After years of growth, the Census Bureau recently reported that median new home size fell to 2,135 square feet in 2009 after peaking at more than 2,300 earlier in the decade.

"Home buyers are asking for less, cutting back on options and reducing square footage," said Steven Pace of the North Carolina-based Pace Development Group, which builds both custom and tract houses ranging in price from below $250,000 to more than $2 million.

"They’re saying, ‘Maybe we don’t need that 5,000 square footage;" he said. "’Maybe our bath doesn’t need to be big enough for our whole family and all our neighbors to take a shower at the same time.’"

Kermit Baker, chief economist for the American Institute of Architects, pointed out that consumers don’t ask for as much for spaces devoted to single purposes, such as media rooms for watching videos and game rooms for shooting pool. Instead, the requests are for rooms with shared uses.

"We continue to move away from the ‘McMansion’ chapter of residential design," he said.

Now, the typical U.S. owner-occupied home has six rooms, with three of them being bedrooms, according to the Census Bureau’s annual American Housing Survey cheap business cards. The most common number of baths is two or more.

For those who remember the days of long, hot summers. Those are over, too. Nearly 90% of all new homes now have central air conditioning. And 63% of all homes are now cooled.

These are a big increases from even 10 years ago, when only 52% of owner-occupied homes — i.e. non-rental properties or second homes — boasted central air.

More than three-quarters of all homeowners now load up dishwashers, up from 65% a decade ago. And garbage disposals can be found in nearly half of owner-occupied homes, up from 46%.

On a broader scope, the survey revealed that, despite the recent hoopla about the new urbanism and return to cities, most Americans still lead a "Leave it to Beaver" lifestyle.

Of the more than 76 million owner-occupied homes in 2009, 63 million were traditional detached, single-family residences. And city dwellers, you’re outnumbered: Far more homeowners live in the suburbs than in cities.

Regionally, the South, held the largest number of owner-occupied units, followed by the Midwest, then the West and finally the Northeast.  

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Many condo and townhouse dwellers are already familiar with the "flip tax," more formally known as a resale fee. Typically calculated as a percentage of the sale price, it’s a fee due to the condo association or community when an owner sells. These charges fund common-area maintenance or provide a boost to reserve funds, which benefits the association’s homeowners.

But in some new developments, homebuilders are including in contracts a 1% fee to be paid to them every time the house is sold — for 99 years. And the money doesn’t go for improvements or upkeep: It’s just money in the builders’ pockets.

That has the real estate industry and consumer protection groups up in arms.

"It’s of no benefit to consumers," said Kathleen Day, of the Center for Responsible Lending. "It’s another innovative way to price gouge. Every extra dollar they suck out of people’s wallets takes away from other spending. It’s not good for the economy."

The issue has attracted the attention of Washington, where Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., is leading a charge against the fees. "Consumers are not in a position to deal with another level of complexity, one that pits plain vanilla homes against ones that come with fees," he said.

Freehold Capital Partners, the New York-based financial company that is developing the program, claims it has already signed up thousands of developers nationwide, representing hundreds of billions of dollars of development.

The company’s plan is to monetize that future income — essentially allowing developers to get paid now rather than later. To do that, Freehold would bundle together the estimated income from the future fees and sell that package to investors. It claims this new "asset" would be worth about 5% of the original home prices.

One company that is working with Freehold is Thieman Enterprises, a developer based in Ohio. "I think it’s a fantastic program," said owner Ted Thieman. "I can get my development going again."

He said he needs the upfront cash to fund the building of infrastructure — roads, sewers and other essentials. Working with Freehold to sell the fee package on to investors would potentially give him enough cash to get projects going and land construction loans more easily.

Ohio, though, has banned the practice. Thieman thinks that removing this potential funding source will discourage development low interest personal loan. He said he will relocate one of his development plans to West Virginia, where he has acquired land. He’s disappointed for his home state.

"We can bring billions into Ohio and jump-start the economy," he said.

A Utah builder, Development Associates, initiated a similar program several years ago in order to recover some of the up-front costs of its developments. But after complaints from homebuyers, who said they were unaware of the fees, the company withdrew them.

Some developers regularly include "transfer fees" in their sales contracts, including Lennar, one of the nation’s largest builders. But the fees Lennar collects go to local housing-assistance organizations and charities, not back into its own pocket. That has helped keep the practice off lawmakers’ radar.

Still, most real estate experts are against these fees. A coalition of real estate industry organizations and community groups recently sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner recommending that he not allow Freehold’s securitization plan to go forward.

In the letter, the coalition quoted Rep. Sherman, who called the fees "a new predatory scheme."

In the past month, the Federal Housing Finance Agency proposed restricting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from buying or backing any mortgages that include home resale fees.

Freehold, of course, defends the program. Chief Operating Officer William White argues that the 1% resale fee will actually benefit consumers by lowering home prices: "No one will pay the same for a home with a [resale fee] as they would for the same home without the fee," he said.

That would make buying a home easier — but reselling one at a profit harder. Meanwhile, builders could offset their lower initial selling prices by either collecting on the back-end income stream from future sales, or selling those future earnings off to investors.

No securitization package has yet been created, according to White. But he’s optimistic: "We have been pleased with Wall Street’s response to date."

Whether the program will ever gets off the ground is an open question: 18 states have already banned or restricted the practice, and if the FHFA proposal goes through, it could derail it entirely.

Sherman does not think the idea is dead. Not yet.

"We’ve wounded the beast, but we haven’t put a stake through its heart," he said. 

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As a result, stocks finished sharply lower: the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) tumbled 144 points, or 1.4%, to 10,271 and the S&P 500 (SPX) slipped 19 points, or 1.7% to 1,076. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (COMP) composite fell 37 points, or 1.7%, 2,179.

Stocks were coming off two days of gains, driven by solid earnings outlooks from retail giants Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Target. But even during this week’s earlier rallies, traders were saying they were remaining cautious given fears about a double-dip recession — or at least, a slower recovery.

Thursday’s disappointing numbers on weekly jobless claims, manufacturing in the Philadelphia region and leading indicators just fanned the flames on those gloom-and-doom fears.

"Today’s news on the U.S. economy has been nothing but awful," Paul Ashworth, senior economist with Capital Economics said in a note to investors.

A report that showed manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region slowed to a 13-month low "suggests the industrial recovery is teetering on the brink," he said.

Economy: A report from the government showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance unexpectedly jumped 12,000 to 500,000 last week from an upwardly revised 488,000 the previous week. The figure was the highest level since the week ended Nov. 14.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting claims to drop to 475,000.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s economic index took an unexpected dive in August, turning to negative 7.7 when analysts had expected a positive 7.5. The index measures manufacturing activity in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, and any number below zero indicates business activity in the sector is slowing down.

Meanwhile, the index of leading economic indicators - a measure of the economy’s future performance - increased a mere 0 guaranteed payday loans.1% in July, the Conference Board said. Analysts had forecast a 0.2% increase for the month.

Companies: After the close, Dell reported higher quarterly earnings and revenue that surpassed analysts’ forecasts. But shares of Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) fell about 1% in after-hours trading after losing 1.2% during regular hours.

Also after the bell, Hewlett-Packard reported quarterly earnings and sales that strongly topped its year-ago results. HP’s (HPQ, Fortune 500) stock dipped 0.3% in after-hours trading, after it fell 1.5% during the day.

Earlier Thursday, Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) said it will acquire security software maker McAfee (MFE) for $7.68 billion. Shares of Intel slipped 3.3%, while McAfee’s stock spiked about 57%.

World markets: European stocks closed lower. The FTSE 100 in Britain slipped 1.7% and the DAX in Germany moved down 1.8%. The CAC 40 in France fell 2%.

Asian shares finished the session in positive territory. The Nikkei in Japan climbed 1.3%. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.8% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.2%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro but fell against the U.K. pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil futures for September delivery slipped 99 cents to settle at $74.43 a barrel. Gold for December delivery rose $4 to settle at $1,235.40.

Bonds: Prices for Treasurys were higher. The yield on the 10-year note fell to 2.58% from 2.63% late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Market breadth: Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers outnumbered winners five to one on volume of 810 million shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers five to one on volume of 1.8 billion shares. 

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The Wall Street Journal cited a person it says was familiar with the HP board's thinking who said that the former CEO short-circuited an internal investigation by agreeing to a settlement with former actress Jodie Fisher on August 4, two days before his departure was announced.

The Journal reported that the settlement with the former marketing contractor came without the board's knowledge or input, a day before Fisher and her lawyer were supposed to meet with HP's outside counsel and Hurd's personal lawyer.

That story runs counter to another that the Journal attributes to an unnamed source it said is familiar with Hurd's thinking that HP had repeatedly instructed its CEO for three weeks before the settlement to come to an agreement with his accuser.

That source told the Journal that Hurd gave the board everything it asked for up to that point but the directors didn't let him address them or respond directly to questions.

The paper further said, however, that another unnamed source familiar with the board's thinking encouraged Hurd to speak with the board but he declined. It said, however, that the source on Hurd's side didn't agree with that version of the story.

The latest revelations about Hurd's departure come amid continuing scrutiny of the reasons for his sudden exit.

New York Times columnist Joe Nocera called it "one of the great head-scratchers in recent times" in a Saturday piece.

"The consensus in Silicon Valley is that Mr. Hurd was despised at HP, not just by the rank and file, but even by HP’s top executives," Nocera wrote.

The Times columnist suggests that the sexual harassment claim merely gave the board the pretext for doing what it wanted to do, get rid of Hurd without provoking an outcry on Wall Street where he was extremely popular for turning around the company's finances.

"In fact, the directors should be called out for acting like the cowards they are," the columnist wrote in a scathing piece. "Mr. Hurd’s supposed peccadilloes were a smoke screen for the real reason they got rid of an executive they didn’t trust and employees didn’t like."

Fisher, 50, was working as a contractor for HP when the alleged incidents that led to Hurd's resignation on August 6 occurred. She was reportedly paid to appear as a greeter at HP customer events where Hurd also appeared.

HP said an internal investigation didn't find evidence of sexual harassment but did find instances when Hurd's behavior didn't live up to the company's codes of conduct. This reportedly included alleged instances of expenses Fisher was paid that weren't properly reported.

To read more of the Business Journal's coverage of Mark Hurd's career and sudden resignation click here.

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* The city of Surprise put out a news release saying a major solar energy company is creating a U.S. headquarters and manufacturing facility in West Valley city with details to be announced Wednesday.

* Arizona Public Service Co. and SunPower Corp. of California signed an agreement to build a 15-megawatt solar photovoltaic system at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale. About 550 jobs will be created during construction with completion scheduled for next summer. The facility is expected to generate the equivalent of 50 percent of the base’s energy use, or enough to power 3,750 homes. Construction is set to begin in January saving account pay day loan. Early talks about this plant were reported in the Phoenix Business Journal in May.

* Solon Corp., a silicon solar module manufacturer and provider of turnkey solar power plants, signed an agreement with Tucson Electric Power Co. to bring a 1.6 megawatt solar plant to the city. The University of Arizona will house the 1.6-megawatt system at UATechPark’s SolarZone, a 200-acre project designed to bring together industry, research and solar demonstration components. Construction is scheduled to be completed by December.

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The Business Pulse survey is not a scientific sampling, and is not an attempt to predict actual voting totals, but offers a view of what readers are thinking.

Hickenlooper, Denver’s mayor, is running as the sole Democratic Party candidate for governor.

On Thursday he announced his running mate, Colorado State University-Pueblo President Joseph Garcia.

Another 20 percent of those answering the Business Pulse question said they support Tom Tancredo, a former Republican congressman and presidential candidate who is running as an American Constitution Party candidate.

Among the two Republicans vying to succeed Bill Ritter as governor, former congressman Scott McInnis was picked by 15 percent in our unscientific survey and businessman Dan Maes by 7 percent.

McInnis and Maes are running in a mostly-mail-in GOP primary, which ends Tuesday, Aug. 10. The winner will face Hickenlooper and Tancredo on the November general-election ballot.

There were 1,383 responses to our informal multiple-choice survey, which asked: “As of now, which candidate do you favor for Colorado governor?”

Readers answered:

• John Hickenloooper — 50%.

• Dan Maes — 7%.

• Scott McInnis — 15%.

• Tom Tancredo — 20%.

• Other/don’t know — 9%.

This week’s Business Pulse question: “As of now, which candidate do you favor for Colorado senator?”

Click here to respond, and please leave a comment explaining your answer. The deadline for replies to this question is Monday at 10 a.m. MDT.

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The trade group reported 1,379 closed deals for that period – a 24 percent leap from 1,111 sold June 2009. The previous high sales total for any month since 2000 was 1,188 in August 2007.

For the first half of the year, home sales in the Buffalo area are running 5 percent ahead of 2009 at 4,364 compared to 4,164.

Real estate observers have cited the continuation of a federal tax credit for home buyers as one reason for the spike in home sales in recent months.

Prices also rose to new highs in June with the median tag up 4 percent to $119,000 and the average single-family home price having increased 3 percent to $139,231 from $134,927 year-over-year.

Total dollar volume in the market spiraled 22 percent to $192 million from $157.7 million.

Active listings continued to expand, rising 11 percent to 6,281 from 5,934 while new listings declined 14 percent to 1,650 from 1,912.

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The acquisition puts Icahn on the verge of triggering a poison pill adopted by the company last month to prevent a takeover.

Icahn has spent nearly $95.4 million to gain a 14.13 percent of the Wilsonville-based firm (NASDAQ: MENT), according a filing Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Mentor, a maker of tools used in designing microchips, in June adopted a poison pill provision — designed to make a target less attractive and more expensive to a potential acquirer — largely in response to Icahn’s continued purchase of shares.

Under the plan, once someone acquires a 15 percent stake, Mentor will distribute additional shares at a 50 percent discount to shareholders of record as of July 6.

Whomever triggers the poison pill, in this case Icahn, however, is not eligible to buy the discounted shares.

The provision would also be triggered if an existing stockholder with a 15 percent share acquires more without board approval.

Icahn first disclosed a 6.9 percent stake in May, saying he planned to seek a meeting with management to discuss how to maximize shareholder value.

In June, Icahn disclosed in a regulatory filing that he met with the Wilsonville-based company, but neither Icahn nor Mentor have commented on the meeting.

Mentor shares closed Friday up 7 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $9.62. Shares have traded between $6.59 and $9.95 in the past 52 weeks.

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In an earnings release issued after the close of trading Monday, First Citizens (Nasdaq: FCNCA) reported a 362 percent gain in second quarter profit – up from $6.2 million in the same quarter last year. On a per-share basis, earnings climbed to $2.54 from 59 cents.

Net interest income jumped 40 percent, to $47.8 million, due for the most part to loans acquired by First Citizens last year when the Raleigh bank acquired failed banks on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts payday loans.

The FDIC brokered those deals and agreed to cover much of the potential loan losses.

First Citizens did raise its provision for loan losses by 53 percent – to $31.8 million – in the quarter ended June 30. But with the FDIC covering nearly 70 percent of the potential loan losses shown on First Citizens’ books, the bank is in solid shape on its bottom line.

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The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 202 points, or 2%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index jumped 24 points, or 2.3%. The Nasdaq (COMP) composite gained 58 points, or 2.7%.

Stocks slumped Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress the outlook for the economy was "unusually uncertain," adding to worries about the pace of the recovery.

But the tone was positive Thursday, on the back of improved earnings, better-than-expected housing market news and a surge in European markets.

After the close, Dow component Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped estimates, thanks to strong sales of its Windows 7 and a better personal computer market than in recent months. Shares were barely changed after the close.

Also after the close, Dow component American Express (AXP, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped expectations. But AmEx’s CEO said the company remains cautious about the economic outlook and shares dipped 1% in after-hours trading.

Quarterly results: Dow component Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped estimates due to better sales of gear for the mining, infrastructure and energy industries. Caterpillar also boosted its 2010 profit forecast. Shares gained 1.7%.

Fellow Dow component 3M (MMM, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings and said that full-year 2010 profit will exceed its earlier targets, thanks to strong demand in both the United States and abroad. The company is seen as a good proxy for the economy due to the breadth of its business, which includes everything from Scotch tape to films for flat-screen TVs. Shares gained 3%.

UPS (UPS, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped estimates and said that 2010 earnings will surpass its earlier forecasts. The delivery company cited an increase in package revenue in both the United States and abroad. Shares gained 6%. UPS is often seen as an economic bellwether due to the nature of its business.

Dow component AT&T (T, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly earnings that topped estimates and higher revenue that was shy of estimates. The company also lifted its 2010 forecast, citing cost cutting and a surge in wireless business, thanks to its exclusive iPhone deal with Apple. Shares gained 2.4%.

Late Wednesday, eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped estimates, thanks to strength at its PayPal only payments unit. The online auctioneer also lowered the high end of its full-year 2010 profit forecast, citing the impact of the weaker euro. Shares gained 3.8% Thursday.

Housing: Sales of existing home sales fell 5 no faxing payday loan.1% in June from May levels, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors released Thursday. But the drop was smaller than expected. Sales rose nearly 10% from a year earlier.

Jobs: The House voted to extend jobless claims benefits until November, ending a seven-week old debate between lawmakers that saw federal benefits for the long-term unemployed run out. President Obama is expected to sign the extension shortly.

Earlier, the Department of Labor reported that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment rose to 464,000 last week from a two-year low of 427,000 in the prior week. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought claims would rise to 445,000.

Continuing claims, a measure of Americans who have been receiving benefits for a week or more, fell to 4,487,000 from 4,710,000 in the previous week. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected 4,600,000.

Deals: General Motors said it will buy auto financing firm AmeriCredit (ACP) in a $3.5 billion all-cash deal. The deal gives GM a lending unit after selling its majority stake in GMAC in 2006. The deal was also seen as a key step as GM prepares its initial public offering for later this year, after the government restructured it in bankruptcy. AmeriCredit shares jumped 23%.

Dell: Computer maker Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) agreed to pay $100 million to settle fraud charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Chairman Michael Dell and former CEO Kevin Rollins will pay $4 million each. Dell shares finished 2.5% higher.

Leading indicators: The index of leading economic indicators fell 0.2% in June, the Conference Board reported, after rising 0.5% in May. Economists expected the index to have fallen 0.4%.

World markets: European markets rose, with Britain’s FTSE 100 up 1.9%, Germany’s DAX up 2.5% and France’s CAC 40 up 3%.

Asian markets ended mixed. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.6%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.1% and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.3%.

Currencies: The euro gained versus the dollar. The dollar rose versus the Japanese yen.

Commodities: U.S. light crude oil for September delivery rose $2.46 to $79.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for August delivery rose $2.80 to $1,194.60 an ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 2.93% from 2.89% late Wednesday. Debt prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Market breadth: Breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by over six to one on volume of 1.18 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners by five to one on volume of 2.28 billion shares. 

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