Help NAHB Solve the GLI Crisis
More than 50,000 NAHB members have received a “call to action” to fill out a survey about their general liability insurance (GLI). The survey is part of a GLI initiative to get an accurate national picture of the loss experiences of the residential construction industry and to develop new GLI products exclusively for the NAHB membership.
“NAHB members who receive the mailing should sit down and complete the survey and provide the materials needed to make this project a success,” said NAHB President Bobby Rayburn. “With insurance costs rising and exemptions making coverage less effective, it’s in everyone’s interest to participate in this effort.”
Builders, remodelers and trade contractors who did not receive the mailing are strongly encouraged to participate in the initiative. The materials are available online at www.nahb.org/gli.
NAHB is partnering with Marsh, a global insurance and consulting firm, to develop new GLI products that will meet members’ needs. Marsh and NAHB are working on a timetable that would bring new GLI products to the market by January 2005.
For more information, contact Clayton Traylor at 800-368-5242 x8490 or Blake Smith, x8583.
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Congress Passes Long-Term Authorization for National Flood Insurance Program
In a victory for the nation’s home builders, the Senate on June 15 approved S. 2238, flood insurance legislation that reauthorizes the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through Sept. 30, 2008. The House passed the measure on June 21 and the bill is expected to be signed into law shortly by President Bush.
The legislation addresses the most important aspects of NAHB’s flood insurance policy: long-term, four-year reauthorization of the national flood insurance program and full eligibility for property owners and “severe repetitive loss properties.” …
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Housing Snapshot
Mortgage interest rates subsided slightly last week, and Freddie Mac economists are predicting that they will remain in the affordable 6%-7% range for the balance of this year. In the last week, the Commerce Department has released a wealth of statistics indicating that the economy continues to grow vigorously. The Gross Domestic Product was 3.9% in this year's first quarter, down slightly from 4.1% in the previous three months; consumer spending was up 1% in May, the strongest increase in two-and-a-half years; and incomes in May were up 0.6%, following an identical increase in April. Inflation in the first quarter averaged 3.2%, up from 1% in the final quarter of 2003. The rate of inflation will dictate how rapidly the Federal Reserve Board pushes up interest rates in coming months, but so far the consensus is that prices will remain fairly well behaved despite today's convincing pick-up in the nation's economy. On the lumber front, prices continued to recede. Framing lumber dropped $10 to $409 per 1,000 board feet, according to Random Lengths. The price of 15/32-inch 3-ply CDX southern west-east plywood dropped $40 to $315 per 1,000 square feet, and oriented strand board was down to $300, also representing a $40 decline from the week before.
| Mortgage Interest Rates |
| 30-Year Fixed-Rate |
6.25% |
| 15-Year Fixed-Rate |
5.64% |
| 1-Year ARM |
4.13% |
| Housing Starts - May 2004* |
| Total |
1.97 million |
| Single-Family Starts |
1.64 million |
| Multifamily Starts |
317,000 |
New Home Sales
May 2004* |
1.369 million |
Existing Home Sales
May 2004* |
6.80 million |
| * Seasonally adjusted annual rate |
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