Home builder association’s “New American Home” victim of market conditions

While more evidence highlighting the financial plight of the American home builder is hardly needed, the National Association of Home Builders has offered up an evocative image of the industry’s woes. “The New American Home,” a perennial showcase feature in the association’s yearly convention, typically highlights the latest, most cutting edge innovations in the industry, with high end details like swimming pools and an aesthetically-pleasing landscape design. This year, however, “The New American Home” is an exercise in modesty. The 6,800-square-foot home, built just outside Las Vegas, is equipped with over 50 solar panels, but little else. Domanico Custom Homes, which had been tapped for the project, bailed partway through, when a private investor ditched the deal. Now the home, which was intended to showcase all the newest and finest the industry offers, sits without flooring, without a swimming pool and without any buyers. The situation for “The New American Home” is so bad that it’s now on the market for $1.8 million — a so-called “fire sale” price, according to Domanico.