NBN Online for the week of June 5, 2006

Eminent Domain a Hot Topic in State Legislatures

On a hot topic with various implications for builders, more than 40 state legislatures have considered revising their eminent domain statutes since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo v. City of New London decision last year, and NAHB has developed resources to help local and state home builders associations address the issue when it arises.

Alabama, Delaware, Michigan, Ohio and Texas enacted some form of eminent domain legislation in the immediate aftermath of the court decision, which allowed the city of New London to take private property and transfer it to another private party to further local economic development.

So far this year, more than a dozen states — including Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin — have enacted legislation revising their eminent domain statutes.

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Lumber Prices Provided by Random Lengths

Membership Day Brings in a Record 9,550 New NAHB Members

National Membership Day brought in a record 9,550 new members to the federation, including affiliate and council members. Membership Day was May 23.

Five hundred state and local builders associations participated and pledged members, as did the more than 800 viewers of the three-hour Membership Day Webcast — also a new record. The Webcast was broadcast live from the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C.

Climb in Home Prices Slows, With More Slowing to Come

The long-awaited slowdown in real estate appreciation has begun with a whimper, according to the latest house price statistics released on June 1 by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO).

While OFHEO reported that some meaningful deceleration in prices during this year’s first quarter has now become evident, appreciation across the U.S. held up to a still vigorous annual rate of 8.12% during the three-month period and home prices were up 12.54% for the year ending on March 31. By comparison, the cost of non-housing goods and services on the Consumer Price Index increased 4.2% for the 12 months running through the end of the first quarter.

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