NBN Online for the week of July 24, 2006

NAHB Interest Rate Concerns Arise in Bernanke Testimony

Recent warnings by NAHB that the Federal Reserve runs the risk of turning the cooling process now underway in the nation’s housing market into a full-fledged downturn if it continues to push up interest rates resounded in congressional testimony last week by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

When confronted in the Senate on July 19 with evidence of falling housing starts and permits, including the sizeable declines reported by the Commerce Department that morning for the month of June, Bernanke noted significant uncertainties and risks in the housing outlook and stressed that the Federal Reserve is watching housing “very carefully.” He repeated these points the following day under questioning in the House.

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Builders Step Up Response to Job Site Thefts

Home building associations are responding to the growing problem of construction thefts with a number of programs, including seminars, newsletter stories and guest speakers from the local police force to offer tips to keep the job site secure.

Other HBAs are trying new tacks. Last year, the North Carolina Home Builders Association was instrumental in pushing through new legislation making construction thieves pay more for their crimes, said Paul Wilms, the association’s director of government affairs. What started out as a minor item on the builders’ legislative agenda soon became a top priority among the members and they were jubilant when it passed.