Here's how 33 leaders are meeting the market

You can't point your finger at any one thing and say it is what the nation's leading home builders are doing to meet today's market.

Two trends do stand out: many leaders offer more built-in appliances in their new models, and most offer bigger houses than they did last year. Partly because of these changes, most leaders report their '56 sales prices are higher.

Market is mystifying

But two trends do not paint a complete picture of this summer's home building, even so far as these leaders are concerned. As Detroit's Irving Rose puts it, "the market is mystifying."� Few builders agree completely on their diagnosis, let alone prescription. So they are doing many different things to meet common problems.

Yet one generalization can be made: the leaders are not taking the buyer's market lying down.

More space is one answer

Many leaders feel the best way to satisfy buyers is to give them more space, even at higher prices.

Others have moved up into higher price brackets and to bigger houses because they say they can't help it.

Dave Bohannon in San Mateo, Calif, has increased his sales prices as much as $2,000 both because his new models are bigger and because land and building costs have soared.

Manny Spiegel in New Jersey held his small-house prices to $13,900 despite rising costs. Yet before his death in mid-June (see news) he planned to enter the quality market for the first time, chiefly because land costs are up.

Golf courses help sales

In Miami, Coogan & Beatty have opened a new tract next to a golf course where they will

build bigger houses in the $17,-000-$26,000 range, their first time in this bracket.

Kansas City's E. R. Elgin has revealed plans for a 500-house project of $25,000 to $75,000 homes. A country club will first be built to attract buyers.

Others whose higher costs and bigger models have moved them into higher price brackets include Ralph Schirmeyer in Fort Wayne (up from $11,000 to $14,000), Sharpstown in Houston (up from $12,000 originally to $15,000) and American Community Builders in Park Forest, 111. (up from $16,000-$ 19.000 last year to $19,500 - $22,950). Architect Joseph Goldman of acb puts the change in these striking

terms: "This year we're using the same work force to build 400 of the bigger split-level houses that we used last year to build about 700 smaller homes."�

Some builders are moving down

But by no means all builders have gone to selling bigger and more expensive houses. In Phoenix, Ralph Staggs believes he has found a lower-price bracket worth a try. The $ 10,000-$ 12,-000 market is less competitive now, he believes, than the $13,-000-plus bracket he was in.

Irving Rose, on the other hand, is moving both ways. His company will continue in the $15,000 market as before, but

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