Home builders making it work through tough times

M/I Homes, a residential home building company, announced a summer promotion to rally business during such a weak home building time. Called the "Really, Really Big DEAL," the promotion began at the beginning of June and will run through July.

Home buyers who participate in the promotion will receive a free Option Package valued at $37,000, with complimentary upgrades including birch cabinets, stainless steel appliances and hardwood kitchen floors. Five iPad 2s will be given out to people who "like" the company on Facebook or register at one of their sales offices.

M/I Homes was awarded "Highest in Customer Satisfaction and Quality" by JD Power and Associates, and all M/I homes are 100 percent Energy Star-certified homes.

According to U.S. News & World Report, home builders are not only running promotions, but stepping outside their core business as the housing market has diminished the demand for new homes.

The news source reported that Beazer Homes in Atlanta, Georgia, launched a pre-owned homes division in Phoenix, Arizona, that works to buy, fix and rent out previously owned homes. Rental properties are on the rise, so Beazer hopes to capitalize on that market and possibly expand the division to Las Vegas, Nevada, and California.

Toll Brothers, a luxury home builder, has taken on a pool on non-performing construction loans with outstanding balances of more than $200 million. The news source reports that the company manages the loans, works with developers to reach payment agreements, forecloses or resells the loans to a third party.  

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