Nation's Building News Online: February 20, 2006

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Zero-Down FHA Loans Again Proposed in 2007 Budget

Unveiling an austere budget that proposes to cut non-defense discretionary spending for the second straight year, President Bush on Feb. 6 delivered his $2.77 trillion fiscal 2007 budget proposal to the Congress.

The White House is proposing saving $65 billion over five years by slowing the growth of entitlement spending and saving an additional $20 billion by eliminating or largely reducing more than 140 government programs.

While the President’s budget recommends spending levels for the next fiscal year, it is not legally binding. Congressional appropriators will have the final say in program realignment and spending levels.

Zero Downpayment Mortgage Program

The Administration is once again proposing a zero downpayment mortgage insurance program, which was originally announced by FHA Commissioner John Weicher during the 2004 International Builders’ Show, but which was not acted upon by Congress.

The program would be aimed at serving first-time home buyers who have good credit, but who lack funds to pay downpayment and closing costs. In last year’s fiscal 2006 budget, the Administration estimated that this program would help 200,000 borrowers achieve homeownership.

A version of this program was proposed in 2005 as a pilot program limited to 50,000 loan applicants. However, the proposal was not acted upon by either the House or Senate.

In addition, the fiscal 2007 budget blueprint proposes a “payment incentives” sub-prime mortgage program that would be targeted to serve families with “limited or weak credit histories.” The program would assist first-time home buyers. Loans insured under this plan would bear higher than standard mortgage insurance premiums, which would decrease after the borrower established a record of timely payment.

Community Development Block Grants

The Administration requested $33.6 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a decrease of $1 billion or roughly 2% from the fiscal 2006 spending plan.

The plan calls for another “consolidation” of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program for this year, but unlike last year, the Administration is proposing that it remain at HUD. The consolidation would eliminate the Brownfields and Economic Development Initiative, the Rural Housing and Economic Development program and the Section 108 Loan Guarantee program.

The budget would cut the CDBG program by 27%, from $4.1 billion to $3 billion. The grants provide affordable housing and supportive services to families with low to moderate incomes.

The HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the largest federal block grant program dedicated to creating affordable housing for low-income families, would receive $1.7 billion in fiscal 2007, an increase of $123 million from the previous year.

The White House is proposing a total of $15.9 billion for the Section 8 housing voucher program, an increase of about $346 million over the previous fiscal year. Of the $15.9 billion, $14.4 billion would be directed to the Section 8 voucher renewals. Project-based rental assistance would rise to $5.5 billion from $4.9 billion, up 12%.

In other areas of interest to housing, the President’s budget plan:

• Calls for reform of the housing government-sponsored enterprises, and the creation of a new, strong, independent regulatory agency to oversee Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.
  
  
• Proposes implementing a risk-based mortgage insurance premium for FHA borrowers, although no details of the White House plan are included.
  
  
• Eliminates funding for the Hope VI program.
  
  
• Increases the mortgage insurance premium on some of the key FHA multifamily programs, perhaps up to 32 basis points, with the premium capped at 80 basis points.
  
  
• Eliminates the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) program.
  
  
• Fails, after five straight years, to request the creation of a homeownership tax credit.
  
  
• Slashes funding for the Section 502 Guaranteed Rural Housing Loan program to $7 million, from $41 million in fiscal 2006. The subsidy rate for home purchases would increase from 1.16% to 1.21%.
  
  
• Abolishes the Section 515 Multifamily Rural Rental Housing Direct Loan program.
  
  
• Rescinds the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Grant program.
  
  
• Establishes funding for endangered species listings and critical habitat designations at $17.7 million, up $129,000 over the previous fiscal year.
  
  
• Reduces Job Corps funding to $1.5 billion, down approximately $15 million from fiscal year 2006.
  
  
• Transfers the YouthBuild program from HUD to the Department of Labor, and funds the program at $50 million.
  
  
• Offers no recommendations on tax simplification, although the budget praises the work of the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform and the report it used in November as a foundation for a national discussion on tax reform. The budget simply states that the Treasury Department will study tax reform.

NAHB continues to analyze the President’s budget package, and will be working with congressional appropriators as they craft the FY 2007 spending bills.

Given the spartan budget presented to Capitol Hill, the scores of key programs that have been cut or eliminated and the number of lawmakers who have already voiced concerns over the President’s budget, the ensuing appropriations process is likely to be drawn out and contentious.

For more information, e-mail Jenna Morgan Hamilton at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8407.

Lumber Tariffs Remain a Barrier to Affordable Housing

Stating that unwarranted lumber tariffs needlessly harm housing affordability and impose a hidden tax on American home buyers, the nation’s home builders last week called on the Administration and Congress to adopt and follow free trade policies and to fully consider the impact of lumber trade constraints on American consumers.

The cost and supply of lumber is the third biggest challenge for association members, according to the most recent Critical Issues survey conducted by NAHB, covering the period of October 2004 through December 2005.

In testimony on behalf of NAHB on Feb. 14, Barry Rutenberg, president of Gainesville, Fla-based Barry Rutenberg Homes and a member of the NAHB Executive Board and NAHB Board of Directors, told the Senate Trade, Tourism and Economic Development Subcommittee that trade restraints impose an unreasonable burden on U.S. home buyers and on the industries that depend on adequate, affordable supplies of lumber to provide the housing, home improvements and other vital goods and services the nation needs.

Rutenberg said that lumber trade barriers “boost housing costs, prevent scores of families from qualifying for a mortgage, increase inflation and place U.S. manufacturers of value-added wood products at a competitive disadvantage.”

Duties on Canadian softwood lumber imported into the U.S. are currently being collected at a rate of approximately 10%, down from a recent high of 27%. However, unanimous verdicts by several North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panels have found no threat of injury from Canadian imports, which is the legal justification required for the duties to be imposed.

Rutenberg called on the Administration to adhere to its legal obligations and follow decisions that have invalidated the lumber duties and stipulated that the U.S. Customs Service must refund the billions of dollars collected from Canada.

“The fact is,” he said, “more U.S. jobs depend on lumber than produce lumber. Housing and related industries that use softwood lumber employ more than 5 million American workers. Overall, American workers in lumber-dependent jobs outnumber workers in lumber-producing industries by more than 25-to-1.”

Restrictions on Canadian softwood lumber do little or nothing to increase the use of U.S.-produced lumber in home construction because the vast majority of the domestic timber supply is unsuitable for framing walls in homes, Rutenberg told lawmakers. Further elaborating, he said that Canada’s spruce and white pine is a different species that is far better suited for wall framing because it is less likely to bend, crack or warp.

“I would not use Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) for framing walls in the homes I build, even it costs half as much as Canadian Spruce Pine Fir,” said Rutenberg. “SYP, the variety found in the Southeast, is better suited for use as floor joists, rafters or truss components. As a home builder, I can tell you that different types of lumber for house framing are not interchangeable, and one wood product cannot be substituted for another without significantly harming the quality for U.S. consumers.”

Because there are not enough trees available in the U.S. to produce the lumber needed for home building, Canadian lumber imports are absolutely vital for the construction of affordable new homes and to make improvements on existing homes in America, he said.

“Therefore, current lumber duties, and any potential negotiated settlement that would result in quotas, tariffs or an export tax, would do nothing to increase the use of U.S. lumber in home construction,” said Rutenberg. “Lumber trade restraints only serve to penalize and tax American home buyers and consumers. U.S. policy with regard to this issue should reflect the interests of consumers and the overall economy, not the special interests of the domestic lumber lobby.”

For more information, e-mail Michael Strauss at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8252.

Leveling Off Seen for Housing Appreciation

People buying a house in California should expect to see little or no price appreciation over the next five years, according to Christopher Thornberg, the senior economist for UCLA’s Anderson Forecast. While not predicting a sudden collapse in home prices or sales, Thornberg observed that “it looks like the beginning of the end” of the housing boom that has helped sustain the U.S. economy for the past five years. The typical household in California saw an average increase in their property value of $80,000 last year, he said. The housing cool down won’t precipitate a recession, he said, because even if construction jobs were to drop by 20%, they would represent 5% of the state’s employment base and other sectors are generating jobs. Sharon Hanley, who publishes a weekly report on housing sales in San Diego County, said that 89 single-family homes were sold and 30 sales were canceled for the week ending Feb.5. That represents a 33.7% cancellation rate, compared to 10.9% the same week two years ago, when the area was near the peak of the boom. However, some builders and real estate agents have been reporting a faster sales pace since the beginning of the year. (www.signonsandiego.com)
San Diego Union-Tribune (2/17/06); Roger M. Showley

U.S. Real Estate Foreclosures Soar 45% in January

RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, reported that about 103,540 properties across the country had entered some stage of foreclosure in January, up 27% from the previous month and a 45% increase from a year earlier. RealtyTrac’s monthly survey found one new foreclosure for every 422 households in Georgia, the highest rate among the 50 states; followed by Nevada, with one foreclosure for every 483 households; and Colorado, with one for every 488 households. Texas and Indiana rounded out the top five. Along with Texas and Georgia, the five states reporting the most new foreclosures in January included California, Florida and Ohio. California reported 9,354 properties entering some form of foreclosure, an increase of 22% from the previous month and 62% from a year earlier, and the third highest level in the country, but the state’s foreclosure rate still fell below the national average. (www.inman.com)
Inman News (2/21/06)

Running Dry? Maryland’s Growth Could Threaten Water Supplies

Mount Airy and two other growing towns in Carroll and Frederick counties in Maryland have been forced to curtail development — either voluntarily or under orders from the state — because their growth was outstripping their water supplies. In a state where annual precipitation ranges from 36 inches out west to 46 inches in the east, water is becoming a critical issue because the state’s population grew 35% from 1970 to 2000 and is projected to gain another 1.1 million people, a growth rate of 20%, over the next 25 years. Statewide, nearly 1.5 billion gallons of fresh water are withdrawn daily from streams, reservoirs and wells to provide drinking water, irrigate farms, generate power and run factories. By 2030, demand for water could grow by 16%, an extra 233 million gallons a day. (www.baltimoresun.com)
Baltimore Sun (2/5/06); Timothy B. Wheeler

Clouds Over Condos: Are Stormy Times Ahead?

While the downtown condo markets in Boston, Atlanta, Minneapolis, San Diego and Sarasota, Fla. all had strong overall sales last year, their resale markets are showing signs of struggle. Developers of intown condos in Atlanta have dropped the median size 12% to 972 square feet and are offering incentives to drive sales. In Boston, condo resales in last year’s fourth quarter fell 30% from a year earlier. New owners in a condo-conversion in East Boston were offered $1,000 gift certificates to Ikea for finding buyers for any remaining units. In Minneapolis, where the downtown population has increased by a third to 30,300 since 2000, 1,326 units were sold last year, up from 557 the year before; but the market has slowed, with only four sales of existing apartments in January, compared with 27 the same month a year earlier. In San Diego, in the fourth quarter of 2005 the median price per square foot for downtown condos fell 0.2% from a year earlier, to $517, and the city saw an 82% rise in the inventory of existing condos last year as speculators stopped buying. Still, the downtown population has grown from about 12,000 to 30,000 since 2001. In Sarasota, with a population of 55,000, more than a dozen condo projects have been built since 2001 and there are as many units under construction now as have been completed in the past six years. There are about 263 condos on the market and there were six resales in January, down from 14 a year earlier. (www.realestatejournal.com)
RealEstateJournal.com (2/13/06); Amir Efrati, Wall Street Journal Online

Is Your Garage Begging for Attention?

Garages aren’t being used strictly for cars anymore, but as a catchall for whatever can’t be squeezed into the home, especially in states like Florida where most homes don’t have basements or attics. The “Harley” garage created for this year’s New American Home by Orlando, Fla. builder Alex Hannigan is separate from the house’s standard three-car garage and was envisioned as a space where the home owner could park his Harley and hang out with his buddies in front of a flat-screen TV without ever going inside. There is an attached half bath with an automatic-flush urinal, stucco walls for a finished look, Harley-logo cornices over the windows and a metal refrigerator. The space is furnished with the Gladiator GarageWorks system by Whirlpool, which includes wall storage options, workbenches, tool and gear storage, floor covering and even appliances in a hammered-metal look. (www.orlandosentinel.com)
Orlando Sentinel (2/5/06); Carrie Alexander

Chestnut Lodge Plan Gets Green Light

A $45 million project by Bethesda, Md. developer Morton H. Levine to transform the grounds of the defunct Chestnut Lodge psychiatric hospital in Rockville into 43 houses and condominiums selling for at least $1 million each has received approval from the Rockville City Council and is headed to the planning commission. The property’s main building, which was built in the late 1800s as a hotel, will be restored to its former grandeur and house seven luxury condos. Two cottages, an ice house and an old red barn are also being restored. Thirty-six Victorian-style homes will be built on the rest of the property, some with elevators. (www.washingtonpost.com)
Washington Post (2/9/06); Michael S. Rosenwald

Letters to the Builder's Engineer: What's Rude

Dear Tim:

Regarding “Wanna Know What’s Rude?” (Builder’s Engineer, 3/2/06), “There are two things that happen all the time in business that really chap my hide…not returning phone calls or e-mails and making me wait.”: Man, you hit the nail on the head (sorry for the builder pun). Those things make me furious. If I know I’m running late to a meeting, I call to let them know, even if it’s only five minutes, and apologize profusely.

Taking NUMEROUS phone calls during a meeting is Rude Infraction Number Three for me.

If my cell phone goes off on a job site, during a client or builder meeting, I make it a point to hit the button to forward that call, and then make sure the client sees me turn the thing off. This gives the unspoken message that they are the most important person to you at that moment. It’s also usually a good thing to tell the folks at the office that you will be in a meeting from 2:00-3:00 so they don’t panic. You’ll get back to them right after that.

I’ve been in meetings with clients and builders who continue to take call after call in the middle of your one-hour, packed-agenda meeting. It makes you feel angry and insulted. I used to let it upset me, but I have recently adopted a “three-strikes, you’re out” policy. After the third call, I will usually say, “It seems that this is a bad time for us. You really have so much going on right now. Can we reschedule at a time that would be more convenient for both of us, when we can focus on this particular issue?” It’s a scary thing to do sometimes, usually when you are in a sales meeting trying to win a new client. But if you can’t get them to respect you and your time from the beginning, then it will probably be a pretty bumpy ride if you take their business.

I have a personal cell-phone pet peeve over those in-ear phones that people wear all the time. You’ll be in the middle of a conversation, and they start to babble something incoherent at you, and then you figure out that they have taken a call and are talking to someone else, while standing there looking at you! They don’t announce the call, or excuse themselves. I guess they are So Very Important that they don’t have to follow any rules of common etiquette. Sorry, Now I am just ranting.

Ernie Chartier, CCPD, Residential Systems Consultant
Acoustical Design, LLC
Columbia, S.C.

Dear Tim:

Read your columns today for the first time. They were great and very appropriate in today’s society. Thanks.

The Professional Engineer I deal with always makes me wait. He’s a great guy and does great work, but I have no idea where he buys his clocks or calendars because he is always late. One day on purpose I showed up for a meeting 15 minutes late. When I walked in the door, I promptly apologized for my tardiness, saying “15 minutes late is as engineer-ish as I get.” The ladies up front thought it was funny, but I still don’t think Sam got it.

Wade Williams
Quality Precast Company
Brandon, Fla.

Dear Tim:

You forgot Rude Infraction Number Three, which to my mind, is the absolute worst of the worst.

Don't ask me "how are you?" and then not wait for an answer, or even worse, ignore my answer. If you don't really care about how I am, don't ask.

I used to find myself asking everyone how they were, and realized one day that I didn't even know how they responded when a very good friend replied that she was in the middle of a crisis and I only heard half of what she said. It only takes a moment to greet friends and customers alike with a kind "good morning" or "hello.” LISTEN to their response. It may even help make your meeting with them more enjoyable.

Kim Hefner
Home Federal Bank
Sioux Falls, S.D.

Bill Would Give Property Owners Their Day in Court

Answering an ongoing concern of the nation’s home builders, bipartisan legislation introduced on Feb. 16 by Reps. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) and Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) would restore the protections offered under the Fifth Amendment to property owners.

“H.R. 4772, the ‘Private Property Rights Implementation Act of 2006,’ is designed to ensure that property owners get their day in federal court to defend their Fifth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution, which provides that no person shall ‘be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation,’” said NAHB President David Pressly.

Property owners with a takings claim now face a Catch 22. Under the current legal system, before a federal court will rule on a Fifth Amendment takings claim, property owners must first litigate their case in state court. However, bringing the case to state court and having a takings claim heard (even under state law) often precludes the property owner from review by the federal courts.

“A property owner is, in effect, blocked from using the federal courts to enforce the Fifth Amendment’s just compensation guarantee,” said Pressly. “As a result, property owners throw up their hands and give up without ever getting a fair hearing in federal court.”

By contrast, all other civil rights cases can be brought directly to federal court. To illustrate the disparity now facing property owners, an adult book store owner who challenges a municipal land-use regulation based on the First Amendment’s free speech protection has direct access to federal court, while a property owner challenging the same regulation but raising a Fifth Amendment takings claim does not.

“This bill would finally put the Fifth Amendment back on par with the rest of the Bill of Rights,” said Pressly. “Congress has passed laws to ensure that citizens alleging a violation of their constitutionally protected rights have access to federal courts. Fifth Amendment takings cases should be treated no differently.

“The nation’s home builders commend Reps. Chabot and Gordon for introducing this much-needed  bill to ensure that property owners have the same access to federal courts as other plaintiffs claiming a violation of their constitutional rights,” he added.

Joining as original cosponsors are House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and Reps. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Allen Boyd (D-Fla.), Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) and Richard Pombo (R-Calif.).

To read the legislation, click here and enter H.R. 4772 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.

2006 State Races Could Changes Political Landscape

Mid-term elections this year for 46 state legislatures and 36 governorships may provide a better gauge of voter sentiment on the direction of the country than races in the U.S. Congress, where all 435 House seats and 33 seats in the Senate will be up for grabs.

The Republicans currently hold a majority of 28 to 22 in the governor’s mansions, but 22 of their seats will be contested compared to only 14 of the seats held by Democrats. Even more of a challenge for the GOP, in all but one of the nine open races where there will be no incumbent in the running, the vacancy for the governorship is being created by a Republican.

2006 will mark the departure of such political stalwarts as Florida Governor Jeb Bush, New York Governor George Pataki, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

A noteworthy trend among state governments, no matter their party affiliation, is increasing independence from federal legislators on such issues as Hurricane Katrina, stem cell research, No Child Left Behind, prescription drug costs, the use of the National Guard and the national debt.

After more than a decade of GOP domination over the state capitols, the balance of power could be headed back this year to a more even split. In the 1990s, Republicans made huge strides in large states like Texas, Georgia and Florida, while scoring success in traditional Democratic states like Connecticut, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Hawaii.

Democrats are facing difficult gubernatorial contests in Michigan and Wisconsin this year, but states where the Republicans are vulnerable include New York, Massachusetts, Ohio and California. Even current Republican Governors Association Chairman Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) has conceded that the numbers are not in the GOP’s favor.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the top challenges for the states this year include: planning for emergencies, closing the energy gap, tax and spending limits, eminent domain, funding for education, immigration and stem cell research.

For a copy of NAHB’s State & Local Political Operation’s “2006 State Political Outlook Report,” click here.

For more information on state political races, e-mail Ashley Feaster or Carlos Gutierrez at NAHB, or call them at 800-368-5242, x8126 and x8242, respectively.

Record January Warmth Heats Up Housing Starts

A temporary sag in interest rates and the nation’s warmest January on record pushed up new home construction for the month by 14.5%, the U.S. Commerce Department reported last Thursday.

The January pace of new-home construction rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.276 million units, 4% above the pace of a year earlier and the highest since 1973.

Single-family housing starts rose 12.8% to a record pace of 1.819 million units in January, which was 2.8% higher than January 2005.

“Builders apparently took advantage of the good weather and low interest rates in January to pick up the pace of production after a cold and wet December,” said NAHB President David Pressly.

“The January surge in housing starts was mainly weather-related,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “Market fundamentals suggest that this pace of activity will be hard to sustain, and NAHB’s survey of single-family builders points toward some cooling down in coming months, largely because of eroding affordability conditions.”

Multifamily housing starts rose 21.9% in January to a seasonally adjusted 457,000-unit annual rate, up 9.1% over the same month a year earlier. “Our surveys of multifamily builders show that the rental market is firming up to some degree, with declining vacancies and rising rents,” said Seiders.

All four regions reported strong increases in housing starts for the month. Construction of new homes and apartments rose 29.2% in the Northeast, 23.7% in the Midwest, 16.9% in the West and 8.7% in the South.

Issuance of total building permits increased 6.8% to a seasonably adjusted rate of 2.217 million units last month. Single-family permits were up 2.4%, reaching a pace of 1.685 million units, and multifamily permits surged 23.7% to 532,000 units.

Want to Know the Housing Starts Through 2014?

Find out in HousingEconomics.com’s Long-Term Forecast. HousingEconomics.com includes downloadable Excel tables featuring the housing starts forecast, GDP, demographics and more.

To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com.

Give your economic perspective on NAHB's new economics blog, “Seiders on Housing,” an informal Internet-based discussion forum dealing with topical economic issues, housing trends, survey research and other topics affecting the housing sector of the economy.

Log onto the blog at http://nahbblog.blogs.com and get direct access to NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders' expert opinions, projections and responses.

Attend the Spring Construction Forecast Conference in April

Plan to attend NAHB's Spring Construction Forecast Conference on April 27 at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. The conference brings together the nation's premier housing economists and finance experts for an in-depth look at the economic outlook for the housing industry.

For information or to register, visit www.nahb.org/cfc. 

Builders Find Confidence in Cooler Housing Market

Conditions in the nation’s single-family housing market have remained unchanged in February, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which registered 57 for the third consecutive month.

“After several record-breaking years for home sales, builders are anticipating a return of the market to a healthy and steady pace,” said NAHB President David Pressly.

Any number above 50 on the index indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor in their markets.

“This is definitely a good sign that the housing market is stabilizing,” agreed NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “The HMI fell significantly during the second half of 2005 as eroding affordability conditions affected home sales and builder sentiment, and the recent stabilization is consistent with the orderly cooling-down process that NAHB has been forecasting.”

Seiders, however, noted some significant regional variations in builder perceptions of housing market conditions. “In particular,” he said, “responses from builders in the West reflected much improved weather conditions in that region, accounting for a significant rebound in the area’s HMI score. By contrast, the Midwest, with its poorly performing job market, showed some further erosion in its HMI score as local builders lowered their expectations even further.”

Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for almost 20 years, the index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales, sales expectations for the next six months and the traffic of prospective buyers.

The HMI component measuring current market conditions was unchanged this month from January’s favorable score of 62. Sales expectations for the next six months and prospective home buyer traffic each declined one point, to 65 and 40, respectively.

Regionally, the HMI rose seven points to 74 in the West and one point to 57 in the Northeast. The index dropped two points to 64 in the South and three points to 33 in the Midwest.

Where Are the Top 100 Metropolitan Areas for 2006?

“HousingEconomics Online,” the online publication from the NAHB Economics Group, is your single source for market analysis, forecasts, housing statistics and more. In-depth analysis, detailed Excel tables and overviews are available for all metro forecasts.

To learn more or subscribe to “HousingEconomics Online”, visit www.housingeconomics.com. 

Give your economic perspective on NAHB's new economics blog, “Seiders on Housing,” an informal Internet-based discussion forum dealing with topical economic issues, housing trends, survey research and other topics affecting the housing sector of the economy.

Log onto the blog at http://nahbblog.blogs.com and get direct access to NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders' expert opinions, projections and responses.

Attend the Spring Construction Forecast Conference in April

Plan to attend NAHB's Spring Construction Forecast Conference on April 27 at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. The conference brings together the nation's premier housing economists and finance experts for an in-depth look at the economic outlook for the housing industry.

For information or to register, visit www.nahb.org/cfc.

Builder's Tip: Cutting Engineered Joists

	[Click for larger image]

Engineered joists and rafters — which have a cross section akin to an I-beam — present a wrinkle to the carpenter crosscutting them with a circular saw.

Because the plane of the web lies below that of the thicker chords, the saw cannot glide across an unbroken surface as it makes a cut. The solution is to make a template that will fit on the web and guide the saw.

To make a template for cutting these materials:

• I start by ripping about 3 feet of 5⁄8-inch or 3⁄4-inch plywood or oriented strand board to a width slightly less than that of the web. This piece should fit easily on the web between two chords, creating a flush surface across the I-joist.
  
  
• Next, I make a square cut on one end of the stock and mark my rafter’s plumb cut a foot or so back from the square cut. This step divides the stock into two unequal parts, A and B, as shown at the top of the accompanying diagram.
  
  
• After cutting along the mark, I then screw or nail part B to the top of part A. The saw’s table rides along the edge of the top piece, guiding the cut. The bottom piece supports the saw’s table.
  
  

The bottom piece is longer than the top, so the first cut that you make also trims part A. That will allow you to register the edge of the template against the cut mark for accurate positioning.

Finish the template by screwing a 1x2 handle to one of its edges.

― Larry Haun, Coos Bay, Ore.

Tips & Techniques provided by Fine Homebuilding.
©2005 The Taunton Press

BuilderBooks.com Offers More Than 250 Books That Help You Build Your Business

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Strong Customer Care Helps You Build Your Brand

By Steven Lewkowitz, Pivotal Corporation
The next in a series about customer relationship management.

For Atlanta-based Beazer Homes, managing the customer-care process consistently is critical to its branding.

“Open communication, responsiveness and respect are the core elements of the Beazer Homes brand promise,” said Ken Dohrn, the company's national warranty manager. “We use our CRM (customer relationship management) system to ensure that every home buyer’s experience with Beazer Homes — both pre- and post-sale — lives up to this brand promise.”

Yes, branding is important because a brand is not simply a name, jingle or logo that the public associates with a company. It’s the totality of a customer’s impressions — every experience, interaction and association the consumer has with the company.

Likewise, brand strength is not a function of flashy, big-budget advertising. A great slogan or slick marketing campaign might draw prospects, but if the customer’s experience with the company fails to match the brand expectations created by the advertising, their trust will be lost and the brand will lose credibility.

What are the dividends of a strong brand reinforced by a complementary end-to-end customer experience?

In a crowded, bustling market, brand strength and exceptional customer experiences differentiate one builder from the next and help you gain a competitive edge. Furthermore, loyal, satisfied customers hold the secret to repeat sales even in a less vigorous market.

Beyond that, builders with strong brands can often charge more for their products, which contributes directly to the bottom line. Consumers will pay more for the quality they associate with a trusted brand — and on one of the most important purchases they’ll ever make, there’s even more incentive for home buyers to pay extra for a brand they trust.

Orchestrating the Brand Experience

This means that every interaction a home buyer has with your company has the potential either to add to or detract from the value of your brand. This fact reinforces the critical importance of carefully orchestrating the entire customer experience from end to end.

Home builders simply cannot afford to leave this to chance. Merely hoping that a customer will walk away from their home buying experience with the right impression of your firm is not enough.

Buying a house is a major life event. This is all the more reason to ensure that every step of the home buying experience is one that customers enjoy and remember positively. Purchasing a home is a significant commitment that requires trust in the home builder and the quality of its products. A strong brand, reaffirmed by a satisfying customer experience, can go a long way toward establishing the confidence home buyers need to make a purchase — or to refer their friends.

Customer Relationship Management

This is where customer relationship management (CRM) systems can make a big difference to strategic-thinking home builders. A CRM system — with information on every customer interaction — can drive a planned customer experience and strengthen your brand.

The primary goal of CRM is simple: to plan, coordinate and support interactions with customers to create a consistent, winning customer experience that stretches from the first encounter with the potential buyer through the entire customer life cycle. It’s what my company calls “creating customers for life.”

Let’s look at how this can work, with a particular eye to branding.

What’s Behind the Hype?

Many builders have grown through acquisition, which can pose a challenge for branding efforts. With disparate divisions and departments, sometimes dispersed across the country, it can be hard to maintain a consistent company image.

A CRM system with a strong marketing-automation suite can remedy this easily, by putting branded campaign templates in the hands of all company divisions, ensuring consistent reinforcement of brand image and messaging in all communications.

Meanwhile, as online channels are an increasingly important facet of marketing for home builders, a CRM system captures information from prospects — whether from Homebuilder.com , NewHomeSource, a builder’s presentation center or advertising or promotional campaigns — in a central location.

Delivering on Your Brand’s Promise

Although marketing is important to communicating brand value, delivering on your company’s brand promise becomes even more important once a marketer passes a qualified lead to the sales force.

• How quickly do your home sales professionals follow up on leads?
  
  
• To what extent are they able to tailor and personalize the experience for the home buyer based on knowledge gained through earlier marketing touch points?
  
  
• How knowledgeable are they about the kinds of options and preferences about which a buyer has expressed interest?
  
  
• How quickly can they configure and reconfigure quotes to meet buyer needs?
  
  

A CRM system puts all the information home sales professionals need to personalize the buying experience right at their fingertips — enabling structured, consistent sales processes that reflect the corporate brand and quality standards, as well as industry best practices.

Take the Guesswork Out of Customer Care

Once the sale is made, the deal is not done. If you want to strengthen your brand, you must ensure that buyers receive exactly what they paid for, and that they remain satisfied with your home after the sale.

CRM systems can take the guesswork out of customer care by regulating and coordinating the steps involved in post-sale service, including home inspection and warranty management. Because the CRM system tracks all interactions with the customer in a central location, home owners receive consistent, informed, personalized service — no matter who answers their call.

Meanwhile, the builder maintains a comprehensive history of all work and issues surrounding a home, which is invaluable information if a home is sold while still under warranty.

By maintaining excellent customer care and regular communications well after the sale of a home, the builder is able to reinforce its brand continually and to build lasting relationships with home owners. When home buyers consider their second or subsequent home purchases, the builder with which they have an ongoing relationship and associate a trusted brand is an obvious choice.

Builders also can leverage CRM features to assess their brand performance. Some CRM systems have built-in survey functionality builders can use to take regular brand “temperature readings,” asking customers and prospects alike how they feel about the firm and their experience with it. This kind of feedback loop ensures a builder is communicating and delivering on its brand promise effectively, while also allowing it to take quick corrective action when needed.

A robust CRM system can help home builders design and implement outstanding customer experiences that reflect and reinforce branding from end to end, nurturing brand strength throughout the customer life cycle and creating the proverbial “golden goose” — loyal, happy customers poised for high-value referrals and low-cost repeat sales.

Steven Lewkowitz is professional services director of the Homebuilding and Real Estate Group at Pivotal Corporation. Pivotal offers the industry-leading Pivotal Homebuilder Front Office. For more information, e-mail Lewkowitz, or call him at 732-297-4060.

More Branding Information at NAHB's BizTools

NAHB members can read more about branding and brand management, including "Make and Keep the Promise of Your Brand: 10 Ways  and Raising the Bar on Brand Identity," as well as other articles from a series about customer relationship management by going online to www.nahb.org/biztools.

‘Customer Service for Home Builders’ Available at BuilderBooks.com

“Customer Service for Home Builders,” available through BuilderBooks.com, gives you the tools you need to create an effective customer service program: forms, checklists, documents and a resource guide. You will learn how to start managing customers’ experiences — instead of just reacting to issues that customers raise.

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.

Subscribe to NAHB’s Business of Building e/Source

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.

The NAHB University of Housing Offers Courses and Designation Programs

The NAHB University of Housing offers a variety of business management courses and professional designation programs that set builders and remodelers apart from the competition. For a complete list of current offerings, visit www.nahb.org/designations.

Big FHA Insurance Premium Hikes in Proposed 2007 Budget

The Administration’s proposed budget for fiscal 2007 for the FHA Multifamily Mortgage Insurance Programs proposes a loan commitment authority level of $35 billion. While this amount is the same as for the previous year, the proposal includes increases in the mortgage insurance premiums (MIP) on some of the key FHA multifamily programs, including Section 221(d)(4).

While specific numbers are not included in the budget documents, NAHB has learned that the increases will be up to 35 basis points, with the premium capped at 80 basis points. Tax credit and risk sharing projects would be exempt from the increases.

According to the budget documents, the premium was increased to offset the administrative costs of the programs because, in the Office of Management and Budget’s view, they do not serve a “public purpose.”  This is a dramatic departure from the basis that has been used to set MIPs.

The MIPs historically have been based on a formula that takes into account the performance of the loans in the FHA multifamily portfolio, as well as economic conditions over time. In recent years, the Section 221(d)(4) MIP was set at a level slightly above what was needed to cover anticipated claims.

NAHB staff members are looking into the justification for the new approach, as well as other background issues, and are evaluating possible avenues for opposing the increases.

For more information, e-mail Claudia Kedda at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8352.

 
Register for the Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Conference

Attend the Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Conference, the premier industry event for the multifamily industry, on April 2-4 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The conference focuses on best practices and real-life lessons presented in case studies on the finance, design and development of rental apartments and condominiums.

To register or for more information, click here.

How 7,285 Industry Pros Set Themselves Apart

It seems strange in this age of communication that only 7,285 of our 225,000 NAHB members seem to know something that the rest of the association is missing.

Everything is changing — the industry, the materials, the way business is done, the way customers are handled.

So what are you missing?

We all want a steady flow of new customers and repeat customers, sufficient income to meet our chosen lifestyles and not to have to work any harder than we want. We all want to stand out in the crowd of the many builders, remodelers and business people.

We all want to have a great reputation that accomplishes all the above — and to be a success, however we may define it.

So what is the big secret that 7,285 of our members are in on?

Why, it’s the NAHB University of Housing designation program, of course!

These members have started on a journey to set themselves apart from the rest of the crowd. They have embarked on one or more of the NAHB University of Housing’s 13 educational tracks. Many have already achieved the goal and received the designation of their choice. Others have just started the process.

What Is a Professional Designation and What Is It Good For?

A professional designation shows that you have completed a course of study that will make you a better business person.

Courses cover a wide range of subjects — from estimating, project management and customer service to business management, sales and many others.

These courses are put together by experts in the industry and reviewed every three years, so the content remains fresh and relevant. All instructors are certified and trained, and can give their students a “straight from the trenches” perspective.

Earning a professional designation can enhance your business savvy, broaden your areas of expertise, increase your marketability and directly add to your bottom line.

Why Should I Take Courses for Something That I Have Been Doing for So Long?

Because you are never too old to learn.

Even if you’ve been in the industry for years, techniques, business practices and daily challenges are constantly changing. Earning a designation from the University of Housing shows potential customers your professionalism and your dedication to the industry.

By joining NAHB, you have set yourself apart from many people in our industry. The next step is to further your education. Designations help you learn and earn more! Isn’t that why we are in business?

Go online at www.nahb.org/designations to get started on your professional designation today.

Robert Bell, CGR, CAPS, of Bell’s Remodeling in Duluth, Minn., an educator by degree and a remodeler by choice, spent his entire career promoting the importance of education to the industry. During the 2004 Internationa' Builders' Show, Bell received the Remodelors™ Council Distinguished Service Award for lifetime achievement. For more information, e-mail Bell, or call him at 218-728-2797.

'How to Find a Professional Remodeler' Available at BuilderBooks.com

Enter Historic Rehabilitation Awards Competition

The National Housing & Rehabilitation Association (NH&RA) has announced a call for entries to the second annual J. Timothy Anderson Awards for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation — the “Timmy” — awards for outstanding rehabilitation and preservation projects. The awards competition is based on overall design and quality, interpretation and respect of historic elements, impact on the community and financial and market success.

This is the second year of the awards competition, which has expanded to include the following categories:

• Affordable Housing — Small/Up to $5 million total development cost
• Affordable Housing — Large/Over $5 million total development cost
• Market-Rate Residential — Small/Up to $5 million total development cost
• Market-Rate Residential — Large/Over $5 million total development cost
• Mixed-Income Housing — Small/Up to $5 million total development cost
• Mixed-Income Housing — Large/Over $5 million total development cost
• Most Innovative Adaptive Re-Use and/or Commercial Rehabilitation
• Scattered Site/Multi-Property
  
  

The awards are named after Boston architect and preservation advocate J. Timothy Anderson, who was involved in several Boston-area projects as well as the seminal study that helped launch preservation efforts in the art deco South Beach district of Miami Beach in the late 1970s.

Entries for the 2006 “Timmy” awards will be accepted until July 15.

Winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony on Oct. 9 in Boston. Applications are available online at the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association Web site, www.housingonline.com.

HG&RA is a Washington, D.C.-based association that provides an ongoing forum for professionals in affordable housing and historic restoration to exchange information and assess trends.

For more information, e-mail Debby Tempio at NH&RA, call her at 202-939-1778, or visit the NH&RA Web site.

Sign Up for March 19 President's Tour

Registration, hotel information and a tentative agenda for the Log Homes Council's annual President's Tour are currently available online at www.nahb.org/presidentstour. The tour will be from March 19-22.

Based in Harrisburg, Pa., the tour is the log home industry's premier touring, networking and educational event.

The tour includes visits to Kuhns Bros. Log Homes, KSM Log Homes, Wood-Mode Cabinets, the Harley Davidson manufacturing plant and Superior Walls — and a chance to see the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League.

Tentative schedule:

Sunday, March 19
10:00-11:00 a.m.     11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.     1:30-3:00 p.m.     3:30 p.m.	Benchmark Committee Meeting Marketing Committee Meeting Grading Committee Meeting Buses leave for Welcome Reception Event at Hershey Bears (AHL) Game
Monday, March 20
Tours of:	Lof Home Council Technical Committee Meeting KSM Log Homes  Harley Davidson manufacturing plant
Tuesday, March 21
Tours of:     After tour:	Log Home Council General Council Meeting Kuhns Bros. Log Homes  Superior Walls  Wood-Mode Cabinets Annual Log Homes Council Banquet

For more information, visit www.nahb.org/presidentstour.

Four Honored as True Housing Professionals

The NAHB University of Housing honored four housing professionals for their contributions as holders of professional designations and for elevating the image of designations in their community.

Those honored were:

• Annie Morgan, 2005 Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) of the Year
• Dianne Beaton, 2005 Certified Graduate Associate (CGA) of the Year
• Dan Bawden, 2005 Certified Graduate Remodeler (CGR) of the Year
• Scott McCollum, 2005 Graduate Master Builder (GMB) of the Year
  
  

The four were honored at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. earlier this year.

“These designees go above and beyond to promote NAHB’s designation programs through innovative practices, mentoring others and encouraging continued education in our industry,” said Robert Bell, CGR, CAPS and the current chair of the CGB Board of Governors.

“Every building professional who goes through the program comes out with a demonstrated level of expertise in a niche area that can benefit the consumer,” Bell continued. “These honorees, however, have differentiated themselves by going out into their communities and advancing awareness of professional designations and their importance.”

• Annie Morgan — 2005 CAPS of the Year

Annie Morgan, CAPS, is the home repair director for Senior Services, Inc. in Kalamazoo, Mich. She developed and expanded a volunteer group of retired handymen, known as the “Tuesday Toolmen,” to repair and modify seniors’ homes. The program has been recognized by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and has been replicated in Traverse City.

Morgan has served as the chair of the Remodelors™ Council of the Home Builders Association of Greater Kalamazoo. She also has been a driving force behind the Annual Junior Rampathon, an event in which volunteers build wheelchair ramps for children under the age of 18 who have special access needs.

Morgan is an approved instructor of NAHB’s CAPS courses and works with her association to recruit additional qualified CAPS instructors.

• Diane Beaton — 2005 CGA of the Year

Dianne Beaton, CGA, is the marketing and service business manager for Secondwind Water Systems, Inc. in Manchester, N.H. She is also the vice president of associates and associate national director for her state association, the Home Builders & Remodelers
Association of New Hampshire.

During the last two years, she, along with her association’s education committee, has coordinated more than 25 courses and instituted a “Spotlight on Education” newsletter highlighting professionals who are seeking or who have earned their designations.

• Dan Bawden — 2005 CGR of the Year

Dan Bawden, CGR, CAPS, GMB, is the president of Legal Eagle Contractors Co. in Houston and has been voted the Texas Remodeler of the Year three times and the Houston Remodeler of the Year twice. In 1999, Bawden created “The Houston Remodeling Guide,” which is distributed to more than 15,000 home owners annually at home shows and in showrooms.

While president of the Greater Houston Builders Association, he started the “CGR College.” Greater Houston now has one of the strongest educational programs in the country, with more than 30 designations classes taught annually.

• Scott McCollum — 2005 GMB of the Year 

Scott McCollum, GBM, CGR, CAPS, is president of McCollum Associates, Inc. in Dallas. Not only does he emphasize his designations in all his marketing, McCollum also emphasizes that his employees continue their industry education. In fact, he requires that all new employees obtain a professional designation within two years.

McCollum is the chairman of the Custom Builders and Remodelors™ Council in Dallas and co-chair of the Texas Remodelors™ Council and continually tries to advance education within these associations. He also is an approved instructor for seven designation courses.

Professional designations offer NAHB members opportunities to improve their skills, advance their careers and exhibit their commitment to professional growth. The NAHB University of Housing offers 13 designations in such areas as remodeling, sales, property management, affordable housing and more.

For more information about The NAHB University of Housing’s Designee of the Year, including eligibility requirements, call the professional designation help line at 800-368-5242 x8154.

Lean More About NAHB Designation Courses

NAHB offers more than a dozen professional designations covering industry basics such as business management and marketing, as well as specialized classes, including aging-in-place programs, property management and more. For information about designations, go to www.nahb.org/designations.

For information about participating in or promoting National Designation Month, visit www.nahb.org/NDMTools or National Designation Month on the NAHB Web site.

How My CAPS Designation Helps My Business — A Testimonial

	Kathy Barry, CAPS Home Life Interiors Kentwood, Mich.

• What designations do you hold?

I received my CAPS certification in 2005.

• Have you ever won a customer or a job because of your NAHB designation?

Just last month, a new client mentioned they chose me because of my CAPS designation. Her husband has multiple sclerosis — MS.

• How has your designation tangibly benefited your career?

Besides the above mentioned new business, being able to put CAPS in my marketing information increases the perceived and my actual benefit to clients. It helps differentiate me from my competition. And, the class I took to earn my designation was a good review.

• How have you promoted designations among your peers? Your home builders association?

Our local association has advertised who has received their designations to the local media as well as to the membership. I have not yet personally done any more than that.

• Why should consumers ask for designations from their builders?

With a designation, a customer has a baseline with which to begin an evaluation process to determine if the designer/contractor is a good fit for their project.

• Why did you choose to pursue a designation through NAHB?

I thought it would add value to my marketing materials, which it has.

NAHB offers more than a dozen professional designations covering industry basics such as business management and marketing, as well as specialized classes, including aging-in-place programs, property management and more. For information about designations, go to www.nahb.org/designations.

For information about participating in or promoting National Designation Month, visit www.nahb.org/NDMTools or National Designation Month on the NAHB Web site.

Education Calendar

March 12-14	National Green Building Conference	Albuquerque, N.M.
March 19-22	Log Home Councils Presidents Tour	Harrisburg, Pa.
April 2-5	2006 NAHB Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Conference and Awards Gala	Scottsdale, Ariz.
April 24-26	Building for Boomers and Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium 2006	Phoenix, Ariz.
April 27	Construction Forecast Conference — Spring 2006	Washington, D.C.
May 21-22	Building Systems Councils Modular and Panel Plant Tour	Appleton and Wausau, Wisc.
June 5-7	2006 NAHB/BALA Design Institute for Builders	Charlotte, N.C.
June 11-13	Building Systems Councils Concrete Tour & Conference	Phoenix, Ariz.
Aug. 1-6	2006 EOC Seminar	Uncasville, Conn.
Oct. 20-22	National Conference on Membership	San Antonio, Texas
Oct. 25	Fall Construction Forecast Conference	Washington, D.C.
Oct. 27-29	Custom Builder Symposium	Las Vegas, Nev.
Nov. 5-8	Building Systems Councils SHOWCASE	Miami, Fla.
Nov. 9-11	State & Local Government Affairs Conference	New Orleans, La.

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.

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.

Weyerhaeuser OSB First to Be Certified By Research Center

Weyerhaeuser has begun distribution of oriented strand board (OSB) products certified through the NAHB Research Center's new third-party OSB product and quality management certification program.

Officially launched at the 2006 International Builders’ Show, the program is designed to satisfy building code and product standards for third-party oversight of OSB manufacturers’ product quality. Under the program, the Research Center licenses its certified-product mark to participating OSB manufacturers who have developed, implemented and maintained a Quality Management System (QMS) based on ISO 9001-2000 standards as verified by periodic quality system audits, as well as product testing by the Research Center’s laboratory.

As the program’s first participating manufacturer, Weyerhaeuser is producing NAHB Research Center Certified OSB product in select mills across the country.

The Research Center is providing third-party quality assurance services for Weyerhaeuser’s Structurwood mills in Sutton, W.Va.; Grayling, Mich.; Elkin, N.C.; and Arcadia, La.

Through periodic auditing, inspection and testing, the Research Center’s IAS-accredited laboratory verifies that these mills produce product that is compliant with Voluntary Product Standard PS2-04 Performance Standard for Wood-Based Structural-Use Panels and meets the requirements of HUD UM40c.

“When builders see our certified mark, they recognize and trust our name, and are confident they’re making a product selection that meets or exceeds the prescribed industry standard,” said Michael Luzier, president of the Research Center.

Manufacturers seeking OSB certification must participate in formal QMS auditing to ISO 9001-2000 standard as well as product testing to ensure the product meets or exceeds recognized industry standards and applicable customer requirements. Continuous improvement is essential to improving customer satisfaction and a key component of all Research Center certification programs.

The Research Center is a recognized and trusted name in product testing and certification, with more than 40 years of specialized experience and an unrivaled depth of understanding of the home building industry. It does not provide product endorsements or a guarantee of a product’s performance.

To find out more about the certification process, OSB manufacturers can click here; or e-mail Bob Hill, the center’s director of laboratory and certification programs, or call him at 800-638-8556 x6244.

AndersonSargent Wins Top EnergyValue Housing Award

AndersonSargent Custom Builder LP of Waxahachie, Texas was recently named the Builder of the Year in the EnergyValue Housing Awards for its zero-energy home’s exceptional energy performance and the company’s tireless commitment to energy efficiency.

The builder worked with the Building America program to dramatically reduce energy loads and to incorporate renewable energy production via rooftop solar panels in the zero-energy home, which is expected to offset all of its energy consumption with renewable energy production.

The company chose many unique materials and methods, including an extensive array of “green” products, for the residence, which was featured as the 2005 IBS Dallas Show House. Its walls are constructed of insulating concrete forms made with recycled waste wood that provide an R-value of 14. Through passive solar design, the home obtains much of its heating and lighting from the sun; excess solar energy is stored in its plaster walls, concrete floors and interior masonry. A light-colored exterior, combined with a reflective roof, mitigate intense summertime heat.

Two roof-mounted solar collectors also provide hot water and hydronic heating. The energy is stored in a 105-gallon storage tank, with supplemental energy provided by a tankless gas water heater. An on-demand hot water recirculation system rapidly provides hot tap water with the push of a button — a system that offers convenience, reduces the waste of water and provides superior energy efficiency over conventional recirculation systems.

Critical to the home’s performance are ducts that were carefully planned to be completely within conditioned space and to provide balanced airflow throughout the home. To simplify the process, the builder used open-webbed floor trusses and spray foam insulation at the roofline to create an unvented attic.

Ninety percent of the lighting fixtures are pin-type fluorescent bulbs that cannot be replaced with standard incandescent lamps. Fluorescent lights reduce energy consumption and lighting heat by about 75%. In addition, the passive solar design optimizes natural daylighting to reduce electrical lighting needs.

Eight kilowatts (8 kW) of photovoltaic capacity supply electricity to the house. Excess electricity production is fed into the utility grid; when there isn’t enough sunshine to run the house, supplemental electricity is provided by the utility. When the system produces excess power, the utility meter runs backwards.

Construction cost for the 3,800-square-foot home, including the renewable energy systems and many green building features, was about $171 per square foot.

For additional information on AndersonSargent’s prize-winning home, click here.

Applications for the 2007 EnergyValue Housing Awards are now available. For EVHA program information and to apply, click here.

Enter ‘Building With Trees’ Competition

Conservation-minded builders and developers from around the country are invited to enter the 2006 Building With Trees Awards of Excellence recognition program.

Sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with NAHB, the program recognizes builders and developers who save trees during construction and land development.

The deadline for entries is March 31. The awards competition was created in 1998.

Residential, commercial, retail, industrial, public and mixed-use projects of all sizes are eligible to compete.

A jury of development industry and urban forestry professionals will judge the entries. Judging criteria include:

• Creativity in and attention to protecting and planting trees during planning, design and construction and in providing for long-term tree care
• A commitment to tree protection by having a tree professional on the development team
• Inventorying existing trees and using that information to preserve trees
• Adhering to tree protection goals throughout construction
  
  

To read about the 2005 NAHB Building With Trees winners, click here. 

For more information about the recognition program, visit www.arborday.org/programs/buildingwithtrees, e-mail Jeff Bargar at The National Arbor Day Foundation, or call him at 402-474-5655.

Plan now to attend the 2006 Green Building Conference, March 12-14 in Albuquerque, N.M. 

The National Green Building Conference is 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 meet other green-minded builders from all across the country as well as meet with exhibitors with products to help you build a better home.

For more information, click here.

Industry Role Cited in Return of Bald Eagle

The nation’s home builders last week cited the return of the once-endangered bald eagle to American skies as an example of what can be accomplished through cooperation between members of the housing industry and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Federal officials on Feb. 13 proposed removing the bald eagle from protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  If the eagle is delisted from the ESA, it will remain protected by both the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

“The bald eagle is one of only a few clear success stories from the Endangered Species Act, but it’s a very important one,” said NAHB President David Pressly. “Through the years, our members have worked hand-in-hand with wildlife officials to protect this magnificent bird, our national symbol and also NAHB’s symbol for 60 years.”

While pesticide use, particularly DDT, was responsible for the bald eagle’s dwindling numbers, home builders have worked to help preserve the bird's habitat when designing communities.

NAHB looks forward to continuing to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as it seeks comments on the proposed delisting and voluntary management guidelines, Pressly indicated, so that  landowners and others will know what they can do to help protect the bald eagle while continuing to keep housing affordable.

“With voluntary guidelines, home builders and landowners can continue their vital conservation efforts without the expensive and often protracted ESA permitting process that often adds months and thousands of dollars to the cost of housing,” Pressly said. The delisting and management guidelines must also come with sufficient certainty for landowners so they know how to meet all remaining federal requirements, he said.

“Throughout the years, our members have done an excellent job of providing homes to Americans while working within the ESA to protect our American symbol,” Pressly said.

For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.

Opportunity to Repair Movement Advances in States

Looking for an alternative mechanism to costly litigation in resolving construction defect claims, lawmakers in numerous states — including Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin — are considering notice and opportunity to repair (NOR) legislation.

Generally, NOR laws require the home owner to notify a builder of an alleged construction defect before the home owner can file a lawsuit. The builder then has the opportunity to repair the defect, compensate the home owner for the defect or provide a combination of both. In addition, the builder is usually allowed to inspect the dwelling to determine the nature and cause of the defect.

The builder can also reject the home owner’s claim outright. If the alleged defect is not resolved through the NOR process, the owner can then file suit.

Twenty-seven states currently have NOR laws:  Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.  And 24 of those states have passed this type of legislation within the past three years.

Missouri, New Hampshire and North Dakota are the latest states to enact NOR laws.

Among the legislation that is being considered this year:

• Illinois House Bill 4873 would require a home owner to notify a construction professional of an alleged construction defect at least 60 days prior to filing a lawsuit. The builder would then have 21 days to respond. This bill has been referred to the House Rules Committee.
  
  
• If Pennsylvania House Bill 1467 is enacted, a home owner would be required to notify a contractor 75 days before initiating legal proceedings to resolve a construction defect claim. In most cases, the contractor would have 15 days to respond to the allegations. HB 1467 passed the House and is working its way through the Senate.
  
  
• The Virginia Legislature is considering House Bill 558, legislation that would require a claimant alleging a construction defect in a condominium to notify the builder and provide an opportunity to repair the defect. The claimant would be required to notify the builder six months prior to commencing a lawsuit. This bill passed the House and has crossed over to the Senate.
  
  
• Wisconsin Senate Bill 448 would require a home owner or condo association to give notice to a contractor at least 90 working days before filing a court action. The contractor would be required to respond within 15 days if a supplier has not contributed to the defect, or 25 days if a supplier is involved. The Senate Committee on Housing and Financial Institutions recently held a hearing on this bill.

NOR proposals are expected to be debated in an increasing number of statehouses as the year progresses. With 46 states holding elections for their legislatures, this year’s sessions will be shorter, so bills will move quickly.

For the latest information on this issue, NAHB members can click here; or e-mail Gerry Keegan at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x 8326.

Students Meet Employers at Building Careers Job Fair

More than a third of the record 1,800 NAHB Student Chapter members at the International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Orlando, Fla. last month attended the Building Careers Job Fair, where they met with company representatives to discuss career opportunities and interview for internships and jobs.

Twenty-two of the nation’s most prominent home builders — including NAHB Student Chapters corporate partners Beazer Homes, Centex Homes, KB Home, Pulte Homes and Toll Brothers — hosted booths in the Job Fair’s 25,000 square feet of exhibit space.

“The entire IBS experience is a little overwhelming, but I came prepared and the job fair was great,” said Purdue University student Jenna Stickley. “Seeing the different companies helped me understand the possibilities that are out there for me in the building industry.”

“My entire trip to IBS has been a wonderful experience; I felt like I was at the Grammys or something,” said Anthony Carter from Dunwoody College of Technology. “Coming to the show for the first time, I had no idea what to expect, but seeing what these companies have to offer keeps me feeling optimistic about finding a job.”

Among participating job fair companies eager to identify talented young NAHB members to fill their workforce needs, Toll Brothers, Inc. collected approximately 100 student resumes. The big builder, which hired job fair students in years past, has scheduled interviews with 10 prospective employees in the near future.

“The Job Fair was very well-run and professional. The students are great and Toll Brothers gets a lot out of it each year,” said Denise Pierantozzi, the company’s recruiter and head of college relations. “We look forward to returning again in 2007.” 

Melissa Prouty, from South Dakota State University was impressed by how engaged builders were in all of the Student Chapters events at the Builders’ Show. “I felt like these companies really took an interest in us; they came to our team competitions and we had a chance to talk to them. At the job fair, introductions were already out of the way and it was easy to just have a comfortable conversation.”

“The Job Fair was just a great opportunity for my career and my future,” said John Rappoport from East Carolina University.

For more information on NAHB Student Chapters and the Building Careers Job Fair, e-mail Page Browning at HBI, or call her at 800-795-7955 x8918.

HBI Addresses Growing Role of Field Superintendents

Industry members attending the International Builders’ Show last month in Orlando, Fla. learned about what the Home Builders Institute (HBI) is doing to support quality home building through its Residential Construction Superintendent (RCS) designation and received a sneak peek at pilot courses that will be expanding the program.

At a standing-room-only session on “Eight Tips to Super Success,” veteran RCS instructors Paul Mashburn, CAPS, CGB; Mike Weiss, CGR, CGB, GMB, CAPS, RCS; and Beverly Koehn, MIRM, CMP, GMB, CAPS, CGA addressed the growing importance of superintendent training.

Currently, the designation’s eight courses are offered through home builders associations in 29 states and more than 100 classes are being taught annually.

Deborah Liftig, RCS, a superintendent with Aubuchon Homes in Cape Coral, Fla., said that she “would highly recommend taking the certification classes, they were all excellent. The courses addressed all components of project management and the instructors were very knowledgeable and energizing.”

The recently published “2005 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study” by J.D. Power and Associates reports a direct correlation between the quality of field superintendents and consumers’ overall satisfaction with their homes, and home builders have begun to take notice.

New Courses Added

Responding to the growing demand for effective superintendents, HBI, the workforce development arm of NAHB, has announced that it is expanding the number of RCS courses.

Partnering with NAHB’s Concrete Home Building Council (CHBC), HBI has created three pilot Concrete Specialization Courses that will be held early this spring: “Best Practices for Concrete Pavers and Segmental Retaining Walls;” “Concrete Mix Designs, Construction Guidelines and Troubleshooting;” and “Handling Moisture Behind Brick Veneers to Back-up Walls.” 

HBI will also be launching an Advanced RCS track, with the first three courses ready this summer and three more completed by year’s end. These courses build on material covered in the RCS designation and expand on topics identified by NAHB members as being important to the field supervisor position.

NAHB members, HBA staff and instructional designers have been involved in the development of the Advanced RCS courses.

For more information and a schedule of RCS courses, click here; or e-mail Joseph Krinock at HBI, or call him at 800-795-7955 x8928.

One-Step Tape Solves Window Frame Leaks

DuPont™ FlexWrap™, a moldable Tyvek® flashing tape for window sills and custom shapes, was recently chosen by Newsday journalist Gary Dymski as one of the 10 new items that could be a hit in the housing industry sometime soon.

E.I. Dupont De Nemours & Co., Inc. is a member of the National Council of the Housing Industry — The Supplier 100 of NAHB.

Dymski notes that the company’s housewrap has already taken off. “Ever since Tyvek was introduced in the early 1990s, every new house and every new addition is wrapped with a protective barrier to reduce air infiltration and the chances for trapped moisture.”

Part of the DuPont Flashing System, which has been designed to provide homes with comprehensive protection from water leaks, FlexWrap is uniquely engineered to address the issues of flashing the vulnerable bottom corners at the window sill where damage is most likely to occur, according to the manufacturer.

FlexWrap is wrapped into the still rough opening before the window is installed, making one step, seamless protection possible.

The product also flashes round-top or custom-shaped windows in one seamless step and eliminates the need to slowly cut and place individual pieces of conventional flashing to an arched window.

Dymski writes that products like FlexWrap flashing tape make more sense to him because they are “materials with more substance than style” that “can save money for both home owners and contractors.”

Tyvek is an elastic material, a polyolefin film and a highly adhesive butyl sealant that provides high-performance protection for construction and a wide range of other applications.

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-Produced Programs on HGTV & DIY This Week

NAHB-produced television shows for consumers on HGTV and DIY:

"I Want That" on HGTV

Episode: "Sound and Motion Chairs"

•  Feb. 22, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT •  Feb. 23, 12:30 a.m. ET/PT •  Feb. 26, 1:00 p.m. ET/PT

The latest for your home theater — chairs that vibrate to movies and music. Update your bath with funky retro faucets and shower tiles. Keep picnic foods cool and other neat lunch ideas for kids. A grid system makes short work of organizing a messy garage.

"Dream Builders" on HGTV

Episode: "Parkland Perch, Nashville Contemporary"  

•  Feb. 25, 10:30 a.m. ET/PT

In this episode, painstaking construction makes a modern Washington, D.C. tree house as beautiful as its forested surroundings. Also, although it features a lot of angles, there's nothing "square" about one home in Nashville, Tenn. Finally, bog building — see how home builders in Alaska manage soggy soil.

"Rock Solid" on DIY

Episode: "Manufactured Stone Fireplace"

• Feb. 21, 10:30 p.m. ET/PT • Feb. 22, 1:30 a.m. ET/PT • Feb. 26, 9:00 a.m. ET/PT

The stone guys, Dean and Derek,  travel to South Carolina to create a manufactured stone fireplace that has the look of real stone — without the cost.

"Assembly Required" on DIY

Episode: "Post and Beam (Part 2)"

• Feb. 26, 2:00 p.m. ET/PT • Feb. 26, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT • Feb. 26, 11:30 p.m. ET/PT

In this second of two episodes,  a New England crew continues to struggle with inclement weather and a family pushes forward to build their post and beam home before ski season.

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 With www.nahb.org

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.

Endowment Announces Evans Scholarship Award Recipients

The National Housing Endowment, the philanthropic arm of NAHB, has announced the recipients of the 2006-2007 Lee S. Evans/National Housing Endowment Scholarship, which is awarded to exemplary students who major in construction-related fields. 

Seventeen students were awarded a total of $55,600 in scholarships this year. The scholarship fund was founded in 1993 by Lee and Virginia Evans. 

This year’s scholarship recipients are:

• Ashley Bastian, a junior Construction Management major at Utah Valley State College
• Seth Braker, a junior majoring in Technology-Construction Management at Illinois State University
• Alexander Clotfelter, a junior in the Building Contruction Management program at Purdue University
• Jefferson Glazier, a sophomore Builiding Construction/Construction Management major at Utah Valley State College
• Trudy Gross, a freshman in Architectural Construction Technology at St. Cloud Techical College
• Ryan Johnson, a sophomore studying Construction Management at Boise State University
• Robert Johnston, a junior in Construction Management at Brigham Young University
• Zane Martens, a junior majoring in Building Construction Management at Purdue University
• Eric Penkert, a junior majoring in Building Construction at the University of Florida
• Tyson Reimer, a sophomore in Construction Management at John Brown Univesity
• Jonathan Ribskis, a junior studying Construction Mangement at Illinois State University
• Ryan Sather, a junior in Construction Management at North Dakota State University
• Dustin Sordelett, a freshman in Building Construction at Virginia Tech
• Matthias Spurgeon, a junior studying Construction Management at Brigham Young University
• James Thomas, a sophomore majoring in Construction Management at Boise State University
• Daniel Trujillo, a graduate student at the University of Denver studying Real Estate & Construction Management
• William Webb, a sophomore studying Technical Mangement at Utah Valley Sate College

The scholarship determinations were made by the Evans Scholarship Committee. Committee members included Bruno Pasquinelli, CEO of Pasquinelli Construction Co. and committee chairman; Brenda Eid, founder of bj Eid Associates; Robert Jones, president of Robert R. Jones Associates; Kenneth Klein, president of Kleinco Residential; John Koelemij, owner of Orange State Construction and 1985 NAHB president; Mark Lee Levine, director and professor of the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the University of Denver; Roger Pastore, founder of RCP Financial Group and former president and CEO of Pulte Home Mortgage; Roger Reinhardt, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Denver; and Chuck Shinn of Shinn Associates.

Free '2006 New Homes Month' Resources Available Online

This ad is one of numerous resources available to NAHB members and associations for promoting homeownership and building and buying new homes for New Homes Month coming in April.

April is New Homes Month, and to help you take full advantage of it, NAHB has developed a free, online promotional kit packed with resources and materials for builders and local associations.

The promotional kit, available to members only, is designed to bring positive attention to the home building industry and includes consumer information on the benefits of homeownership and, in particular, buying a new home.

The New Homes Month kit includes consumer articles, print advertisements, a New Homes Month Proclamation and other resources to help you and your association maximize New Homes Month throughout April.

These materials can be used to promote spring home shows or parades of homes and other special events your association may be planning in April.

To view the resources available in the 2006 New Homes Month kit, click here.

For more information, e-mail Niki Clark at NAHB, or call here at 800-368-5242 x8061.

Dallas Association Donates Items to Troops in Iraq, Afghanistan

	Members of the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas prepare to ship donated items to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For more than two years, the Support Our Troops program organized through the Associates Council of the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas has donated food and other items to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was started by associate member Bruce Johnson, CGA, CAPS of Tax Mediators for Texans, and the association's Lisa Young. Johnson was moved to begin the program after two of his sons and one of his grandsons was activated into duty.

“Having family members over there gives you a different outlook on life,” said Johnson. “They were my inspiration for starting this program.”

Since then, several organizations have helped by donating boxes and providing other services. Also helping are local association members who have rolled up their sleeves to ship more than 10,000 items to the troops.

"What we have is a list of what the guys need," said Narciso Tovar, director of public relations for the association. People donate items based on that list, and several Dallas-area builders have pitched in to seal them and ship the items overseas.

Among those items sent are lip balm, eye drops, phone cards, skin lotion and sun block.

"One of the oddest things is probably beef jerky," said Tovar. While not as odd, playing cards also are a popular item among the troops, Tovar added.

Whether shaving cream or stationery, all items must be non-perishable, not easily breakable and not be in a pressurized spray can.

"I know that for them, a lot of it is to get the creature comforts from home," said Tovar.

Johnson added that Christmas was the busiest time for sending items over, but he wants to keep the drive going just as strong throughout the year. Earlier this month, he sent Valentine’s Day packages to the troops.

The ongoing drive has no specific goal. Rather, the association wants to continue shipping as many items to soldiers as possible.

 "The campaign ends when the last of our troops come home,” Johnson said.

If you’d like to donate goods, contact Johnson at 972-960-8900.

GM $500 Exclusive Offer for NAHB Members

Throughout 2006, qualifying NAHB members are eligible for a $500 exclusive offer on most GM passenger cars, light-duty trucks, vans and SUVs.

• All eight GM nameplates are included in the offer — Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Saturn, Saab and HUMMER.
• Vehicles excluded from this offer are Cadillac XLR and XLR-V, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and SSR, HUMMER H1 Alpha, and Pontiac Solstice. Medium duty trucks are also excluded.
• The $500 exclusive offer can be combined with most retail national and regional incentives in effect at the time of delivery.
  
  

For complete details, visit www.gmfleet.com/nahb

The program runs through Jan. 3. 2007.

GM NAHB Affinity Cards and details on this offer have been mailed and NAHB members should receive them shortly. The mailing is being sent directly from GM, and members should use the affinity card when purchasing a qualifying vehicle.

Members who have misplaced or otherwise do not have a GM NAHB Affinity Card may print out their own replacement cards in order to show member verification to a GM dealer. Note: Members must be logged in to www.nahb.org in order to print their replacement card.

Members with a www.nahb.org login should go to www.nahb.org/MA and click on the “GM Exclusive Offer.” This will take members to a Web page with program details and instructions for printing a replacement card. 

There are also instructions for members who do not have a login (they will be sent to www.nahb.com/loginGM and returned to the page to get a replacement card).

For more information, e-mail Tiffany Smith at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8273.

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.

Calendar of Events

March 12-14	National Green Building Conference	Albuquerque, N.M.
March 12	National Green Building Awards	Albuquerque, N.M.
April 2-5	2006 NAHB Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Conference and Awards Gala	Scottsdale, Ariz.
April 24-26	Building for Boomers and Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium 2006	Phoenix, Ariz.
April 27	Construction Forecast Conference — Spring 2006	Washington, D.C.
May 10-14	Spring Board of Directors Meeting	Washington, D.C.
June 5-7	2006 NAHB/BALA Design Institute for Builders	Charlotte, N.C.
Aug. 1-6	2006 EOC Seminar	Uncasville, Conn.
Aug. 3	2005 EOC Association Excellence Awards	Uncasville, Conn.
Sept. 13-17	Fall Board of Directors Meeting	Salt Lake City, Utah
Oct. 27-29	2006 Custom Builder Symposium	Las Vegas, Nev.

To view more meetings and events information on the NAHB Web site, click here.

Make Your Connection With www.nahb.org

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.