Net worth among the baby boom generation has grown substantially, but it may not be enough to get them through retirement without Social Security and pension plans.

In the bustle of last summer's busy construction season, an important new resource for our industry may have gone largely unnoticed by builders working 24/7 to meet the extraordinary demand for new homes: the Occupational Safety and Health Administrati..

Homes built to statewide code resisted structural damage due to wind, but the devil's still in the details.

Trailer-able manufactured homes took a publicity beating on television and in newspapers, even though those built since 1994 code upgrades weathered the storm as well, structurally, as site-built homes.

This last concept is the exception on several fronts. It can be used on sloping or wooded sites, and it can accommodate ranch walk-outs and larger homes than the other high-density plans.

This is a refinement of the wide-and-shallow concept that came out of California in the early 1990s.

The landscaped courts provide a pleasant walkway to the front doors of the homes.

While many of these high-density concepts work best where the target is empty-nesters or young couples without children, the secluded lane is great for families.

Beginning with zero-lot-line homes built in California in the 1980s, there's a whole generation of high-density detached housing that lives well on the inside, but the street scenes and neighborhoods are disasters.