by Michael Dey | Mar 14, 2013 | Uncategorized
Your HBA and its affiliate, NAHB, consistently deliver real value for our members.
At any given time, your HBA is working on more than 100 complex issues – and doing its utmost to save members money – in areas including the tax code, federal housing programs, environmental laws, building codes, OSHA, building materials, qualified residential mortgages, residential appraisals and many others.
Such issues can severely impact our industry; a single win can save builders thousands of dollars on every home they build. Likewise, a single loss can cost builders thousands of dollars on every home they build.
Below is a list of some of the more significant advocacy victories NAHB has achieved recently in terms of monetary impact. Please note that the dollar values below are based on averages across the industry and that these numbers do not necessarily apply in all areas of the country.
- NAHB challenge to EPA stormwater regulations saved builders $1,970 on each home built.
- NAHB advocacy on form 1099 reporting requirements saved each member $230 per year.
- NAHB saved Remodelers $260 per room on lead testing requirement.
- Flood insurance victory will preserve 10,100 new home sales in 2013.
- Fire sprinkler victories will save $6,316 per home in some areas in 2013.
- Supreme Court win could save $200,000 for those seeking wetlands permits.
- Higher FHA loan limit saved 6,300 new home sales in 2012.
- Elimination of visitability porch requirement will save $1,350 per home.
These represent just a fraction of the issues that NAHB addresses on an ongoing basis. More details on these and other NAHB initiatives are available on the following pages. In addition, NAHB continues to advance the policy priorities determined by its Board of Directors.
by Michael Dey | Mar 13, 2013 | Uncategorized
Builder Review Daily is highlighting the top 12 actions taken on behalf of Home Builders in 2012.
Accomplishment number 11: Production of the Highly Successful Association Leadership Institute
The Association Leadership Institute brought nearly 400 HBA Executive Officers, staff, member leaders and industry experts to New Orleans for a dynamic educational experience focusing on association functions, leadership development and team collaboration.
Billed as a combination of our previously offered EOC Seminar, Membership Conference, Leadership Conference and State and Local Government Conference, the newly created Association Leadership Institute (ALI) took place in New Orleans this August. The event provided a solid educational experience and a fantastic opportunity for networking with colleagues and industry experts, with 35 quality education programs and a host of nationally acclaimed speakers. Participants came away with practical solutions for key association functions to lead their organizations forward. Plan now to attend the next ALI in Portland, Ore., Aug. 14-17, 2013.
by Michael Dey | Mar 7, 2013 | Uncategorized
Builder Review Daily is highlighting the top 12 actions taken on behalf of Home Builders so far this Spring.
Accomplishment number 10: Production of a Wide Variety of Educational Webinars that Have Given our Members Access to Top Industry Experts and Advice
NAHB has produced 20 educational webinars and has 15 more informative offerings to come in 2012. NAHB webinars offer expert discussion on industry issues, trends and best practices, and give our members access to top industry experts.
Designed to meet the needs of a broad range of participants, our webinars are relatively inexpensive to produce and provide a cost-effective way to reach our members with the information they need to improve their businesses. One of the recent highlights of the NAHB webinar program was the well-attended and well received State of the Industry: A Mid-Year Update webinar in July. Speakers included NAHB CEO Jerry Howard, Chief Economist David Crowe, and Chief Lobbyist Jim Tobin. More than 500 individual sites were registered for this offering, which was a record high. Another very popular offering was the Financing for Home Builders webinar, which was provided free to members and gave guidance on how home builders can access and maintain credit for their projects. Our webinar speakers have been evaluated as top experts in their field, and 94% of webinar attendees surveyed said it is likely they will participate in a future such event. In total, more than 1,700 sites and more than 50 HBAs have participated in NAHB webinars this year. For all of NAHB’s upcoming Wednesday Webinars, go to www.nahb.org/webinars.
by Michael Dey | Feb 26, 2013 | Uncategorized
Builder Review Daily is highlighting the top 12 actions taken on behalf of Home Builders in 2012.
Accomplishment number 9: Combating Myths About Building’s Role in Water Pollution
A new NAHB resource helps HBAs and developers overcome the myth that home building is a major source of water pollutants due to storm water runoff from construction sites.
This resource, titled Water Quality and the Construction Industry, employs recent government data to explain how agriculture, dam making and other activities overwhelmingly affect water quality, while sediment released from residential construction accounted for significantly less than 1% of the total sediment in surface waters as of 2009. In fact, as the presentation notes, EPA’s own data shows that pollutant discharges from construction sites have decreased over time — primarily due to the steps that builders and developers take to control the storm water that runs off of their sites. This fact, along with EPA’s admission that “construction sites are already being adequately addressed through existing programs,” indicates that there is little need for states or municipalities to take additional steps to control construction site runoff. Rather, in most instances, doing so would only result in higher construction costs and higher home prices, with little or no added environmental benefit. The slide presentation is available for NAHB members to download as part of our “Land Use 101” package of detailed information and background materials on infrastructure, green development and other topics.
by Michael Dey | Feb 25, 2013 | Uncategorized
Builder Review Daily is highlighting the top 12 actions taken on behalf of Home Builders so far this Spring.
Accomplishment number 8: Development of a Model that Predicts Housing Demand From New Immigrants (and Other Important Economic Studies)
NAHB has developed a model that takes into account the age of newly arriving immigrants, region of origin and length of stay in the United States. The model then assigns probabilities of becoming a head of household, purchasing a home and moving into single-family or multifamily property based on immigrants’ characteristics. An analysis facilitated by this model reveals that new immigrants can conservatively be expected to occupy more than 2 million multifamily units and 1.2 million single-family homes over the next 10 years, with more than 900,000 of these new immigrants becoming home owners.
Findings of this analysis are detailed in the NAHB study “Immigrants and Housing Demand,” which is available free of charge from our HousingEconomics.com website and includes estimates of the rates at which immigrants form households, move into multi- or single-family housing units, and choose to buy or rent their residences.
NAHB’s model predicts that, upon their arrival to the U.S., more than three quarters of new immigrants will choose multifamily units and other housing arrangements, while only 24% will immediately move into single-family attached or detached units. However, by the time these families have been in the U.S. for 10 years or more, close to 50% of them will have moved into single-family homes. And for European- and Asian-born households, the share of expected single-family dwellers after 10 years is even greater. Read more about what NAHB’s model projects in terms of immigrant-based U.S. housing demand over the next decade by downloading a free copy of our latest study from HousingEconomics.com. Contact Natalia Siniavskaia at 800-368-5242 x8441.
Note: NAHB’s economics team constantly produces fresh, useful analysis of the most recent housing-related data that has applications to our members’ businesses, and makes that data available to our members free of charge. This is in addition to the department’s regular production of important indexes that gauge the health of the housing industry – theNAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index on builder confidence, the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index, theNAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, the Remodeling Market Index, the Multifamily Market Indices and the 50+ Housing Market Index. The surveys and analysis that NAHB’s economists conduct on a monthly and quarterly basis help our members achieve a better understanding of current market trends and where they are headed, while our media outreach in this regard ensures that accurate information on the housing market is transmitted to potential home buyers and the public at large. NAHB uses this data to conduct extensive media outreach in which we educate reporters about the historical context in which numbers should be viewed, discourage sensationalized accounts and ensure that home builders’ views are represented. NAHB also assists our members in dealing with media inquiries regarding recent releases of both NAHB and government data.
