Nation's Building News Online: December 19, 2005Print All Articles Text Version |
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2006 New American Home Just One Room DeepA blend of comfort and the picturesque with high-performance innovations, the 2006 New American Home has been designed for a young retiree or someone nearing retirement who will be able to enjoy seclusion on the shores of Lake Burden in southwest Orange County, Fla. A big attraction at the annual International Builders' Show, the demonstration home displays state-of-the-art home building concepts, designs, techniques and materials. The home incorporates innovations that can be replicated — in whole or in part — in any climate.
Free shuttle buses will transport convention-goers to and from the home, which is located only minutes from the convention center in the Lake Burden at the Lakes of Windermere subdivision. (See schedule below.)
The energy-efficient home was built by Hannigan Homes, WCI Architecture and Land Planning Inc., Saxon-Clark Furniture Showcase and Design, Redman Landscape Architecture and IBACOS (Integrated Building and Construction Solutions), a Building America partner. The National Council of the Housing Industry — The Supplier 100 of NAHB is the cosponsor of the project with Builder magazine.
The home features an abundance of amenities, including a pool, hot tub, media room, game room, second-floor library, home office and a lakefront spa-room equipped with a massage table. Living spaces are flexible for a variety of uses.
The home also has an elevator and was designed to be almost 100% wheelchair accessible and to accommodate the needs of its owners as they become older. Inspired by the location, WCI created a long, shallow design for the home, which is one of its unique characteristics. The 10,023-square-foot house under roof (7,367 square feet are air conditioned) is only one room deep in order to take full advantage of the breathtaking lake view. The front elevation incorporates a variety of points of interest to guide the eye across the home, including a two-story tower with a spiral staircase inside. With the implementation of the Florida Green Building Coalition's Green Home Designation Standard, the 2006 show home is the first certified “green” home to be built in The New American Home program since it began 23 years ago. Some of the green features of the home include mulch made from recycled building materials, a HEPA filtration system for clean indoor air and an impressive roof gutter system that will collect rainwater and use it to irrigate the landscaping. The home’s design makes it ideal for cross ventilation when the air conditioning is turned off. Through the use of innovative technology and design practices, the home will achieve nearly 40% whole house energy savings. To reach this level of energy efficiency, IBACOS provided assistance in designing the home’s systems and in choosing efficient technologies. The home is conditioned by four high-efficiency heat pumps (SEER 15) in six controllable zones to maintain ideal temperatures. The units and all ductwork are located within the conditioned space of the home. Three tankless, propane-fired water heaters help to minimize piping and reduce standby losses, and specially coated windows reduce cooling and heating loads. These innovations are expected to result in a 61% reduction in energy usage for heating and cooling, and a 50% reduction for water heating compared to a comparably sized home in the hot and humid climate of central Florida. For more information, e-mail Tucker Bernard at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8519. Tour Hours and Bus Schedule Registered attendees at the 2006 International Builders’ Show can tour The New American Home during exhibit hours via free shuttle buses (ticket required) departing every half hour from the Orange County Convention Center. Shuttle bus tickets may be picked up at the TNAH booth, which is open during show hours and located in “Transportation Central” of the C Hall Lobby, West Building.
Photos by James F. Wilson Nation's Building News Will Not Be Published Dec. 26, Jan. 3Nation's Building News will not be published on Dec. 26 or Jan. 3. Publication will resume on Jan. 9. Have a happy and warm holiday season.
NAHB Services Come First for President-Elect PresslyIncoming 2006 NAHB President David Pressly admits to having made more than his fair share of mistakes in the home building business over the past 30 years, but he blames himself. “I know I’ve made more mistakes than anybody else you’ll ever meet or talk to,” he said. “A shortcoming of doing everything yourself instead of working with someone bigger who has done these things is that it takes a little more time going through the learning curve. Congruent with the mind set of a good home builder, we all learn from those errors and build a better process or stronger company from having made them.” But when it comes to accounting for the successes, it’s a different story. Pressly acknowledges that he couldn’t have done it without mentors or without participating in his local home builders association, and he advises grassroots members of NAHB not to underestimate the value of federation resources in helping to keep their businesses thriving in the competitive home building industry. Pressly is a third-generation resident of Statesville, N.C., which is located near the foothills at the intersections of interstates 40 and 77 about a 45-minute drive due north of Charlotte. His grandfather was a Presbyterian minister in the historic city, and his father was a general practitioner in an era when doctors still made house calls and knew the members of their community well. With a population of about 25,000, Pressly’s hometown, like small cities across the South, has built its economy on textile, apparel and furniture manufacturing. A draw for employers to the area has been the availability of a less expensive labor supply, but Statesville is also at the hub of Nascar racing, which has created some jobs with great wages and raised demand for middle-class homeownership. The city continues to diversify, expanding its tax base, a process that Pressly helped foster as a former mayor and city council member. Pursuing a New Path Pressly says he was the first in his family to pursue a career in business and it is too early to tell whether his two college-age sons, Lowry and James, will decide to follow in their father’s footsteps. Both, however, “have worked long in the trenches” for their dad “since they were old enough to hold a shovel,” he said. Typical of small building companies across the country, Pressly’s wife, Tammy, who is a licensed general contractor, also is closely involved in running the business part-time.
While still working as an appraiser by day, Pressly began his development company in 1976 by remodeling homes and apartments at night. He purchased the properties in run-down condition, spruced them up and then rented or sold them. Stepping up his real estate activities, he then began buying and developing land. “The focus was to create income streams,” he said. “Everything I’ve built has some kind of income stream.” Using remodeling as a springboard, Pressly bought his first piece of land in the early 1980s and built a 45-unit apartment building on the site. It took several years to acquire the surrounding land, which was used to develop more phases of apartments. The company has held onto the buildings, which are generally two- and three-story walk-ups, and owns and manages 1,000 units today. Looking back, it is clear to Pressly that the direction of his career in home building has been shaped by educational opportunities that came his way through membership in home builders associations. Education a Source of Confidence His introduction to his local, the Iredell County HBA, resulted from the persistence of Charles Feimster, his lumber dealer, who urged him to join. “I finally came around and wrote the check,” Pressly said, and rapidly progressed from attending meetings, to participating on committees and then serving as a local officer. The educational sessions at NAHB’s show for multifamily builders and at his first convention in Atlanta were eye-openers, Pressly recalls. “They swept me off my feet, it helped me so much to go to those lectures and hear those top experts in the country talking about leasing, managing, building techniques, dealing with the regulatory environment, literally giving me confidence and putting wind in my sails.” Pressly has scored particular success as a builder of tax-credit housing, something he never would have attempted had he not attended an educational session on the topic by the head of North Carolina’s housing finance agency. Since the mid-1990s, he has built three tax credit properties and two are on the drawing board. Another revelation occurred at his first Spike party after receiving free tickets through his local president. “My observation was that if this is what Spikes do, I want to be one,” Pressly said. Spike parties are the place to meet committed members you won’t encounter at any other NAHB activity, in his view, and they have inspired him to climb aboard the member recruitment bandwagon; he has brought 200 members into the association so far.
Dialing NAHB’s Toll-Free Number However, the true defining event for Pressly in his appreciation of the value of association membership came less than a year after signing up, when his plans for exchanging commercial property for prime undeveloped land for home building ran into a regulatory impasse that local officials indicated would be insurmountable. The city planner explained that Statesville was required to comply with 12 new directives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in order to remain in the federal flood insurance program, and under the new policy a nearby creek would preclude development in a neighborhood that was already populated by motels and restaurants. After calling NAHB’s toll-free number, which he found in the pages of Nation’s Building News, Pressly was put through to Mike Luzier, who worked at the time in the state and local government affairs department and today heads the NAHB Research Center. After listening to Pressly’s predicament, Luzier responded that the city planner was mistaken: he was only required to adopt three of the dozen directives to remain in the insurance program. Pressly received the name and phone number of a regional FEMA administrator in Atlanta, whom he could ask to straighten the situation out. “My city planner was simply dead wrong in his interpretation of that directive, he was simply uninformed,” Pressly said. “Had it not been for NAHB being able to tell me what to do to remedy the situation, I would have lost that deal. My association membership at local, state and national is an invaluable asset to my building business. I could not have done what I’ve done, achieved the success I’ve had, without membership at every level.” Regulatory and No-Growth Challenges As a resident of North Carolina, Pressly says he is lucky because there are relatively few regulatory impediments to home building, and the business environment for builders is exceptionally friendly, thanks to the rapport with the general assembly that has been established by the state association. There are no transfer taxes, few impact fees and a relatively streamlined development process. It takes only six months from the start of applying for permits to breaking ground on a project in Pressly’s neck of the woods, and he attributes that to the influence of the association. Also on the side of good fortune, North Carolina has not delegated taxing or regulatory authority to its local governments. “Authoritative local government would be discouraging,” he observed, and as it has in far too many parts of the country, would probably result in a more difficult and time-consuming regulatory process and needless expense for consumers. Pressly provides only encouragement to younger builders who are establishing themselves in building and development. “It’s a marvelous career,” he said. However, to ensure success it is more important than ever for those starting out to join their local home builders association, which provides a vital link to the technological, regulatory and other information they need to prosper. The no-growth movement is one of the greatest challenges for housing today, Pressly said, and an issue that requires a concerted ongoing effort by the industry. “We all get tired of being in lines of traffic and have children going to school, so are worried about overcrowded classrooms. But the precursor of those homes is not builders, but demographics,” he said. As the population continues to grow, “government should do everything in its power to encourage people to live as close to the center of the community as they can.” No-growth attitudes have pushed up the cost of housing, he noted, leaving the only affordable housing options “miles away from where a person works, attends school or wants to go to church.” Unfortunately, he predicts, the battle for comprehensive land development plans that accommodate housing and economic growth will continue to intensify until governments become enlightened on this critical issue for the future of the nation. The Battle for Capital Other issues that will be at the top of the agenda when Pressly assumes leadership of the 220,000-member NAHB in January include legislative efforts to reform the Government Sponsored Enterprises — Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks — and the recent anti-housing proposals of the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. Pressly sees the draconian approach to GSE regulation and the unraveling of the mortgage interest deduction as the latest in a disturbing trend, starting with the tax reform law of 1986, to shift capital away from housing. “It’s a fundamental battle for values that most American families hold dear and important: the current capacity to own a home or the future hope or prospects for a young person to own a home,” he said. “NAHB will be relentless until these issues are resolved,” vowed Pressly. “My directors have given me the opportunity to observe these national antagonists to the housing industry — those who may have a Wall Street bias and believe too much American capital is in housing and who would reduce the nation’s emphasis on housing.” “Most American families enter the middle class through homeownership,” he said. “If opportunities for homeownership experience some type of diminution, clearly there will be fewer families who will own homes and have the opportunity to create their own personal wealth. It’s easy for the Wall Street segment to say there’s too much capital in American housing, but they would just deprive families at the lower end of the spectrum the opportunity to build assets — equity that can be used to educate children or pay for healthcare, retirement or a second home. It’s NIMBYism at a national level.” “The battle for capital may go underground for a while,” he added, “but it will never go away. We need to kill it, we need to be as aggressive and vitriolic in our criticism of these efforts as we can be.” Pressly will also be devoting a good deal of his efforts while president to educating the membership about what NAHB is doing on complex issues like the GSEs, which can be difficult to follow from the sidelines but hold enormous consequences for the ability of the industry to deliver the housing that the nation needs. “Our grassroots members need a firmer understanding of what NAHB does to help fight regulatory obstacles and maintain access to capital and customers,” he said. Pressly aspires to leave NAHB a bit stronger than he found it, and that is a mission he is confident of accomplishing by bolstering support for the membership and defining the association by the services it provides. The International Builders' Show Is ComingNation's Building News will be publishing a special issue on Jan. 9 that will highlight the upcoming International Builders' Show in Orlando, the largest residential and light commercial trade show in the world. The issue will feature events, courses, schedules, products and more. More than 100,000 housing professionals, including home and apartment builders, architects and product manufacturers, are expected to attend the show at the Orange County Convention Center Jan. 11-14. For more information, visit the International Builders' Show Web site at www.BuildersShow.com. Subscribe Your Employees — You Could Win a Digital CameraSign up three or more of your employees for free, online subscriptions to Nation's Building News and you automatically will be entered in a contest to win a Sony digital camera. There have been eight winners already — the most recent winner is Greg Zehe, of Parkview Homes, Inc. in Strongsville, Ohio — and you could be next. To subscribe your employees to Nation’s Building News and be entered in the "Make Your Business Click" contest, visit our contest subscription page by clicking here. Put Your Employees in the Know
Subscribe your employees to Nation's Building News and they will begin receiving timely, valuable industry and business news at their desktops beginning with the very next issue. Inside each issue, you'll find the latest lumber prices, industry news, builders' tips, problem-solving floor plans, sales and marketing tips and more. It's news that will put your employees in the know and help them in their day-to day jobs. It's news that can help increase your company's profitability and efficiency. And it only takes a few mintues of your time to subscribe them. For more information or to sign up your employees, click here.
Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB. Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Log In" button to get started. Once you log in, personalize the site to reflect your interests. Simply go to the My NAHB>My Profile page and click the “Edit Content Preferences” link. To learn more about how you can customize My NAHB — including how to customize the links that appear on the Home page ― visit the How to Use www.nahb.org section. Gamblers Turn to Housing
Limits on Homes Push Up Prices
Don’t Be Fooled by TV Shows, Extreme Makeovers Take Time
Americans Swallow Hurricane Anxiety to Build Coast to Coast
Home — Floors: For Cold Feet
Factory-Built Homes Are Quicker, Cheaper and Catching on With Buyers
House Bill Takes Hard Line on Immigrant WorkersThe House on Dec. 16 passed a strict immigration bill that focuses on border security and punitive enforcement penalties for employers and fails to include a guest worker program that would help meet the workforce needs of employers nationwide. H.R. 4437, the “Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act,” would authorize the construction of a fence along a nearly 700 mile stretch of the U.S.-Mexican border and impose fines of as much as $25,000 per worker for anyone who hires an undocumented worker. “The penalties for violations of employer verification requirements are overreaching and extreme,” said NAHB President David Wilson. “Most importantly, these overly aggressive mandates would be imposed while making no allowances for temporary guest workers to legally enter the residential construction workforce.” The bill awaits an uncertain fate in the Senate, which is deeply divided on the issue. The Senate is expected to take up the debate in February — at which time the temporary guest worker provision, which the Bush Administration supports, may yet be added. In opposing the House bill, NAHB made its concerns clear to members of Congress through direct contacts and two legislative alerts to the association’s grassroots Congressional Contacts. The heavy lobbying by NAHB and its partners in the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition failed to get key amendments added that would have softened the bill before it reached the House floor. It is estimated that more than 20% of the building industry's entire workforce is foreign-born, making the immigrant population essential to meeting housing demand and sustaining economic growth in this country. NAHB has voiced grave concerns about the difficulties posed by mandates that would require employers to verify the work eligibility of not just their new employees, but existing ones as well. NAHB will continue to work with members in the Senate to urge them to oppose mandatory employer verification requirements and to support creating a legal guest worker program. To read the legislation, click here and enter H.R. 4437 in the box at the center of the page. For more information, e-mail Michael Strauss at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8252. Congress Extends Federal Terrorism InsuranceCongress last week approved S. 467, legislation that would provide a two-year extension of federal terrorism insurance due to expire at the end of this year. Enacted in 2002 in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) is intended to provide a backstop for insurance companies in the event of another attack on American soil. The legislation, which is expected to be signed into law shortly by President Bush, will raise the amount of damage sustained in an attack needed to trigger federal aid from $5 million currently to $50 million in 2006 and $100 million in 2007. The measure increases deductibles and co-payments for the insurers. Under a compromise reached by House and Senate negotiators, mandatory repayment of federal aid would go from 25% next year to 27.5% in 2007. The House bill had originally called for 100% repayment of federal assistance. The final version also dropped House provisions that would have expanded the scope of the original legislation by including group life insurance in the program and providing coverage for acts of domestic terrorism, such as the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. To read the legislation, click here and enter the bill number in the box at the center of the page. For more information, e-mail Greg Brown at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8421.
House and Senate Working on Katrina Recovery BillsCongress last week passed a $7.8 billion tax package to aid the recovery and rebuilding efforts in Gulf Coast areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. H.R. 4440, the "Gulf Opportunity Zone Act," designates areas impacted by the hurricane as "Gulf Opportunity Zones” that would be eligible for numerous tax benefits and incentives, including:
The House Financial Services Committee on Thursday passed H.R. 4100, the Louisiana Recovery Corporation Act. The legislation would establish the Louisiana Recovery Corporation (LRC), which would work with willing property owners to purchase residential and commercial property, relieving hurricane victims of their mortgage obligations up to $500,000 and transferring title to the LRC. The acquisitions would be funded by bonds issued by the Treasury Department. The LRC would then make necessary infrastructure repairs before selling the property to private developers through a competitive bidding process. Before the bill was considered by the committee, an amendment by Chairman Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio) was adopted to authorize the redistribution of more than $17 billion in Hurricane Katrina aid. The bulk of that amount, $13 billion, would go to the Community Development Block Grant program. The remaining funding would be distributed to the following housing programs: $100 million to the Public Housing Authorities Emergency Capital Fund, $100 million to the Hope VI Program, $1.5 billion to the Home Investment Partnerships Program and $2.5 billion for Emergency Rental Assistance Vouchers. House and Senate appropriators must still act on this redistribution proposal for it to become law. The legislation must still pass several legislative and political hurdles before it becomes law. To read the bills, click here and enter the legislation number in the box at the center of the page. For more information, e-mail Jim Tobin at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8258. Builder Confidence Moves Down in DecemberThe overall HMI declined four points from a slightly revised November reading to 57, its lowest level since April of 2003, while the component measuring builder expectations for future sales held firm at 65. “Many builders sense some tapering off of single-family buyer demand, but remain reasonably confident in the ongoing strength of their markets,” said NAHB President Dave Wilson. “They obviously are reacting to higher interest rates and energy costs, along with some buyer resistance to high house prices.” “As expected, the housing market appears to be coming off the recent record pace of home sales,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “Our surveys indicate that three out of every four builders are experiencing some buyer resistance to current home prices, and many are offering certain concessions to buyers in order to help maintain sales volume. NAHB’s forecast continues to anticipate an orderly cooling down process for single-family sales and production in 2006.” The HMI gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales, sales expectations for the next six months and traffic of prospective buyers. Any number over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor. The components for current sales and traffic of prospective buyers were each down, by four points to 63 and seven points to 39, respectively. Builder confidence declined across every region in December. The Northeast and South registered only marginal, two-point declines to 59 and 66, respectively, while the exceptionally strong West showed an uncharacteristic seven-point decline to a still-solid 74. In the Midwest, which has been challenged by unusually wet weather and a weak job market, another four-point decline brought that region’s HMI score down to 33. Eye on the EconomyBy David F. Seiders, NAHB Chief Economist Incoming data continue to reinforce the pattern of solid underlying momentum in growth of real economic output, despite some lingering negatives from this year’s record-breaking hurricane season and a record trade deficit in October. We’re still projecting 3.4% growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter, a very nice performance. And we expect even stronger growth early next year as the hurricane effects swing from negative to positive. Growth should subside to a sustainable trend pace (about 3.2%) over the balance of our 2006-2007 forecast horizon. Economic growth has involved impressive growth in labor productivity (output per hour) in recent times. Productivity growth is essential to long-term improvement in living standards for Americans, and strong productivity growth also helps to hold down both inflation and interest rates. Productivity growth also holds down business demands for labor, of course, although the length and strength of the economic expansion has the labor market in a decent gear. The National Labor Market Is Back on Track As expected, the employment report for November revised away some of the hurricane-related weakness in September and October and revealed good forward momentum in November. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 215,000, above the average for the first eight months of the year, and the unemployment rate held at 5.0% — compared with an expansion low of 4.9% in August. NAHB’s forecast shows healthy growth in payroll employment through 2006, and we expect the unemployment rate to tick down a bit as GDP growth runs a bit above potential for at least part of the year. Growth of both GDP and employment should settle to trend in 2007, holding the unemployment rate around 5%. The Inflation Picture Looks Very Good, at Least for Now Swings in energy prices have whipsawed broad measures of producer and consumer price inflation in recent months, but measures of core inflation (excluding prices of food and energy) have been remarkably stable and well behaved. Indeed, core inflation actually receded in October (latest data available) and remains within the Federal Reserve’s apparent “tolerance range.” The Fed’s favorite measure of inflation, the core price index for personal consumption expenditures (PCE), registered a year-over-year gain of only 1.8% in October. The market-based version (excluding various implicit prices) showed a benign 1.6% advance, and even this measure has some well-known upward bias. Thus, we’re not far from actual price stability, at least on a “core” basis. These reassuring performances hardly mean that core inflation will remain a non-issue, and some increase in core inflation seems likely in both 2006 and 2007 as long as energy prices remain at high levels and labor markets tighten further. That possibility obviously is receiving a lot of attention at our central bank. The Fed Hikes Rates Again But Changes the Message The Federal Reserve implemented another quarter-point increase in short-term interest rates at the Dec. 13 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), raising the federal funds rate to 4.25% and the bank prime rate to 7.25%. Both rates are now 3.25 percentage points above their cyclical lows last year. The adjustment to short rates was in line with market expectations, and the really big news was contained in the public statement issued by the FOMC. The statement no longer characterized monetary policy as “accommodative,” and there was no commitment to an ongoing “measured pace” of monetary tightening. This presumably means that the Fed feels monetary policy is close to “neutral.” We still expect a quarter-point rate increase at the next FOMC meeting (Jan. 31), followed by a lengthy period of policy stability under the incoming chairman, Ben Bernanke. The bond markets seemed happy with the FOMC message, and long-term bond and mortgage rates are holding in reasonably narrow ranges. We still expect roughly half-point increases in long rates during the coming year, taking the fixed-rate mortgage yield to about 6.75% by late 2006. House Prices Drive Home Owner Equity to a New Record Average U.S. home prices increased by 12% in the third quarter (year-over-year basis), according to the House Price Index produced by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). This pace was two percentage points below the second-quarter estimate but continued the string of double-digit increases that began in the third quarter of last year. Rapid increases in house values have bestowed huge capital gains on America’s home owners, and housing equity continues to climb despite heavy borrowing against accumulated housing equity. Indeed, the value of the owner-occupied housing stock was $19.1 trillion at the end of the third quarter, and housing equity was a record $10.9 trillion (Federal Reserve data). The performance of house values has greatly strengthened the overall household sector balance sheet and permitted households to run current saving to zero (or negative) and to handle record debt burdens. The Housing Outlook Continues to Show a Cooling-Down Process Toward a Solid Trend Although housing market indicators still are throwing off mixed signals, we believe that a cooling process has begun in single-family and condo markets. Indeed, our confidence in the onset of the “cooling” process has been reinforced by reports from Federal Reserve Banks as well as by monthly surveys of single-family home builders (conducted by NAHB) and weekly surveys of home mortgage lenders (conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Association) that extend through November and into December. The Fed’s most recent “Beige Book,” containing information collected during the first three weeks of November by the 12 Federal Reserve District Banks, said that residential real estate market activity generally remained high, “but many districts reported a slowing or cooling of activity.” The report also noted that residential mortgage lending slowed in several districts. The MBA’s index of applications for mortgages to buy homes was essentially flat during the July-September period and gravitated downward during October and November (four-week moving average basis). The index perked up a bit in the first two weeks of December but remained well below the summer highs. Affordability Is the Key Issue Measures of housing affordability definitely are being weighed down by both extraordinarily high house prices and rising mortgage interest rates, and these factors certainly point toward a cooling process in single-family and condo markets. NAHB’s National Housing Opportunity Index fell to the lowest level in the 13-year history of the series in the third quarter of this year. Furthermore, the Housing Affordability Index produced by the National Association of Realtors® showed broad-based erosion through October. The national affordability index has come down substantially from expansion highs, and measures for the Northeast and West regions show particularly large declines. NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders analyzes the economy from the point of view of the housing market every other week in the free e-newsletter, “Eye on the Economy.” The preceding is a reissue of his Dec. 14 edition. To subcribe to “Eye on the Economy,” click here.
Want to Know Your State and Metro Forecasts for 2006? Anticipate the trends, make better decisions and improve your bottom line. "HousingEconomics.com," the online publication from NAHB Economics Group, is your single source for market analysis, forecasts, housing statistics and more. In-depth analysis and detailed Excel tables and overviews are available for all the state and metro forecasts. “HousingEconomics.com” combines unique scientific research with practical applications providing insights that are original and useful. This interactive Web site at the executive level provides critical data and information quickly, easily and frequently and includes the following features:
Give Your Perspective on the New NAHB Economics Blog
Log onto the blog at http://nahbblog.blogs.com and get direct access to Seiders' expert opinions, projections and responses. Builder’s Tip: Adjustable Stair Jigs Instead of Gauges
First, the cheaper six-sided gauges are difficult to set accurately because the edge of the gauge that contacts the edge of the lumber sits off the edge of the framing square. And while my good Starrett stair gauges align exactly with the edge of the square, they have not solved the problems posed by the lumber. The edges of lumber have defects: nicks, knotholes and wane (sloped edges caused by the rounded edge of the tree). When the gauge falls on one of these imperfections, it throws off the layout. Another problem occurs when the lumber used for the stringer is only long enough for the layout. When this occurs, one of the gauges has nothing to bear against for the first or last step because it’s off the end of the board. Because of these problems, I’ve stopped using stair gauges to lay out stair stringers. Instead, I use a stair jig with an adjustable fence, as shown in the drawing. The jig consists of a framing square, a fence and two tiny C-clamps. The fence is 32 inches long, a full 1 inch thick and 1-1⁄4 inches wide. To make the fence:
In use, the fence rides along the board and easily bridges imperfections in the lumber. It also holds the square in the correct position right up to the end of the board. Once the fence is fabricated, it takes no longer to set up this jig than it does to affix stair gauges. This jig also can be used to lay out rafters. — John Carroll, Raleigh, N.C. Tips & Techniques provided by Fine Homebuilding.
To request a reprint of this feature, e-mail Mary Lou von der Lancken at Fine Homebuilding.
BuilderBooks.com is your source for training and education products for the building industry. The official bookstore for NAHB, BuilderBooks.com offers award-winning publications, software, brochures and more available in both English and Spanish. To view these publications online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
Subscribe your employees to Nation’s Building News Online. It’s free, easy and NAHB members who sign up three or more employees will be entered into the "Make Your Business Click" contest to win a digital camera. To learn more or sign up your employees, click here. Free Test Drives of the Latest Builder Software at IBSMore than a dozen free, interactive computer labs, where attendees can “test drive” the latest builder software and decide whether a particular application or solution is a good fit for their business, are being offered at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. Fourteen labs — covering everything from financial management, CAD design, construction scheduling, getting the most resources from the NAHB Web site and more ― will be held Wednesday-Friday, Jan. 11-13, in the Orange County Convention Center. Each lab is 90 minutes. No Registration Required, Seating Is Limited No registration is required beyond regular registration for IBS. Sessions begin as early as 8:30 a.m. on all three days and seating is limited. To add the labs to your meeting schedule, use the My Show Planner tool on the IBS Web site to create an electronic calendar. Computer labs include:
For more information, follow the Computer Lab track in the Educational Seminars listing at www.buildersshow.com.
Go to NAHB's Business Management Tools Web pages (available to members only) for instant access to more than 170 timesaving, moneymaking and cost-cutting business resources to help you run your business more profitably. Get guidance on accounting and financial management, business strategy, computers and information technology, customer service, human resources and more. Resources are added weekly, so bookmark www.nahb.org/biztools to go directly to these vital business management resources. Local and state home builders associations can link directly to www.nahb.org/biztools from their Web site and give their members instant access to these resources. It will make your HBA's Web site the place to go for the information and guidance that members need to succeed.
NAHB’s Business of Building e/Source is your monthly electronic guide to the hot issues and emerging trends in home building business management. You’ll find practical advice, tricks of the trade and sound business guidance — all delivered monthly, straight to your desktop, in a quick and easy-to-read format. Business of Building e/Source is available free to NAHB members and their employees. To subscribe, visit www.nahb.org/BoB on the Members Only side of the NAHB Web site. Learn How to Compete With the ‘Giants’Industry experts will tell you how to compete with the “giants,” run a paperless business, survive a market slowdown and more during the 18 educational sessions sponsored by NAHB’s Business Management and Information Technology Committee at the International Builders’ Show, Jan. 11-13 in Orlando, Fla. “The education is selected by builders for builders,” said John Barrows, of J. Barrows, Inc., who led the selection committee. “We incorporated a broad array of topics that builders would be interested in learning about. Then we chose the most dynamic speakers with the greatest expertise in each of those areas.” The following is a sampling of the business management educational sessions offered at IBS:
Visit the business management educational sessions online at the International Builders’ Show Web site for a complete list of seminars offered. Use the My Show Planner tool to create an electronic calendar. For more information, call Wil Heslop at NAHB at 800-368-5242 x8472, or Marcia Childs at x8388.
NAHB Has More Than 170 Resources to Help You Run Your Business More Profitably Go to NAHB's Business Management Tools Web pages (available to members only) for instant access to more than 170 timesaving, moneymaking and cost-cutting business resources to help you run your business more profitably. Get guidance on accounting and financial management, business strategy, computers and information technology, customer service, human resources and more. Resources are added weekly, so bookmark www.nahb.org/biztools to go directly to these vital business management resources. Local and state home builders associations can link directly to www.nahb.org/biztools from their Web site and give their members instant access to these resources. It will make your HBA's Web site the place to go for the information and guidance that members need to succeed.
NAHB’s Business of Building e/Source is your monthly electronic guide to the hot issues and emerging trends in home building business management. You’ll find practical advice, tricks of the trade and sound business guidance — all delivered monthly, straight to your desktop, in a quick and easy-to-read format. Business of Building e/Source is available free to NAHB members and their employees. To subscribe, visit www.nahb.org/BoB on the Members Only side of the NAHB Web site. NAHB Launches Technology Solutions DirectoryNAHB’s Business Management & Information Technology Committee recently launched the Technology Solutions Directory, an easy-to-use directory that will enable builders, remodelers, contractors and other industry professionals to find the information on software and IT solutions and services for their businesses. Two types of listings are offered:
Software and technology solutions providers interested in being listed:
To learn more, e-mail Wil Heslop at NAHB. The Technology Solutions Directory is solely for educational and informational purposes. Nothing in the directory should be construed as policy, an endorsement, warranty or guaranty by the National Association of Home Builders of the listed software, IT service or the software/IT vendor. The National Association of Home Builders expressly disclaims any responsibility for any damages arising from the use, application or reliance on any information contained in this directory.
NAHB Has More Than 170 Resources to Help You Run Your Business More Profitably Go to NAHB's Business Management Tools Web pages (available to members only) for instant access to more than 170 timesaving, moneymaking and cost-cutting business resources to help you run your business more profitably. Get guidance on accounting and financial management, business strategy, computers and information technology, customer service, human resources and more. Resources are added weekly, so bookmark www.nahb.org/biztools to go directly to these vital business management resources. Local and state home builders associations can link directly to www.nahb.org/biztools from their Web site and give their members instant access to these resources. It will make your HBA's Web site the place to go for the information and guidance that members need to succeed.
NAHB’s Business of Building e/Source is your monthly electronic guide to the hot issues and emerging trends in home building business management. You’ll find practical advice, tricks of the trade and sound business guidance — all delivered monthly, straight to your desktop, in a quick and easy-to-read format. Business of Building e/Source is available free to NAHB members and their employees. To subscribe, visit www.nahb.org/BoB on the Members Only side of the NAHB Web site. Emotional Marketing, Quality of Life Key Success in Boomer Market
Goldstein will discuss what makes boomers tick during the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla., when he gives his presentation, "Reinvention of the Building/Housing Market: Boomers and Beyond ― Second Edition." Here is a sneak peek at some of his thoughts: A Satisfied Mind: Get to Cautious Boomers With Quality of Life Goldstein said there are several reasons why some Boomers have a cautionary feeling about spending money — maybe the foremost among them being their worries about maintaining their health and finances throughout their lifetimes. These concerns, he said, lead to their next big question ― housing. For boomers, buying a house isn’t something they’re doing out of a sense of need, unlike first-time and move-up home buyers. When boomers buy a home, he said, it’s an emotionally driven purchase. And this is where builders and developers need to get creative. With housing, builders need to cater to buyers’ emotional drivers and convince them that their new home purchase will enhance their lifestyle. Forever Young: Emotional Marketing Is Key Goldstein noted that one of the big drivers for boomers is that they consider themselves a unique generation that has always been in the limelight. Boomers have had a generational identity since they were children and were the first generation to be marketed to as a “generation.” Now that they’re entering their 60s, many fear leaving the limelight. To reach them, Goldstein recommends that they take a page from Del Webb’s marketing to the current generation of retirees. Those retirees did not have to move to the Sun Belt, play golf or go out for “early bird specials” every night. Sun City living wasn’t a necessity for them, but emotional marketing worked. That same lifestyle won’t work for boomers. The boomer market is more segmented. But marketing style and emotion will reach them. Emotional drivers are the key, he said. Slow Train to Technology Technology is not a high priority among boomers. Many don’t understand, want or need the latest technology in their homes. Goldstein, however, believes the building industry should get more proactive about technology because many boomers aren’t aware of what technology can do for their homes and lifestyles. Once builders make technology more readily available, he said, boomers will start thinking about it and wanting it. At the Builders’ Show Goldstein will present "Reinvention of the Building/Housing Market: Boomers and Beyond ― Second Edition" on Thursday, Jan. 12, from 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in West 304A-D, Level III at the Orange County Convention Center. Learn More About the Emerging 50+ Market at IBSThe 50+ market, with boomers leading the way, is the fastest-growing segment of the housing industry. In fact, consumers 50 and older will account for more than a quarter of the 1.267 million new home purchases this year. Find out about this burgeoning market at the 2006 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. next month. The 50+ Housing Council will present more than 35 seminars and education sessions, networking opportunities and special events — including a bus tour of three of Central Florida’s best-selling active adult communities — for builders, developers and other industry professionals interested in knowing more about the 50+ market. "Aside from the council's Building for Boomers and Beyond symposium, the International Builders' Show is the biggest event for the 50+ housing industry," said Randy Rinehart,CGR, CAPS, chairman of the 50+ Housing Council and a custom builder from Charlottesville, Va. "At IBS, we will offer plenty of opportunities for those in the housing industry to increase their knowledge about the 50+ market, design better products and market to these unique customers." Featured events include:
Visit www.nahb.org/50plusevents for a complete list and schedule of 50+ Housing Council activities at the show.
To learn more about 50+ housing, join the NAHB 50+ Housing Council. The council provides information, education, networking and recognition opportunities for its members and represents NAHB on seniors housing issues. For more details, e-mail Jeff Jenkins or call him at 800-368-5242 x8292.
50+ Housing e/Source, the regular e-newsletter of the NAHB 50+ Housing Council, is a builder's guide to the emerging, evolving 50+ housing market, offering industry updates as well as important NAHB and council news. Distributed once a month, 50+ Housing e/Source details information, products and services within the 50+ housing market that will enhance your bottom line. Go to the NAHB Web site to subscribe.
Save 15% when you purchase the 50+ housing publication set through BuilderBooks.com. Receive one copy of “Boomers on the Horizon: Housing Preferences of the 55+ Market,” “Marketing Seniors Housing” and the “Best of Seniors’ Housing News.” This publication set is a must-have for anyone serving the active adult market. To view or purchase this publication set online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
Attend one of these pre-show courses to learn more about the emerging 50+ market. "Working With and Marketing to Older Adults" will be held on Jan. 8 from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. "Designing for the Active Adult" will be offered twice — Jan. 9 and Jan. 10 from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. For more information and to register, visit www.buildersshow.com. Focus Group to Address Section 8 Vouchers in Assisted LivingNAHB is seeking members to participate in a focus group discussion about using Section 8 housing vouchers in assisted living facilities (ALFs). Participation will require providing construction and operating cost information on current or recent projects. NAHB believes that HUD should establish higher fair market rents (FMRs) for ALFs than for other multifamily units. NAHB is arguing that FMRs in many communities are too low to permit the use of Section 8 vouchers in ALFs, and that the problem arises because rents (not including payment for services) typically are higher in ALFs than in standard rental units due to higher costs of construction and operations. HUD has asked NAHB for evidence that documents the cost differences. The purpose of the focus group, which will take place during the International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla., is to gather the necessary information. To participate or for more information, contact Claudia Kedda at NAHB at 800-368-5242 x8352, or Jeff Jenkins, x8292.
To learn more about 50+ housing, join the NAHB 50+ Housing Council. The council provides information, education, networking and recognition opportunities for its members and represents NAHB on seniors housing issues. For more details, e-mail Jeff Jenkins or call him at 800-368-5242 x8292.
50+ Housing e/Source, the regular e-newsletter of the NAHB 50+ Housing Council, is a builder's guide to the emerging, evolving 50+ housing market, offering industry updates as well as important NAHB and council news. Distributed once a month, 50+ Housing e/Source details information, products and services within the 50+ housing market that will enhance your bottom line. Go to the NAHB Web site to subscribe.
Mega Residential Concrete Demos at World of Concrete
CHBC’s “At Home With Concrete” will feature several below- and above-grade residential concrete construction systems during the two-day demonstrations at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This will be the first time that residential construction systems will be demonstrated following a project from start to finish at World of Concrete. “With the popularity of above-grade residential concrete construction growing every year, the overall concrete industry is starting to take notice,” said Michael H. Weber, president of the Concrete Home Building Council. “More builders and contractors across the nation are beginning to expand their businesses and portfolios to include residential applications. World of Concrete’s Mega Demos will allow any builder interested in residential concrete systems to learn first-hand how these systems work and the sustainable and beautiful finished product they deliver.” “At Home with Concrete” will demonstrate the installation and use of the following residential concrete systems:
‘Concrete Ideas for Living’ Available at BuilderBooks.com “Concrete Ideas for Living,” available through BuilderBooks.com, showcases more than 200 photographs that demonstrate the limitless potential and flexibility of concrete as an artistic medium. Discover unique residences, complete with close-ups of some of the most innovative and contemporary designed concrete kitchens, floors, bathrooms, facades and patios. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665. Home Builders Institute Creates Concrete Education TrackHome Builders Institute (HBI), the workforce development arm of NAHB, has partnered with the Concrete Home Building Council to develop an education track aimed at giving supervisors the information they need to successfully manage residential construction sites utilizing concrete materials. The Concrete Specialization Courses are designed to educate superintendents on the core fundamentals of concrete construction. Modeled after HBI’s Residential Construction Superintendent (RCS) designation, the courses are geared toward budding field superintendents and can benefit current site personnel wishing to excel in this position. These courses are administered through state and local home builders associations and, in some cases, individual member companies. For more information, visit www.hbi.org/rcscourses/concrete. Find More About Building Systems on NAHB Web SiteNAHB's Building Systems Councils (BSC) has revamped its Web pages on the NAHB Web site so that information about the four system types — concrete, modular, log homes and panelized — as well as the BSC's six sub-councils, can now be found at one, convenient Web location — www.nahb.org/buildingsystems. System Type Home Pages In addition, each system type/council has its own Web pages, complete with information about the construction type, helpful links, member directories and membership information. Visit each at the following links:
Every Council Member Is Listed
Members-Only Content The new Web pages also include information exclusive to members of the Building Systems Councils. This includes meeting minutes, committee information, economic and other data. Louisiana Builders Must Meet Wind and Flood CodesThe Louisiana Home Builders Association expects 300 builders to attend Tuesday’s day-long introduction to the 2003 International Residential Code (IRC), which Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco signed into law Dec. 1. The state’s 11 coastal parishes must begin to enforce Chapter 3, the code’s wind and flood requirements, by Jan. 1, if they have a code enforcement program in place. The rest of the state has until Jan. 1, 2007 to build to the code. As the state attempts to rebuild after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the introductory code class is a way for the builders association to help its members become familiar with the newly mandated code. Additional classes later in the year will provide more in-depth information. “We’ve got everybody coming to this, from builders to city inspectors to suppliers,” said the association’s executive officer Jeannie Dodd. “We’re not charging a fee, we’re just trying to get as many people educated as we can.” While larger Louisiana jurisdictions had already mandated the 2003 IRC for new construction, many rural parishes had not, nor did they have an established home building inspection program in place. The new law is intended to establish stricter standards and uniformity in the rebuilding process. In addition to the IRC Chapter 3 overview, code officials will discuss wind load design requirements, and representatives from the American Forest and Paper Association will present alternative building techniques for high wind areas. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials will be on hand for a discussion of the best practices for reducing coastal storm damage. The builders association is also working with Louisiana State University on a demonstration house where the code requirements are being applied. The house was framed but not drywalled when the hurricane struck, which will enable work in progress to be included in a slide show on construction techniques being prepared for class participants. Launching the class on short notice was difficult, Dodd said, because it’s hard to find an open and available hotel ballroom in New Orleans large enough to accommodate expected class attendance. “One hotel has the Coast Guard, one has FEMA. I know there are venues with bigger rooms and they were all taken,” she said. It’s a similar situation for roofers, framers and other contractors looking for work on the Gulf Coast: plenty of home building companies are desperate for help, but there is no place to house the potential employees, Dodd said. As the Louisiana association was scrambling to put the codes class together, Dodd observed that “the headaches we’re dealing with are nothing” compared to what New Orleans residents are going through. “The faster we can get this going, the faster they can get their lives back to normal.” Vendors Can Register on Hurricane Recovery LinksThe list includes links to Dun and Bradstreet, the Central Contractor Registry, Online Representations and Certifications Application, the Small Business Administration, the General Services Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Links are also included for hurricane recovery-related jobs, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and various agencies in the five affected states. For information on registering your business capabilities to assist in post-Katrina relief, go to www.fbo.gov/katrina.html. NAHB to Work With Charity on Building Material DonationsIn the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, food, water, medicine and emergency shelter dominated the urgent needs in the Gulf Coast region. Now that recovery efforts are directed at rebuilding, members who have expressed interest in donating products or building materials are encouraged to join NAHB’s industry-wide effort to donate needed material through Gifts In Kind International. Gifts In Kind serves as a donation conduit between for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations in order to benefit communities in need worldwide. The charity takes donations from companies, including 44% of the Fortune 500, and then matches those donations to a network of 200,000+ registered charities worldwide so the specific help and material gets to where it is needed most. Your Donations Will Reach the Gulf Coast Now focused on the Katrina relief effort, Gifts In Kind has developed a coordinated donation process by assessing needs not only in areas affected by Katrina but in areas servicing evacuees. More than 30 distribution centers managed by local Gifts in Kind programs are now accepting product donations and distributing them to local agencies. So far, more than 150 truckloads of products have been distributed. NAHB members have the ability to work with Gifts in Kind not only to donate materials to the Gulf Coast region, but also locally or regionally based on need, goals of the donor company or future disasters. Gifts In Kind is seeking plumbing and electrical materials, sheet rock, roofing, insulation, 2x4 framing, doors, windows, cabinets, sinks, toilets, etc., but all building materials can be used and are being accepted. Why You Should Donate Through Gifts In Kind Not only will you be able to help others by meeting specific needs, you and your company gain positive recognition from your donation. In addition, you also could earn a tax deduction of up to twice the value of the merchandise donated. Several NAHB members, including Sears and Maytag, already are working with Gifts in Kind. However the charity can accept product donations both large and small. Also, coordinating product donations industry-wide will enable NAHB to aggregate the generosity of members and enable the federation to shine a positive light on the industry’s philanthropy. Donate Now To donate, complete Gifts In Kind’s Product Donation Agreement and fax it to Doyle Delph at Gifts In Kind at 877-798-3192. Please Note: During times of natural disaster, Gifts In Kind International requests that donors cover the shipping costs of their donated products in order to eliminate any fees involved in serving communities devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. For more information about Gifts In Kind International’s efforts, visit www.giftsinkind.org/katrina.asp or e-mail Kym Kilbourne at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8447. Are Consumers Buying Smart Growth? Let NAHB KnowThe term “smart growth” has been around for years, but there is no clear consensus on what it means. Regardless of how smart growth is defined, in the end it is the power of the marketplace that will determine the relative success of growth policies established by each local jurisdiction. In the 1990s NAHB created a task force to study land use and development issues and to establish a smart growth policy for the association. At the core of that policy are NAHB’s five smart growth principles:
NAHB is conducting a smart growth survey to learn more about what’s happening in the marketplace today. It includes questions such as: Do those in the residential construction industry believe that smart growth is a valid development concept? Is there a sense that consumers are willing to purchase ― perhaps even pay more for — housing found in what might be called “smart growth developments? What are the challenges of producing a smart growth development? To Take the Survey Let us know about smart growth where you build homes by completing the short, online survey. To take the survey, click here. For more information, e-mail Deb Bassert at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8443. NAHB Makes Year-End Review of Environmental IssuesAmong other issues of interest to builders at the top of the NAHB agenda:
Online Home Buyer Behavior RevealedOnline buyer behavior and how home buyers react to online sales and marketing — the results of a study by The Institute of Residential Marketing (IRM) and Homestore.com™ — will be discussed during a marketing session at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. The results of "IRM Research Project of the Year ― Builder and Buyer Online Behavior Revealed" will be presented from 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13 by Myers Barnes, CMP; Charles Graham, MIRM; Daniel Levitan, MIRM; and Allan Merrill, of Homestore.com™. The study was conducted to determine:
“Our objective with this study is to better understand the correlation between the usage and effectiveness of traditional offline and online media for marketing new homes in order to better educate builders on how to effectively maximize their marketing efforts,” said Stephen Feltner, president at Homebuilder.com™. “This research will provide deeper knowledge of the evolving dynamics of how consumers and home builders utilize the Internet and traditional media.” Note: Active MIRMs can get a private preview of the research project findings at the MIRM Pro-Ed on Tuesday, Jan. 10 from 3:00-6:00 p.m. For more information, e-mail MIRMinfo@nahb.com. NSMC/IRM Meet the Experts Roundtable Two “Meet the Experts” roundtable sessions will be held at IBS this year. Each will explore various marketing and sales topics, from marketing for the small-volume builder to merchandising and more. The sessions will be on:
Wednesday, Jan. 11; noon-1:30 p.m., West 340C, Level III Grill Giveaways, Education Planning at IBS Education BoothThe NAHB University of Housing will have three daily drawings for giveaways of the George Foreman Tailgater Portable Outdoor Propane Grills ― and a grand prize of a Viking 41” Ultra-Premium Gas Grill — for visitors to The NAHB University of Housing booth at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. Entry forms for the daily drawings are available at the booth. The booth is located in Hall B Lobby in the West Building, Level II, of the Orange County Convention Center. The booth will also feature all the education opportunities that the NAHB University of Housing has to offer for 2006 so members can plan their professional development for the year ahead. University of Housing Booth Hours
Members also are invited to share their stories about how NAHB education programs have benefited them. Stories can be about a conference or course they’ve attended, how their designation has helped them or other ways members have benefited from NAHB education programs. Members can also e-mail their education stories to Amy Spizler at NAHB. Please include your phone number or e-mail address and conference or designation so a University of Housing staff member can contact your for more information. Learn More Before: Pre-Show Education at IBSThe NAHB University of Housing will offer a choice of 20 in-depth educational opportunities for builders, remodelors and sales and marketing staff Jan. 7-10 before The International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Orlando. Pre-show courses about marketing, sales, design, safety, effectively managing your business, the 50-plus market and more will be offered. For builders and remodelers considering the Certified Graduate Builder (CGB) or Certified Graduate Remodelor™ (CGR) designation programs, introductory BAR and PREP assessments that measure business strengths and weaknesses will be offered prior to the builders' show. A sample of the pre-show classes being offered follows. The pre-show courses require a separate registration fee. For the complete listing and to register, click here or visit www.buildersshow.com.
Whether you’re new to the industry, hope to make your next career move or want to improve your company’s bottom line, The NAHB University of Housing can assist you in your educational pursuits. Visit www.nahb.org/education for a comprehensive listing of courses throughout the country. Be sure to visit often in order to view the most up-to-date information in your area.
Subscribe Your Employees to Nation’s Building News — and Earn a Chance to Win Digital Camera Subscribe your employees to Nation’s Building News Online. It’s free, easy and NAHB members who sign up three or more employees will be entered into the "Make Your Business Click" contest to win a digital camera. To learn more or sign up your employees, click here.
Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB. Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Log In" button to get started. Once you log in, personalize the site to reflect your interests. Simply go to the My NAHB>My Profile page and click the “Edit Content Preferences” link. To learn more about how you can customize My NAHB — including how to customize the links that appear on the Home page ― visit the How to Use www.nahb.org section. Education Calendar
Whether you’re new to the industry, hope to make your next career move or want to improve your company’s bottom line, The NAHB University of Housing can assist you in your educational pursuits. Visit www.nahb.org/education for a comprehensive listing of courses throughout the country. Be sure to visit often in order to view the most up-to-date information in your area.
Subscribe Your Employees to Nation’s Building News — and Earn a Chance to Win Digital Camera Subscribe your employees to Nation’s Building News Online. It’s free, easy and NAHB members who sign up three or more employees will be entered into the "Make Your Business Click" contest to win a digital camera. To learn more or sign up your employees, click here.
Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB. Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Log In" button to get started. Once you log in, personalize the site to reflect your interests. Simply go to the My NAHB>My Profile page and click the “Edit Content Preferences” link. To learn more about how you can customize My NAHB — including how to customize the links that appear on the Home page ― visit the How to Use www.nahb.org section. Guidelines an Alternative for State, Local ‘Green’ MandatesAs policy makers increasingly consider mandating green home building techniques through regulation and legislation, state and local home builders associations can use NAHB’s Voluntary Model Green Home Building Guidelines to establish their own programs. The guidelines can serve as an especially advantageous alternative in areas where local regulators have shown an interest in the U.S. Green Building Council's costly LEED For Homes rating system. The voluntary guidelines are designed to move environmentally friendly home building concepts further into the mainstream marketplace. Currently, roughly 30 communities in the country have established or are developing green home building programs. In response to requests from NAHB members for technical guidance on new green building policy, NAHB delegated the NAHB Research Center to develop guidelines that would help facilitate the adoption of green home building practices and the creation of more local green building programs. The guidelines cover six primary areas:
Each section of the guidelines contains provisions explaining how builders can incorporate green building concepts in their projects. In addition, local builders and green building program developers can use the guidelines to score projects by establishing a point-system for the provisions. A user guide for home builders associations provides additional information and guidance on ways to customize the guidelines to accommodate local conditions. The free guidelines can be downloaded from www.nahb.org/gbg or www.nahbrc.org/greenguidelines. For more information about the guidelines, e-mail John Loyer at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8303. For more information about green legislation, contact Gerry Keegan, x8326.
‘Profit from Green Building’ Available at BuilderBooks.com “Profit from Building Green — Award-Winning Tips to Build Energy Efficient Homes,” available through BuilderBooks.com, provides specific examples and tried-and-true techniques to create successful green building practices. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665. Online Survey to Assess Use of Green Building Material
If you do, a research team at the University of California, Santa Barbara could use your help. Graduate students at the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management are studying the use of green innovations in the building industry and conducting a simple, 15-minute online survey of building industry professionals about their perceptions of alternative building materials. The survey focuses on residential housing and a new potential building material — a block made entirely of compressed straw. The survey is being used to try to understand:
All home builders, regardless of whether they have experience with alternative or green materials, are invited to participate. All participants will be entered in a drawing to win a $50 Visa gift card. All survey respondents and responses will remain anonymous. To Take the Survey To start the survey, follow this link. The survey results will supplement a larger report on the use of green building materials in the home building industry. A summary of the survey results will be published in an upcoming issue of Nation’s Building News. For more information, e-mail the University of California, Santa Barbara research team.
Plan now to attend the 2006 National Green Building Conference, March 12-14 in Albuquerque, N.M. — the only national conference targeted to "green building" for the mainstream residential building industry. The high caliber education programs will give you a chance to network with other green-minded builders from all around the country as well as meet with exhibitors with products to help you build a better home. For more information, click here.
‘Green Building Products’ Available at BuilderBooks.com “Green Building Products: The GreenSpec Guide to Residential Building Materials,”available through BuilderBooks.com, provides descriptions and manufacturer contact information for more than 1,400 environmentally preferable products and materials for ag-fiber panels to zero VOC paints. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665. Pontiac, Michigan Final Stop on Job Site ToursStudents at Oak Park and Dakota High Schools at one of the Lighthouse of Oakland County affordable housing developments in Pontiac, Mich. Members of the Building Industry Association of Southeastern Michigan joined the students participating in the Freddie Mac-sponsored event. The day began with a briefing by Roger Saylor, project manager with Saylor Building Company, and Kyle Westberg, president of West Construction Services, on the construction sites and the renovation efforts on the day’s itinerary. “It’s so important to connect our current builder members with the next generation of industry leaders” said Sam Kreis, president of Kreis Financial Services. “Events like this bring us all together.” Following the tour, Rich Kligman, president of Superb Custom Homes, and Michael Tobin, president of Mike Building Company, spoke to the group about careers in residential construction. “There are countless job opportunities in this industry” said Kligman, “And if you are willing to put in the time, energy and hard work, you are likely to make a very successful and rewarding career for yourself.” “Day at the Job Site” tours reached more than 300 NAHB Student Chapter members in all from 11 high schools in Colonial Heights, Va.; Pittsburgh; Juneau, Alaska; Sun Valley, Idaho; and Pontiac. For more information on NAHB Student Chapters, e-mail Page Browning or call her at 800-795-7955 x8918. Superintendent Training Key to Customer SatisfactionIn the recently published “2005 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study,” J.D. Power and Associates reports that it has found a direct connection between the quality of site or field superintendents and consumers’ overall satisfaction with their homes. Realizing that differentiating themselves from their competition can best be achieved by excelling in customer service, production builders, in particular, have been putting more effort into communicating with their buyers throughout the building process, a responsibility that falls largely to superintendents. Builders of all sizes have been joining this trend. As part of its Residential Construction Academy (RCA), HBI has developed a comprehensive series of training courses especially for superintendents. The Residential Construction Superintendent (RCS) designation program has trained more than 3,500 industry professionals since its inception in 2002. The curriculum focuses on eight areas of study that have been identified by NAHB members as being most critical to the construction process: General Project Management; Planning and Scheduling; Budget Management and Cost Control; Safety and Security; Codes and Quality Control; Hiring, Training and Supervision; Office and Subcontractor Relations; and Customer Service and Home Owner Relations. Those who complete the entire eight course curriculum receive the Residential Construction Superintendent designation. While the designation courses are available in partnership with local home builders associations across the country and throughout the year, HBI will offer a special free introductory session entitled “The Site’s Point Person — Eight Tips for Super Success” at the 2006 International Builders' Show (IBS). The session will take place on Friday, Jan. 13, at 1:30-3:00 p.m., in the Orange County Convention Center, Room 300/Lecture Hall. Veteran instructors in the series — Paul Mashburn, CAPS, CGB, president, Viking Builders, Inc.; Mike Weiss, CGR, CGB, GMB, CAPS, RCS of Weiss and Company LLC; and Beverly Koehn, MIRM, CMP, GMB, CAPS, CGA of Beverly Koehn and Associates — will speak briefly about the value of each course and answer questions from the audience. Nearly 200 participants attended a similar session at last year’s show. For more information on the RCS designation, e-mail Joseph Krinock at HBI, or call him at 800-795-7955 x8928. Job Site Radio, CD and Power Center EnhancedBosch Power Tools and Accessories is a division of the $1 billion Robert Bosch Tool Corporation, which is a member of the National Council of the Housing Industry — The Supplier 100 of NAHB. New features in the Bosch Power Box Advanced (PB10-CD) include a multi-function keychain remote control, enhanced sound and improved reception. The product features a four-way GFCI power outlet, integrated Bosch battery charger, 12-volt outlet that can charge cell phones and two-way radios, AM/FM digital radio, CD player and auxiliary jack for MP3 players or the new dock for iPod. The new multi-function remote control fits into either side of the handle. Controls include: volume, radio channel, CD player, mute function and on-or-off power. The ergonomic design of the box enables it to be used easily with one hand or a gloved hand. A new 180-degree flexible rubber antenna has been added for work areas where there is poor reception and the tuner has been improved. Enhancing the sound are a more powerful amplifier, premium speakers, individual bass and treble controls, expanded volume controls from 0 to 20 and improved anti-skip technology. The box’s built-in outlet and battery charging chamber handles any Bosch 12, 14.4, 18 and 24-volt battery, including the new BLUECORE line. An aluminum roll cage makes the box durable, and sealed buttons, speakers, battery chamber and CD player ensure protection from the elements. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the box is $179.99. This feature is solely for educational and informational purposes. Nothing on this page should be construed as policy, an endorsement, warranty or guaranty by the National Association of Home Builders of the featured product or the product manufacturer. The National Association of Home Builders expressly disclaims any responsibility for any damages arising from the use, application or reliance on any information contained on this page. NAHB Programs on HGTV & DIY This WeekNAHB-produced television shows for consumers on HGTV and DIY: "I Want That" on HGTV
"Dream Builders" on HGTV
"Rock Solid" on DIY
"Assembly Required" on DIY
The NAHB Production Group is a full-service, self-contained, media production unit creating programming for cable television, broadcast television, non-profit, museum and corporate clients. Productions range from magazine format shows for general audiences to museum-installation videos for specialized use. The production group includes award winning journalists, writers and photographers with experience in broadcast, documentary and corporate television.
Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB. Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Log In" button to get started. Once you log in, personalize the site to reflect your interests. Simply go to the My NAHB>My Profile page and click the “Edit Content Preferences” link. To learn more about how you can customize My NAHB — including how to customize the links that appear on the Home page ― visit the How to Use www.nahb.org section. New Grants for College Scholarships, Students at IBSThe NAHB Past Presidents Council and the National Housing Endowment, the philanthropic arm of NAHB, have approved $105,700 to fund student scholarships and student attendance at the 2006 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. Jan 11-14. The grants were awarded to 49 home builders associations through the NAHB Past Presidents/National Housing Endowment Matching Funds Program established earlier this year. The program is coordinated by the Home Builders Institute, the workforce development arm of NAHB. After the funds are matched by the grant recipient associations, a total of $211,400 will be distributed for scholarship tuition or for tuition to send students to the builders show through the program. The new grant program is part of NAHB’s ongoing efforts to support construction education by reaching out to students across the country. Association recipients include:
For more information, visit the National Housing Endowment Web site at www.nationalhousingendowment.org. NAHB Members, Board to Meet in Orlando at Builders' Show
Notice of Annual Meeting of
The annual meeting of members of the National Association of Home Builders will take place on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006 in the Valencia A-C Rooms, Level 4 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., for the purpose of electing directors and state representatives, and other matters as may come before the meeting.
Official Meeting Notice of
The exact times and places of the scheduled meetings below will be listed in the program for the IBS. Sunday, Jan. 8 Subcommittees, Task Forces, and Working Groups
Monday, Jan. 9 Committees and Councils Meetings
Tuesday, Jan. 10 Committees and Councils Meetings
Wednesday, Jan. 11 Opening Ceremonies
Thursday, Jan. 12 Joint 2005 Executive Board, Budget & Resolutions Committee
Friday, Jan. 13 2005 Board of Directors Meeting
Saturday, Jan. 14 Educational Programs Your NAHB Membership Can Take You for a Great RideNAHB’s exclusive automotive partner, General Motors, offers eligible NAHB members preferred supplier pricing through Jan. 3. Most 2005 and 2006 model year vehicles from Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Saturn, HUMMER and Saab are included. See www.gmfleet.com/nahb for complete details. In addition, members can realize the benefits of other offers such as eligible customer cash and the GM Business Choice Program — stacking up to an even better value. The 2006 GM Business Choice program is available to qualified commercial customers requiring the use of work-type vehicles for daily business operations. Available on most Chevy and GMC commercial trucks and vans, Business Choice allows customers to the option that works best for them:
Other Member Advantage Discounts For the most up-to-date details on the Member Advantage discount program and all of the participating companies, go to www.nahb.org/ma.
Subscribe your employees to Nation’s Building News Online. It’s free, easy and NAHB members who sign up three or more employees will be entered into the "Make Your Business Click" contest to win a digital camera. To learn more or sign up your employees, click here.
Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB. Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Log In" button to get started. Once you log in, personalize the site to reflect your interests. Simply go to the My NAHB>My Profile page and click the “Edit Content Preferences” link. To learn more about how you can customize My NAHB — including how to customize the links that appear on the Home page ― visit the How to Use www.nahb.org section. Visit BuilderBooks Store at IBS for Books, Savings, Giveaways, MoreThe BuilderBooks Bookstore at the 2006 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. will be offering books, savings and giveaways. The bookstore will be located in the C Hall Lobby West Building of the Orange County Convention Center. Hundreds of essential publications, including several new titles to help you build your business, will be available. Stop by for special show discounts and offers, including a free gift with every purchase. Grab BuilderBucks at MoneyMania Stop by the BuilderBooks Booskstore and enter the BuilderBooks MoneyMania Giveaway for a chance to step into the BuilderBooks money machine to grab some BuilderBucks.
Note: This year, BuilderBooks.com has added a satellite bookstore in the South Hall. The satellite bookstore is open during show hours. Feds Ask for Help Preparing for Possible Flu PandemicThe U.S. departments of Health and Human Services, Commerce and Homeland Security have asked NAHB and other trades associations to ensure that the nation’s employers have the best tools and information at their disposal about a possible outbreak of influenza virus (H5N1) ), commonly known as the “bird flu,” so that businesses can protect employees and maintain business operations. NAHB has been asked to help inform its member companies about the new Web site: www.pandemicflu.gov, and to share the Business Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist. The dedicated Web site posts the latest information about the bird flu and includes updates on federal planning initiatives, vaccine and other research, state and local activities, and health and safety guidance. The federal government stressed that this is a precautionary measure and noted that bird flue has not mutated to transmit from human-to-human. Congress has allocated $7 billion for preparedness planning that involves 20 federal departments and agencies. Further, plans are progressing for summits in all 50 states that are being coordinated by each state governor’s office. The first summit was held on Dec. 14 in Minnesota, with more planned after the first of the year. Business and trade associations are encouraged to participate in the state summits, evaluate their preparedness using the Business Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist and visit www.pandemicflu.gov for frequent updates. NAHB will link to this information on www.nahb.org. BuilderBooks.com Has Gift Ideas — and Holiday SavingsJust in the nick of time for season giving, the first 100 online holiday shoppers who spend $250 or more at BuilderBooks.com will receive a $25 gift card that can be used on their next purchase. BuilderBooks.com offers a variety of merchandise and design idea books appropriate for gift-giving:
On the check-out page under ''How did you hear about the product,'' select ''Other'' and enter the code ''BB25GFT'' in the field. The offer ends on Dec. 31. The gift card will be mailed 30 days after purchase and will not be issued for returned items. Calendar of Events
To view more meetings and events information on the NAHB Web site, click here.
Subscribe your employees to Nation’s Building News Online. It’s free, easy and NAHB members who sign up three or more employees will be entered into the "Make Your Business Click" contest to win a digital camera. To learn more or sign up your employees, click here.
Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB. Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Log In" button to get started. Once you log in, personalize the site to reflect your interests. Simply go to the My NAHB>My Profile page and click the “Edit Content Preferences” link. To learn more about how you can customize My NAHB — including how to customize the links that appear on the Home page ― visit the How to Use www.nahb.org section. |