NBN Online for the week of October 31, 2005

House Votes to Advance Sound GSE Regulatory Reform

With the support of the nation’s home builders, the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 26 passed legislation that would strengthen the regulation of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks while preserving their vital housing mission.

H.R. 1461, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005, was approved by a strongly bipartisan vote of 331 to 90.

Jerry Howard, executive vice president and CEO of NAHB, said that the bill “offers a sound regulatory solution for our secondary market institutions. It would strengthen and safeguard the financial health of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while enabling them to continue to fulfill their mission of providing affordable housing credit for millions of working American families.”

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Lumber Prices Provided by Random Lengths

Small Remodelers Good Job Candidates for Big Firms

Juggling the many everyday activities unique to remodeling — from managing trade contractors and dealing with customers to scheduling jobs, meeting a payroll and following a business plan — may not be for everybody in the business, and those who have joined the industry primarily because they enjoy working with their hands are likely to fuel a trend toward consolidation, according to panelists at the 2005 Remodeling Show in Baltimore on Oct. 12-15.

Many remodeling companies don’t get bigger than a couple of hundred thousand dollars in annual revenue, tend to turn over at a high rate, and are propelled by individuals who “get good at their craft and then get a little lost,” said Sal Alfano, editor-in-chief of Remodeling magazine. “Many are one- and two-man outfits, and they will always be there, but they could be challenged down the road” by increasingly difficult regulatory and technological barriers.

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