Blog

Commercial Remodeling Vs. Commercial New Construction – Is There a New Norm?

It’s been more than eight years since the Great Recession in which both commercial and residential construction took a hit. The drastic drop happened quickly, but where is the market headed now, specifically for the commercial space? We recently compared commercial new construction and commercial remodels over the course of the Great Recession. Based on... Read More

How Manufacturers Can Make the Most of the New Norm in Residential Remodeling

  We recently compared residential new construction and residential remodeling permit activity over the lifecycle of the recent housing crisis. We found that residential remodeling activity has surpassed its pre-housing crisis peaks while new construction has barely kept up. “Given that we are looking at more than a decade of data,” said Holly Tachovsky, CEO at BuildFax,... Read More

BuildFax Kicks Off First Day of Fall with RiverLink Cleanup

  To kick off the first day of Fall, the crew at BuildFax held our second RiverLink cleanup project of the year. We got a lot done this round including finding an old tire and a bunch of scrap metal.   The effort is part of the DMGT Green Year which BuildFax is participating in with pride and... Read More

Hidden Insurance Opportunities in New Remodeling Numbers Exposed

Recently on a hunch, we compared residential new construction and residential remodeling construction numbers over the lifecycle of the recent housing crisis. We suspected a lingering inequality trend between the two, and we found some pretty staggering results. For our study, we looked at just over thirty-seven million residential properties.     The hunch proved... Read More

The Unexpected Thing Your Policyholders Forget To Mention

Policyholders forget to inform their carrier about a lot of property upgrades. But there’s one upgrade we’ve seen a massive uptick in over the last few years that you may not have thought of. Solar. This puts your policyholders at risk for being underinsured.     Increased Exposure – Don’t Leave Your Policyholders Underinsured! These property... Read More

The Simple Thing Not To Forget After You Get Solar

  If you’ve installed a solar array on your property, it’s very important to let your home insurance carrier know about it. Why is this so important to tell them? Because the new investment you’ve made may not be protected. Just like any other improvement to your home, a solar array is going to affect its value. The more... Read More

[INFOGRAPHIC] Explore the Powerful Data Behind Supercharged Property Research

The BuildFax building permit database is huge. It’s massive. It’s gargantuan. In fact, it’s the largest of its kind. You can read all about it here, and check out the infographic below. Read More

The Astonishing Ways Permit Data Actually Benefits You

What can you do with building permit data? Building permit data can reveal a wealth of information on a property. Because the permit process involves a series of inspections, just knowing that a building had a permit pulled in the last 12 months means an inspector was at the property, making sure the work done... Read More

Solar Power Hot Spots Spreading in the US

Solar Activity is Heating Up Twenty-five solar permits are filed every hour in the United States. By the time you’ve read this article, two more will have been pulled – one of which was probably in California. Solar activity across the nation increased by 29% between 2014 and 2015,... Read More

Shedding Light on Solar Power

Introduction: BuildFax has seen a tremendous uptick in solar permit activity over the last few years, and often receives questions about it. We’ve asked an expert in the field, Jonathan Deesing, Home Solar Specialist at Solar Power Authority, to fill us in on some of the most important details.  The future of home improvements and green living is pretty bright – thanks... Read More