Builders now have a unique opportunity to see how their business stacks up against the competition with a new publication from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). NAHB’s publishing arm, BuilderBooks recently released the 2010 edition of the Cost of Doing Business Study, a national study of builders’ business practices and financial performance.

This new resource gives home builders a rare glimpse at other builders’ financial books by providing data about profitability, cost of sales and expenses from hundreds of home builders across the country.

Hundreds of NAHB builder members from all regions of the country provided their past financial data using a survey instrument developed by NAHB’s Economics and Housing Policy Group. The study provides builders the opportunity to evaluate their financial performance compared with the industry as a whole and with builders of similar type and size.

Readers can see how they measure up against industry-wide averages in areas including:

• Gross margin and net profit
• Cost of goods sold
• Operating expenses
• Financial ratios

The Cost of Doing Business Study contains a wealth of data, analysis and guidance to help builders boost profitability, increase efficiency, set realistic budget targets and improve upon their business practices. Several categories are analyzed in the survey (volume, operation type, and land vs. no land) making it easy for builders to compare their performance against the data.

The Cost of Doing Business Study, 2010 Edition is available for purchase at http://www.builderbooks.com/  or by calling 800-223-2665. Soft-cover/123 pages, $149.95 Retail, $74.95 NAHB Member, ISBN 978-0-86718-658-1.