Next round for home builders. The land development industry was one of the first to feel the effects of the US recession as home builders quickly dumped all of their raw property almost a year ago. But within the coming months, some will strategically begin buying it back and planners will soon be getting calls again to pull out their pens. How do I know?  Because with today’s roller coaster stock market, well located and entitled land is still a fairly rational bet for investors.  And with so many architects on the brink, how much could it really cost to get a few good ideas down on paper?  When this happens, here’s a key breakthrough that should be made:

Once automakers get their bailout, home builders will be asking next. Whether they get help or not, home builders should rethink their business model and offering. Like the auto industry, they need to retool. Now is the time to transform the production home to include the necessary, affordable technologies and innovations based on the way families aspire to live. Home builders need to start fresh and break their long-held sourcing relationships that have precluded more efficient and lower cost products and services from getting through the door.  If they do get federal money, here’s how to use it:

Home builders should embrace everyday technology.  Amazon sells unlimited music downloads for a monthly fee.  Apple rents videos the same way.  BASF markets their ‘hybrid home.’ Google builds community faster than any city government. Microsoft’s HealthVault sends secure data from home medical devices to doctors and insurers.  GE offers home energy technologies and maintains them. IBM is able to transform, store and deliver information with infinite capabilities that can be customized and managed to link homes and neighborhoods together.

A new set of standard home features. On many levels, the retooling of the production home should be pretty easy. Smart homes around the country showcase and demonstrate pre-wired, affordable solutions for energy demand reduction, health monitoring, business services, school curriculum, remote security and more. All of this can now be included as part of any basic home.