didn't have a buyer when construction started last spring on this three story spec house in tony hinsdale, illinois. >> this is the great room, this is the family room. >> reporter: but builder steve subkowiak says a buyer snatched up the $1.5 million home long before workers painted the walls and began installing fixtures. the new owners move in next month. >> i think a lot of people are looking at interest rates and land costs and saying hey if i want to buy a new house this is a great time. >> reporter: with historically low mortgage rates, business is beginning to boom for many home builders. the government says in august americans purchased new homes at a seasonally adjusted rate of 373,000. that was down slightly from july, but up nearly 28% from august of last year. subkowiak thinks many buyers were hoarding cash during the recession and are now eager to spend it on new homes on signs the overall economy is improving. but that increased demand has brought more competition for lots. >> now you have end users who are buying for themselves, you have other builders who are doing spec h

. >>> hinsdale, illinois, january 29th, 2008.hicago man, frank treadzig, gets his minivan stuck on the tracks at a railroad crossing. a police dashboard camera records what happens as two trains race toward the vehicle. the train from the east hits first, pushing the van down the track as the driver narrowly escapes. moments later, the train coming from the west plows into it and the van bursts into flames. >> this person that was in this vehicle was literally seconds from losing their life. >> the driver would likely have died if not for the help of a passerby, dan nugent, who sees him standing next to his car on the tracks. >> you don't have a lot of time to think. i didn't have time to think about it. >> treadzig seems disoriented and unaware that he's directly in the path of the speeding train. but nugent is able to coax him to safety just before impact. >> one second the van was there, the next second it wasn't. >> his actions were heroic. he did what many people would not. >> this is similar to what the van looks like befor