost a home owner?

+ $43,000 Typical Residential System Cost

- $12,900 Federal Solar Tax Credit (30%)

- $20,000 State Rebate

$10,100 Total Solar System Cost after State Rebate and Federal Solar Tax Credit.

Great News. Your payback for your Investment in a Solar System is now cut in half.

Florida Sets A Reduction Of Energy Consumption Of 20% By 2010 and 50% By 2019

The Biggar Team — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:04:46 +0000

Florida’s Governor Crist along with California’s Governor Schwarzenegger have taken the lead in addressing the energy crisis in the United States. In Florida, new home construction in 2010 will require a 20% reduction in energy usage and new homes built in 2019 will require a 50% reduction in energy usage.

This legislation recently passed the legislature in Florida and was signed by Governor Crist. This new energy initiative for Florida exceeds the International Energy Conservation Code and builders in Florida will use a new sophisticated EnergyGauge computer modeling program to project the home’s seasonal energy usage against a efficient baseline home.

Good News for Florida and the USA!

New Home Building Permits Increase For Manatee and Sarasota Counties in Florida

The Biggar Team — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:24:05 +0000

Manatee and Sarasota Counties in Florida have seen a modest increase in new home building over the last three months. Amid the large home inventory, this is great news. Manatee County had 194 single family home permits for the first three months of 2008 and 290 single family home permits for the April, May and June of 2008. Sarasota County issued about 70 single family home permits for the first three months of 2008 and 154 single family home permits for April, May and June 2008.

Perhaps, the new, stronger, more energy efficient building code and green features are prompting more home owners to build a new home. With high energy costs and water rationing, building a home with advanced technology will payback very quickly and make the investment more valuable at resale.

Housing Construction Rises By 8.2% in April.

The Biggar Team — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:58:59 +0000

The Department of Commerce stated on Friday that housing construction in April increased by 8.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million units. Apartment construction increased by 36%, while construction in the single family sector fell by 1.7%.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson added on Friday that “financial markets are considerably calmer now than they were two months ago.” He also predicts that the economy will be rebounding by the second half of this year.

Florida Building Code Hurricane Mitigation Rule 101.3 Retrofits Required

The Biggar Team — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:04:57 +0000

Pursuant to Section 553.844 Florida Statutes strengthening of existing site-built, single family residential structures to resist hurricanes shall be provided.

101.3 When any activity requiring a building permit that is applied for on or after July 1, 2008, and for which the estimated cost is $50,000 or more for a building that is located in the wind borne debris region as defined in s.1609.2 of the Florida Building Code, and that has an insured value of $750,000 or more, or, if the building is uninsured or for which documentation of insured value is not presented, has a just valuation for the structure for purposes of ad valorem taxation of $750,000 or more:

(a) Opening protections as required within the Florida Building Code, Building or Florida Building Code, Residential for new construction shall be provided.