Nation's Building News Online: March 26, 2007

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Aging Boomers May Be Hard to Budge From Current Homes

The 55+ market is becoming an increasingly important focus of the nation’s housing industry as members of the baby boom approach the traditional retirement years, but builders hoping to entice households into new homes may find the going tough because older Americans, by and large, are happy with where they currently live.

A comprehensive profile of the growing housing market for the elderly compiled earlier this year by NAHB’s 50+ Housing Council describes a group of households that generally include only one or two persons, many of whom have relatively high incomes and many of whom are at the low end of the pay scale. The study then looks at the characteristics of the homes in which members of this population live, as well as factors behind their moving decisions, to suggest opportunities for tapping into this market.

By 2012, 40% of all U.S. households will be 55 or older, according to NAHB, which projects that the nation’s 55+ population, which turned 55 as of July 1, 2005 or later, will grow at well over 2% annually for the next decade, reaching 85 million by 2014.

Applying the 55+ market share derived from the 2005 American Housing Survey (AHS) to NAHB’s 2007 housing forecast, the number of housing units sold to or occupied by these households will account for more than 370,000 of this year’s expected 1.6 million housing starts, with 263,000 of them single-family. The estimates also show that 55+ customers this year will account for more than 190,000 of a projected 970,000 new single-family sales and more than 900,000 of a projected 5.25 million existing single-family home sales.

About 145,000 of the housing starts in 2005 were in age-qualified communities or those that are not age-qualified but have managed to attract buyers who are mostly in their mid-50s or older.

Revving up the 55+ market to its full potential is complicated by the fact that most of these households feel satisfied with the communities in which they live. When households in the 55 to 64 age bracket were asked by the AHS to rate their communities on a scale of one to 10, with 10 representing the best, 48% gave them a nine or 10, and that favorable response climbed with age, reaching 57% for households age 75 and older. More than three-quarters of the 55 to 64 group responded with a rating of eight or higher.

“This is consistent with the low incidence of community dis-amenities reported by older households and suggests that developers of age-qualified housing intended for older residents have a substantial hurdle to overcome in attracting these residents away from their current neighborhoods,” according to the report.

Fully 70% of the 26 million 55+ households in the U.S. in 2005 lived in ordinary communities that were not age-qualified or mostly occupied by people their age. More than three-fourths of households age 55 or older moved into their current residence before 2000 — 36.9% before 1980, 15.5% between 1980 and 1989 and 24.6% from 1990 to 1999. In contrast, 30.4% of households under age 45 had moved within the previous year.

Asked on the AHS to rate their current home on the same scale, 55+ households on average gave their home a score of 8.6, further suggesting that developers have their work cut out for them.

However, the NAHB report does suggest many possibilities for devising strategies to attract the attention of 55+ households and turn them into prospective buyers. Among the findings:

• In a 2003 study by NAHB and AARP on the housing preferences of seniors age 50+, safe neighborhoods were identified as the most important characteristic for their community. Ninety-six percent cited its importance, and 92% said they lived in a safe community. However, on a list of 14 items, there were four characteristics in which there was a significant gap between the percentage of those identifying it as important and the percentage reporting that it existed in their community: a hospital (a difference of 22%), a drug store within one-half mile (21%), their doctors’ offices (20%); and a grocery store within one-half mile (19%).
  
  
• According to the 2005 Current Population Survey, about 4.94% of people age 55+ moved within the U.S. in the past year. More than 50% of those who moved stayed in the same county and 21% stayed in the same state. And the 55+ share of total households does not vary drastically across most states, remaining within a relatively narrow band of between 30% and 40%. The 55+ share by state ranges from a high of 42.3% in West Virginia to a low of 26.8% in Alaska.
  
  
• Compared to the overall distribution of households, the AHS indicates that more age-qualified active adult communities are in the South Census region (48.5%) and fewer are in the Midwest (7.5%).
  
  
• There are substantial differences in amenities based on the type of community. For example, about 70% of age-qualified active adult or independent living communities provide recreational facilities compared to only 35% of other 55+ owner-occupied communities. Thirty-eight percent of active adult communities are gated, compared to only 3.4% of single-family detached.
  
  
• When the AHS asked 55+ households in single-family homes why they had moved recently, the most common response was for family/personal reasons, including the desire to live close to another family member or relatives. This response generally increased with age. Also at the top of the list, households in the 55 to 64 age group moved because they wanted a better quality house (15%) or a larger place (10.4%). The study also found some relationship between moving and overall economic conditions. For example, in the recessionary year of 2001 fewer than usual 55+ households moved because they wanted larger housing units and more moved because they wanted a less expensive place to live. When the economy improved in 2003, this trend was reversed.
  
  
• According to the 2005 AHS, nearly 20% of recent movers who moved into age-qualified housing said they moved because they wanted a higher-quality housing unit; that reason was cited less often by those who moved into other 55+ owner-occupied communities (10.1%) and independent living communities (12.2%). The AHS also showed that less expensive housing is more often important to independent living residents, while quality is more important to those moving into age-qualified active adult homes. This is the opposite of what builders said when they were surveyed by NAHB in 2003 and asked what they thought their customers wanted. Only 1.5% of the households moving into age-qualified active adult homes reported moving because they wanted larger housing units, compared to about 9% for 55+ households moving into single-family detached homes in general.
  
  
• A substantial share of 55+ households chose a community because they liked the design; this was the reason for choosing a community most often cited by households moving into single-family detached homes (33.2% of those in the 55 to 64 category). For the 55 to 64 age bracket, the housing unit itself was the second most common reason for choosing a community (29.7%).
  
  
• In the single-family detached market, 35.9% of households in the 55 to 64 age group reported difficulty in at least one physical activity: difficulty in dressing (9%); vision or hearing difficulty (11%); difficulty in going out (11.9%); difficulty in walking, reaching, lifting, carrying, climbing stairs or getting around the house (27.1%); difficulty in remembering (12.7%); and difficulty in working (23.8%). More than 45% of those 65 to 74 and 70% of households 75 or older reported difficulty in some activity.
  
  
• The average income of households in the markets for both single-family detached and multifamily housing decreased with age. The 55+ customers in the single-family detached housing market earned on average $27,000 more than the 55+ customers in the multifamily housing market.
  
  
• In 2005, 11.5% of 55+ households living in single-family detached homes and 6.7% of those in multifamily reported working at home, an increase over the prior AHS survey results from 2003.
  
  
• In the single-family detached housing market, 55+ customers on average looked at 10 homes before deciding upon a unit, about the same as younger households. However, single-family customers in the oldest age bracket (75+) only look at about four homes before making their final choice. Customers who chose multifamily housing looked at considerably fewer units (about five) before moving in, possibly because those who rent spend less effort on finding a unit than buyers.
  
  
• Customers who chose age-qualified active adult or other 55+ owner-occupied communities were more likely to shop for homes in multiple neighborhoods (48.9% and 51%, respectively). A smaller share (32%) of 55+ customers for independent living or other multifamily housing looked at more than one neighborhood before moving.

For more information, e-mail Elizabeth Landry at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8680.

Plan to Attend the 50+ Housing Symposium

Mark your calendar for the 2007 50+ Housing Conference: Building for Boomers & Beyond. The 2007 seminar will be held May 30- June 1 in Denver.

Designation credits can be earned at pre-conference courses. Click here for more information.

For more information, visit www.nahb.org/build4boomers.  

CAPS Designation Focuses on Accessibility at Any Age

Developed by the NAHB Remodelers in collaboration with AARP, the NAHB Research Center and NAHB's 50+ Housing Council, the Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) program provides comprehensive, practical, market-specific information about working with older and maturing adults to remodel their homes for aging-in-place.

For more information, e-mail CAPSinfo@nahb.org, or visit www.nahb.org/CAPSinfo.

Leverage Yielding Home Buyers Big Financial Benefits

In the most recent edition of NAHB HouseKeys, NAHB’s online publication for consumers, national real estate columnist Ken Harney provides information that builders can use to bolster their ‘buy now’ campaigns when he explains how prospective first-time home buyers can use leveraging to their financial advantage.

“There’s no question that buying a house — especially your first — can be a perplexing, even scary, matter,” Harney writes. “I remember buying my own first house years ago, toward the end of a boom period in prices and sales.”

Harney and his wife were concerned that after years of high appreciation their timing might not be the best and they really didn’t expect to see much gain in the value of their home for a long time.

The couple went ahead with the purchase anyway. The market was flat during their first year in the home, perked up a little in the second year but started moving ahead by the third year “and we knew we had done the right thing financially,” he said.

“One small downpayment had allowed us to purchase a relatively large asset — a three-bedroom house on a quarter-of-an-acre lot,” said Harney. “Even when the property gained only 2% or 3% a year, that turned out to be quite a log of gain in dollar terms, thanks to the ‘leverage’ or multiplier power of home real estate.”

Harney points out that leverage is one of the key financial differences between buying a house and buying stocks and bonds. In the example of a $250,000 house purchased with a 5% downpayment of $12,500, just one year of 5% appreciation — which has been roughly the annual appreciation rate in the U.S. since the 1970s — increases the home’s value by $12,500, providing a net $25,000 in equity.

If the home continues appreciating at the historical 5% average, its value grows to $275,625 at the end of year three, $289,406 at the end of year four and $303,876 at the end of year five.

Over that period, the initial $12,500 investment would have quadrupled to $66,376, he explains. By comparison, a bank account with 5% annually compounding interest would grow to just $15,194 by the end of year-five, for a gain of $2,694.

“Do I sound like I am enthusiastic about owning a home?” Harney asks. “I should be. I’ve owned a number of them, and have never regretted the then-scary decision my wife and I made to ignore the short-term discouraging conditions in our local real estate market, and to take the longer view and put our scarce dollars into a modest house.”

Harney also advises his readers that flat or down markets may well be the best time for buying a first house. “Prices tend to be lower and more affordable. Home builders and sellers tend to be more willing to negotiate, and mortgage rates — like today’s — often are lower than during high-inflation periods.”

To read the entire Harney article and other stories in the current issue of NAHB HouseKeys, or to subscribe, click here.

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

‘Buy Now’ Advertising Assistance Nears $1 Million. Apply Now.

If your local association is currently engaged in an ongoing advertising campaign in print, radio or television outlets, or if you are planning such a campaign, have your association apply for a “Buy Now” matching advertising assistance grant from NAHB. HBAs from around the country have already applied and have begun to receive their assistance funds. 

To date, 38 local associations have applied for advertising assistance grants from the $1 million to be awarded during the first phase of the program, and $932,429 has been approved. The total cost of the campaigns is $3.5 million. Another $2 million will be made available if the program is successful, and HBAs are encouraged to apply now.

NAHB launched the multi-million dollar grant program last month to assist local home builders associations in an effort to bolster home sales in markets hit hard by the current housing downturn and help offset the cost of local ad campaigns.

The NAHB “buy now” ad assistance program will provide grants to qualifying HBAs in three different categories:

• HBAs conducting ad campaigns in the top 10 media markets would receive assistance equaling up to one-third of the total cost of the campaign, with a maximum NAHB contribution of $75,000. In other words, an HBA conducting a campaign costing a total of $225,000 could receive a $75,000 contribution from NAHB and cover the remaining $150,000.
  
  
• HBAs with more than 250 members operating in areas outside of the top 10 major media markets would qualify for matching grants up to a maximum of $40,000 and be required to pay for at least half the cost of the campaign.
  
  
• HBAs with 250 or fewer members would qualify for grants of up to $5,000.

To qualify for grants, the ads must deliver a “buy now” message, be placed in 2007 and conducted in markets that have experienced a major decline in home sales and housing production.

To learn more about the program, eligibility considerations and requirements, click here (www.nahb.org/buynowapplication), or call Niki Clark at 800-368-5242 x806l.

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NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Cooling Market

With the current cooling of the nation’s housing market expected to persist into the middle of the year, NAHB has developed a comprehensive online toolkit geared to providing association members with information that will help them prosper in today’s changing business environment.

To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar.

For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.

Open House: Single Women Saying ‘I Do’ to Real Estate

Single women are becoming a more important segment of the home-buying market. Married couples still constitute 60% of home buyers, but that proportion has been dropping in recent years. Unmarried women accounted for 22% of sales last year, up from 14% in 1995. Single men, on the other hand, accounted for just 9% of home sales, a trend that has remained unchanged since the mid-1990s. This home-buying phenomenon is rooted in societal changes, including the fact that women are waiting longer to get married, analysts report. Experts say the trend is ripe with opportunities for condominium builders and sales agents who specialize in the smaller, low-maintenance homes that single women prefer. Builders are already targeting women when decorating many of their model homes, and Realtors® are emphasizing a neighborhood’s safety and the security of attached garages when talking with single women. (www.bendweekly.com)
Bend Weekly (3/23/07); Jim Woodward

Foreclosure Wave Bears Down on Immigrants

Immigrants are emerging as among the first victims of a growing wave of home foreclosures in the Washington area as mortgage lending problems multiply locally and across the country. Nationally, 375,000 high-interest-rate loans were made to Hispanics in 2005, and nearly 73,000 of them are likely to go into foreclosure, said Aracely Panameno, director of Latino affairs for the Center for Responsible Lending. Homeownership rates among immigrants surged in the first half of the decade, making their prosperity an economic success story. Now it is becoming apparent that many people managed to buy homes by turning to the unusual new mortgages only now receiving scrutiny from regulators and legislators. (www.washingtonpost.com)
Washington Post (3/26/07); Kirsten Downey

Priced Out of Paradise

Taxes on the two-bedroom Clearwater Beach, Fla. condo that Chris and Barbara Loulousis bought 28 years ago now top $8,200, up from $1,200 when they first bought, they say. Without the homestead tax exemption, which shields permanent residents from high tax increases, their taxes are likely to rise further. A recent two-part plan by the Florida House Republican leadership promises to provide some relief, but second-home owners could continue paying higher taxes. Part one would cut every home owner’s taxes by an average of 20%. Part two, a constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot, would eliminate property taxes for those who claim their home as their primary residence. If property values go up, as some economists predict will happen under the proposal, second-home owners would pay higher taxes and drastically alter Florida’s historically strong second-home market. Experts say competing states such as Tennessee, Georgia and North and South Carolina could lure second-home owners with cheaper taxes and home prices if the measure passes. (www.tampatrib.com)
Tampa Tribune (3/22/07); Shannon Behnken

Husbands and Wives Need Rooms of Their Own

Both men and women like to have a space of their own. And it seems the longer we live with each other, the more we need it. There is a growing trend among couples in the U.S. of having separate bedrooms. It started with separate sinks in the bathroom. Next came separating the clothes into his and hers closets, then dual home offices and home studios. According to experts, one of the biggest causes of marital tension is a poor night’s sleep. Experts claim that sleeping in separate bedrooms, or at least having the option, has benefited many marriages. A recent survey by the National Association of Home Builders highlighted an increased demand for homes to be built with his and hers bedrooms. (www.abqjournal.com)
Albuquerque Journal (3/22/07); Jennifer Huard

Housing Is Weak, But Not Collapsing

Housing is weak, but not collapsing — and some small indicators are more useful than the traditional national aggregates. Tightening credit standards are supposed to shut out hundreds of thousands of buyers. However, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s loan application count is steady and there’s no news of increased turn-downs. Lower-quality borrowers are finding substitutes for extreme subprimes. Fremont General, a subprime provider, this week dumped $4 billion of its subprime portfolio, taking a $140 million loss. In a true foreclosure meltdown — loans uncollectible — the discount would have been a lot deeper than 3.5%. (www.inman.com)
Inman News (3/23/07); Lou Barnes

Financial Firewall? Concern Over Subprime Woes Begins to Recede

Investors in commercial mortgage securities have received a double shot of good news to offset the fear and uncertainty generated over the well-publicized financial woes of subprime lenders such as New Century Financial Corp. Not only did the Federal Reserve hold interest rates steady, including leaving the prime interest rate for commercial banks at 8.25% for the third time since August, it left open the possibility of a rate cut. The news followed a pair of reports issued by Fitch Ratings expressing guarded optimism that the subprime mortgage meltdown would likely not create undue hardship for holders of collateralized debt obligations and asset-based commercial paper. Along with commercial mortgage-backed securities, the pools make up the second-largest class of commercial mortgages, trailing only commercial banks. (www.costar.com)
CoStar Group (3/21/07); Randy Drummer

House Takes ‘Solid’ Step on Immigration Reform

Reps. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) on March 22 moved the immigration debate forward by introducing the first major bill in the current Congress aimed at reforming and updating the nation’s immigration and border security laws.

H.R. 1645, the “Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy (STRIVE) Act of 2007” would enhance the nation’s border safety, create a new employee verification system and establish a new visa program to manage the future flow of immigrants into the U.S.

“This bill is a solid first step toward achieving meaningful and comprehensive immigration reform,” said NAHB President Brian Catalde.

The legislation contains language promoted by NAHB stipulating that all employers are legally responsible and liable only for their direct employees and not their subcontractors. It would also require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration to develop a new system for employers to verify the legal status of new workers through a computer or telephone network.

“These provisions would assist employers in verifying the employment eligibility of their workers,” said Catalde. “Providing an option to include a phone system would enable thousands of small business owners who do not have immediate access to high-speed Internet connections to utilize the new system.”

The Gutierrez-Flake plan would create a guest worker program that would allow illegal immigrants who arrived in the U.S. before June 1, 2006, to stay in the country for up to six years, providing that they meet several requirements, including paying fines and back taxes, passing background and security checks and learning English.

The legislation includes a “touch-back provision” that would require illegal immigrants to leave and re-enter the U.S. legally before becoming eligible for permanent legal status.

The guest worker and legalization programs would not go into effect until the Department of Homeland Security certified that progress had been made in securing the border.

In other areas of interest to the nation’s home builders, the bill:

• Phases in the new verification system according to the size of the employer, with the largest U.S. employers, based on their total number of employees, required to enter the program first. Smaller firms would be phased in over several years. NAHB supports this provision because many smaller companies that do not have human resources departments will need more time to understand and implement the system.
  
  
• Does not require employers to pay a fee every time they verify an employee through the system. This provision was suggested in several legislative proposals in the 109th Congress and opposed by NAHB.
  
  
• Limits the time the DHS has to respond to an employer’s verification request in order to ensure that employers are being notified as quickly as possible about an applicant’s legal status. NAHB believes lawmakers should make the response time as short as possible to give the housing industry the ability to fill jobs in a timely fashion.
  
  
• Creates new, tamper-proof Social Security cards that would aid employers in ensuring that that they are not being presented with fraudulent documentation.
  
  
• Establishes significant penalties for individuals who falsely claim to be eligible to work in the U.S., and also institutes significant civil and criminal penalties for employers who do not comply with the system’s requirements and knowingly continue to hire illegal workers.
  
  
• Creates a safe harbor for employers who use the new verification system. NAHB strongly supports the safe harbor language, arguing that employers should not be able to be sued by former employees if the DHS database has incorrect information on the employee’s legal status.

It is estimated that more than 20% of the building industry's workforce is foreign-born, making the immigrant population essential to meeting housing demand and sustaining economic growth in this country.

This year, the nation’s home builders will construct more than 1.5 million new homes, and it is projected that the residential construction industry will need to build 18 million new homes during the next decade, generating more than 1 million new jobs.

“NAHB is reviewing the legislative language in the STRIVE Act and looks forward to working with Reps. Gutierrez and Flake in the House and lawmakers in the Senate to advance legislation that overhauls our nation’s immigration laws,” said Catalde. “The reform package should strengthen our economy, protect our borders, provide for an effective program targeted toward the future flow of immigrants into the U.S., create a fair and efficient employee verification system and establish a common-sense path for foreign workers to earn the right to apply for permanent legal status.”

To read the legislation, click here and enter H.R. 1645 in the box at the center of the page.

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

Home Builders Institute Offers New Program to Teach Hispanic Adults English

Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition is an easy-to-use, take home learning tool created exclusively for the construction industry by the Home Builders Institute to improve communication, quality and safety on the job site. 

The product, now available at www.seddesaberconstruction.com, uses proven LeapFrog technology to allow workers to listen, record and play back their pronunciation of more than 500 vocabulary words and 340 phrases. Participants who practice 30 minutes each day will complete the program in just four months. Learning at home, on their own time, also eliminates scheduling conflicts. 

Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition was developed by a team of subject matter experts assembled through HBI, including superintendents, craft skills experts, remodelers and builders, to ensure that the information is relevant to today’s home building workforce. 

To address worker safety issues related to the language barrier, HBI created a seventh book based entirely on the NAHB-OSHA Job Site Safety Handbook. 

NAHB members can purchase the learning system, all seven books and a skills assessment to chart employee progress for $395 per kit. The non-member price is $495. Order today and empower your workers to learn English at www.seddesaberconstruction.com.

House Bill Extends Relief for 2005 Hurricane Victims

By a vote of 302 to 125, the House on March 21 passed H.R. 1227, the “Gulf Coast Hurricane Housing Recovery Act,” legislation that would help provide affordable housing for low-income residents displaced by the hurricanes that hit the area in 2005.

Prior to consideration of the bill, NAHB sent a letter to the full committee highlighting the association’s support for language extending the Disaster Voucher Program until Jan. 1, 2008. Due to the magnitude of the destruction caused by the hurricanes, which decimated entire communities, many families have not yet found permanent housing or jobs and continue to need this vital assistance.

NAHB also indicated support for provisions in the bill that would prevent the expiration or termination of housing assistance payment contracts for multifamily housing properties assisted under Sections 8, 202, 811 and 236 that were damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The bill directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development to promptly review and approve all feasible proposals made by owners of these properties to resume the assistance after the damage has been repaired, or, in the case of interest reduction payments, transfer the remaining budget authority to another multifamily housing project.

Alternatively, the housing assistance would be transferred to another appropriate and habitable project or a project that will be constructed, with the same or a different owner. In the case of interest reduction payments contracts, any remaining budget authority could be used to reduce financing costs for units in other habitable projects that don’t have assistance.

An amendment offered by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) and adopted by the House extends the deadline for cutting off rental housing assistance under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Section 408 program until the end of this year. After that date, eligible families would receive Section 8 vouchers from HUD. This provision affects about 37,000 families. In addition, the Disaster Voucher Program, administered by HUD and expiring in September, would be extended for an additional three months.

The bill also includes provisions to reimburse communities and landlords that were generous in providing assistance to hurricane-affected families. Specifically, localities that used their own Community Development Block Grant funds to provide rental assistance to affected families will be reimbursed for those costs. Also, landlords who participated in FEMA’s Section 403 program would be reimbursed for the financial losses they suffered when FEMA broke private lease agreements co-signed by localities.

At this time, Senate action on a companion bill is uncertain. After passage of the House bill, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) indicated that he was assessing the best way to address the issue. NAHB will continue to closely follow legislative movements in the Senate.

To read the legislation, click here and enter H.R. 1227 in the box at the center of the page.

For more information, e-mail Scott Meyer at NAHB or call him at 800-368-5242 x8144.

Anti-Growth a Stumbling Block for Latino Home Buyers

	Ray Fernandez

In a March 21 address before the National Hispanic Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., California builder Ray Fernandez outlined several steps that NAHB is taking to advance homeownership opportunities for the nation’s growing Latino community.

The forum was sponsored by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), who participated in the event along with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

Fernandez noted that only 27% of his fellow Latinos can afford to purchase a house in his home county of San Bernardino County, Calif., and cited statistics from the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute reporting that a $5,000 increase in the price of a home prevents 44,000 Hispanic families in the Golden State from qualifying for a mortgage.

“As we talk about how to make housing affordable, the key subjects are overly burdensome restrictions on land and anti-growth activism that prevent the building of affordable housing,” said Fernandez.

“Yet there is hope. NAHB fights every day for the cause of housing affordability by knocking down the barriers to housing and advocating for programs that make housing available and affordable.”

NAHB is working with members of Congress to revitalize and reform the Federal Housing Administration to ensure that home buyers have access to safe, affordable mortgage financing that enables them to realize the dream of homeownership, he said.

“And NAHB is closely examining the sub-prime mortgage market to find the true factors contributing to the market’s downturn,” added Fernandez. “NAHB’s goal is to ensure that home owners remain in their homes.”

Learning to Speak English

To help the home building industry’s 2.5 million Hispanic workers learn to speak English, NAHB has developed an innovative learning program called "Sed de Saber-Construction Edition."

Created by the Home Builders Institute, the workforce development arm of NAHB, the program is designed to help Hispanic workers to have stable, good-paying jobs, establish successful careers in the construction industry and move forward on the path to homeownership.

Nationwide, the Hispanic community is the nation’s fastest growing minority, making up nearly 15% of the total U.S. population. By 2020, Hispanics will account for 18% of the nation’s population.

“To place this in perspective, there are currently 40 million Hispanic households in the U.S., and 2.1 million more will join the housing market by 2010,” said Fernandez. “That will amount to 31% of all household growth nationwide.”

Noting that 88% of Hispanic families say that their definition of the American dream is owning their own home, Fernandez described its importance in deeply personal terms.

“The American dream of homeownership provides a stable environment for my family to flourish in,” he said. “Even as I have gotten older, I still fondly look back on my youth, playing in my own yard, celebrating holidays with my family in our living room and talking about the day’s events at our kitchen table. The American dream to me is a mosaic of all those wonderful memories.”

Owning a home not only enhances the quality of life for individual families, but also has a transformational power on communities, he added.

“Owning a home changes the way we think about our community and translates into a greater appreciation for citizenship and civic responsibility,” said Fernandez. “Homeownership also builds communities by funding the quality of life assets that they need. Each newly-built home helps to pay for police and fire protection, construct new schools, road and parks, and to pay for many other civic needs.”

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

Are You Prepared for the New Emerging Market?

"Casa y Comunidad: Latino Home and Neighborhood Design,” available through BuilderBooks.com, takes the first-ever look at the growing and increasingly prosperous U.S. Latino community and its housing needs and helps all segments of the housing industry to understand and prepare for this emerging market.

To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.

Housing Starts Up Last Month, But Permits Down

After slipping 14.3% in January, housing starts last month rebounded 9.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.525 million units, leaving production 28.5% below the pace of a year earlier, the Commerce Department reported on March 20.

On the heels of an 11.2% stumble in January, construction of new single-family homes rose 10.3% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.220 million units.

Multifamily housing construction, which skidded 24.5% last month, climbed 4.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 305,000 units in February.

Permits, considered a less volatile measure of housing construction activity, were issued at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.532 million units in February, down 2.5% for the month and 28.6% from a year earlier.

“Unusually good weather in the South and West enabled builders to begin construction of many single-family homes that had been sold and permitted earlier,” said NAHB President Brian Catalde. “At the same time, unusually bad weather held down building activity in the Northeast and Midwest.”

“Shifting weather conditions have created a lot of month-to-month volatility in both housing starts and building permits during recent months,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “The trend lines are still slightly downward, although we probably are now approaching a bottom in the market.”

“NAHB’s forecast shows a gradual increase in housing starts beginning in the second quarter of this year,” Seiders added, “although we expect that total to be down about 17% from 2006.”

Regionally, construction of new homes and apartments was up 18.0% in the South and 26.4% in the West but down 14.4% in the Midwest and 29.7% in the Northeast. However, housing construction in February was substantially below the pace of a year earlier in all four regions of the country.

Permits, considered a less volatile measure of housing construction activity, were issued at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.532 million units in February, down 2.5% for the month and 28.6% from a year earlier.

The issuance of single-family permits declined 3.1% to an annual rate of 1.089 million units during February, 32.9% below February 2006. Multifamily permits dropped 0.9% to 443,000 units, 15.3% below their year-earlier rate.

Is the Housing Correction Over? Attend Construction Forecast Conference on April 26

Will housing demand outweigh affordability hurdles, inventory overhangs and the retreat of investors? Where are home prices headed?

Get the answers to these and other questions at the Construction Forecast Conference — Spring 2007 on April 26 in Washington, D.C.

Panels of nationally recognized experts will discuss economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys at the day-long conference.

For more information and to register, click here.

Can't Attend in Person? Webcast of Conference Also Available

The conference is also available via Webcast. For Webcast information, visit www.nahb.org/cfcwebcast.

Want to Know Your State’s Starts Forecast for 2008?

Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s State Starts Forecast (sample). The starts forecast includes downloadable Excel tables of total, single-family and multifamily starts by region and state.

To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com.

NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Cooling Market

With the current cooling of the nation’s housing market expected to persist into the middle of the year, NAHB has developed a comprehensive online toolkit geared to providing association members with information that will help them prosper in today’s changing business environment.

To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar.

For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.

New-Home Sales Drop to Lowest Level Since August 2000

Sales of new single-family homes fell 3.9% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 848,000, the lowest level since August 2000, according to figures released today by the U.S. Commerce Department. The February fall-off followed downward revisions to the sales rates for the three previous months.

“The decline in home sales reflects what builders are telling us,” said NAHB President Brian Catalde. Recent surveys of builders indicate “serious concerns about how the subprime-related shakeout in the mortgage market will affect the housing sector. Today’s numbers suggest we are already seeing serious effects on the lending side,” he said.

“Lending standards apparently are tightening not only in the subprime market but in other components of mortgage lending as well, and this is creating tremendous uncertainties regarding the near-term outlook for home sales and housing production,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “The Federal Reserve’s recent statement that there is an ongoing adjustment in the housing sector appears right on target.”

Seiders added that the decline in new-home sales is troubling particularly in view of supportive economic fundamentals — job growth and household income are solid and the interest rate structure remains quite favorable. In addition, the weakening is occurring despite improving affordability conditions in the marketplace, improvements in consumers’ assessments of home buying conditions, and ongoing efforts by builders to reduce inventories by cutting prices and offering other sales incentives.

“While there was some weather-related impact on both the January and February sales numbers, it is obvious that the weakness is more fundamental, and this apparently can be traced to the mortgage market,” said Seiders. “Housing is a credit-dependent sector, and a broad-based tightening of mortgage lending standards certainly does not bode well for families seeking to buy homes.”

Three out of four regions posted declines in new-home sales in February. Sales were down 26.8% in the Northeast, 20% in the Midwest and 7% in the South. Sales were up 24.6% in the West, but Seiders noted that the increase was largely attributable to an unusually low reading in January.

Is the Housing Correction Over? Attend Construction Forecast Conference on April 26

Will housing demand outweigh affordability hurdles, inventory overhangs and the retreat of investors? Where are home prices headed?

Get the answers to these and other questions at the Construction Forecast Conference — Spring 2007 on April 26 in Washington, D.C.

Panels of nationally recognized experts will discuss economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys at the day-long conference.

For more information and to register, click here.

Can't Attend in Person? Webcast of Conference Also Available

The conference is also available via Webcast. For Webcast information, visit www.nahb.org/cfcwebcast.

Want to Know Your State’s Starts Forecast for 2008?

Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s State Starts Forecast (sample). The starts forecast includes downloadable Excel tables of total, single-family and multifamily starts by region and state.

To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com.

NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Cooling Market

With the current cooling of the nation’s housing market expected to persist into the middle of the year, NAHB has developed a comprehensive online toolkit geared to providing association members with information that will help them prosper in today’s changing business environment.

To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar.

For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.

ARM Resets Not Expected to Have Major Economic Impact

With trillions of dollars of adjustable-rate mortgages having their payments beginning to reset this year and in 2008, a new study by Christopher Cagan, director of research and analytics for First American CoreLogic, anticipates 1.1 million foreclosures over the next six to seven years, representing 13% of the ARMs originated from 2004 to 2006 and $326 billion of debt.

After the foreclosed homes are resold, Cagan projects, about $112 billion will be lost to remaining equity, lenders and investors over several years.

However, these losses represent less than 1% of the total mortgage lending projected for that period. “Thus, mortgage payment reset will not break the national economy or the mortgage lending industry,” he said.

The impact of these reset-based foreclosures will not be spread evenly, but will focus especially on teaser-rate and sub-prime mortgages originated in the past three years, his study says. These loans will begin the reset process earlier than market-rate adjustable loans and they are more likely to default.

The study projects that:

• Thirty-two percent of teaser loans will default as a result of being reset at higher monthly payments.
• Seven percent of market-rate adjustable loans will succumb to being reset at a higher interest rate.
• Twelve percent of sub-prime loans will default.

What happens to prices can make a crucial difference to borrowers, Cagan points out. “A small rise in prices will lift many properties out of equity difficulty and enable an escape from reset-based default through refinance or sale,” he said. On the other hand, “a small drop in prices will push many properties into equity difficulty and resulting reset-based default.

The First American study developed two alternate scenarios involving rising and falling prices and found that:

• With each 1% rise in national prices, 70,000 fewer loans will be lost to reset-driven foreclosure.
• With each 1% drop in prices, an additional 70,000 loans enter reset-driven foreclosure.

Cagan noted that the marketplace is already taking action to limit the extent of the reset problem.

“Many loans are being refinanced from adjustable-rate to fixed-rate terms, avoiding payment reset,” he said. “Many lenders are working with their clients to modify or refinance existing loans to avoid default. In our market economy, it is the marketplace of lenders and investors that must face the issue of mortgage payment reset; the marketplace is already doing just that.”

Is the Housing Correction Over? Attend Construction Forecast Conference on April 26

Will housing demand outweigh affordability hurdles, inventory overhangs and the retreat of investors? Where are home prices headed?

Get the answers to these and other questions at the Construction Forecast Conference — Spring 2007 on April 26 in Washington, D.C.

Panels of nationally recognized experts will discuss economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys at the day-long conference.

For more information and to register, click here.

Can't Attend in Person? Webcast of Conference Also Available

The conference is also available via Webcast. For Webcast information, visit www.nahb.org/cfcwebcast. 

Want to Know Your State’s Starts Forecast for 2008?

Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s State Starts Forecast (sample). The starts forecast includes downloadable Excel tables of total, single-family and multifamily starts by region and state.

To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com.

NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Cooling Market

With the current cooling of the nation’s housing market expected to persist into the middle of the year, NAHB has developed a comprehensive online toolkit geared to providing association members with information that will help them prosper in today’s changing business environment.

To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar.

For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.

Housing Slowdown Making 2007 a Harder Year for Cement

Even with non-residential and public construction moving ahead at a healthy clip, cement consumption is expected to be up only 1.5% this year as the result of weakness in the housing industry, Ed Sullivan, chief economist for the Portland Cement Association, said in his spring forecast last week.

Sullivan’s forecast for cement consumption this year projects a decline of nearly 6 million metric tons from the amount of cement used in residential construction in 2006. “Single-family starts activity and residential cement consumption will not recover until the existing inventory level of homes is reduced,” he said.

However, after a weak first half, declines in housing starts “will turn to gains by the end of the year,” he added.

On a year-over-year basis, single-family home sales will post gains in the second half of 2007, a trend that should continue into 2008 and 2009, contributing to an estimated 3.9% increase in cement construction next year. At the height of the housing boom, cement consumption was growing at an annual rate of 5.5%.

A 33% increase in asphalt prices during the second half of 2006 along with hefty increases in steel prices should start giving a competitive edge to cement during the second half of 2007, Sullivan added.

While the outlook remains favorable, albeit a bit lackluster compared to the years prior to the housing downturn, Sullivan did caution that the odds of the economy unraveling have increased significantly over the last year, largely because consumers are not in the best shape to sustain their recent levels of spending.

Also, a sudden outflow of foreign capital from U.S. markets could result in an unanticipated increase in interest rates that would create a “vicious circle” of defaults and tightening credit in the home mortgage market, he warned.

Even so, Sullivan calculated the odds of an imminent recession at no higher than one in three and said that the risk is about 25% according to a survey of economists.

Is the Housing Correction Over? Attend Construction Forecast Conference on April 26

Will housing demand outweigh affordability hurdles, inventory overhangs and the retreat of investors? Where are home prices headed?

Get the answers to these and other questions at the Construction Forecast Conference — Spring 2007 on April 26 in Washington, D.C.

Panels of nationally recognized experts will discuss economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys at the day-long conference.

For more information and to register, click here.

Can't Attend in Person? Webcast of Conference Also Available

The conference is also available via Webcast. For Webcast information, visit www.nahb.org/cfcwebcast. 

Attend the Concrete Technologies Tour on May 6-8

The latest advances in concrete construction, production, materials and design will be showcased at the 2007 Concrete Home Building Council Concrete Technologies Tour in Minneapolis on May 6-8.

The tour will feature educational programs, networking and behind-the-scenes tours of six cement-based building materials and manufacturing facilities. 

To Register

For more information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/concretetour.

Want to Know Your State’s Starts Forecast for 2008?

Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s State Starts Forecast (sample). The starts forecast includes downloadable Excel tables of total, single-family and multifamily starts by region and state.

To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com.

NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Cooling Market

With the current cooling of the nation’s housing market expected to persist into the middle of the year, NAHB has developed a comprehensive online toolkit geared to providing association members with information that will help them prosper in today’s changing business environment.

To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar.

For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.

Existing Home Sales Show Biggest Monthly Rise in Three Years

The health of the nation’s housing industry looked a little rosier last week with a report from the National Association of Realtors® showing existing-home sales at their highest level since last April.

Total existing home sales — including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — rose 3.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million units in February from a downwardly revised level of 6.44 million in January. The sales pace for the month was 3.6% below the pace of a year earlier.

The increase in sales in February was the biggest monthly rise in three years.

“Some of the rise in home sales may be from mild weather that brought out shoppers in December,” said the association's chief economist, David Lereah. “But fundamentals have improved in the housing market and buyers see a window now with historically low mortgage interest rates and competitive pricing by sellers.

The national median existing-home price was $212,800 in February, down 1.3% from $215,700 a year earlier.

On the financing front, prospective home buyers continued last week to find stable and favorable mortgage rates. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.16%, up slightly from 6.14% in the prior week but lower than the 6.32% posted for the same week a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

One-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.4%, down just a tad from 5.42% for the previous week and 5.41% a year earlier.

“Mortgage rates were stable this week as the bond market took readings on producer prices and consumer prices in stride,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Excluding food and energy, core inflation at the wholesale level was up more than had been anticipated in February, but at the retail level the increase was in line with expectations. Weighing the relevant factors, the Fed decided to leave the target federal funds rate unchanged at 5.25%.”

Is the Housing Correction Over? Attend Construction Forecast Conference on April 26

Will housing demand outweigh affordability hurdles, inventory overhangs and the retreat of investors? Where are home prices headed?

Get the answers to these and other questions at the Construction Forecast Conference — Spring 2007 on April 26 in Washington, D.C.

Panels of nationally recognized experts will discuss economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys at the day-long conference.

For more information and to register, click here.

Can't Attend in Person? Webcast of Conference Also Available

The conference is also available via Webcast. For Webcast information, visit www.nahb.org/cfcwebcast. 

Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s State Starts Forecast (sample). The starts forecast includes downloadable Excel tables of total, single-family and multifamily starts by region and state.

To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com.

NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Cooling Market

With the current cooling of the nation’s housing market expected to persist into the middle of the year, NAHB has developed a comprehensive online toolkit geared to providing association members with information that will help them prosper in today’s changing business environment.

To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar.

For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.

Useful Links to Monitor Economic and Housing Trends

The following are links to useful information from government agencies and NAHB that will enable you to monitor the housing market.

To access the latest information available, simply click the links.

• U.S. Census Bureau Construction Price Indexes
  
  
• NAHB's Housing Forecast
  Housing starts, sales and interest rate projections through 2007.
  
  
• Latest Home Mortgage Interest Rates
  Contains current and historical data on fixed and adjustable mortgage rates. Updated weekly.
  
  
• Historical Facts, Figures and Trends
  Includes new home starts and sales, average and median home prices, homeownership rates, characteristics of new homes and more.
  
  
• Characteristics of New Housing
  Highlights the latest data on new-home characteristics released by the U.S. Census Department. Includes links to the complete Census report and other trends researched by NAHB.
  
  Additional breakouts of this data and other trends researched by NAHB are available at www.nahb.org/constructionstats under “Selected Characteristics of New Housing” (dated 6/13/2006).
  
  
• Housing Starts
  Updated monthly and based on a seasonally adjusted annual rate.
  
  
• New and Existing Home Sales
  Updated monthly and based on a seasonally adjusted annual rate.
  
  
• New and Existing Single-Family Median Home Prices
  Updated monthly.
  
  
• Home Price Index
  The index measures average home appreciation in more than 250 metropolitan markets. Updated quarterly.
  
  

• Metro Home Building Permits
  Local and state data on housing construction rates. Updated monthly.
  
  
• Employment Trends for Metro/State Markets
  Provides metro and state employment data nationwide. Updated monthly.
  
  
• Local Economic Impact of Housing
  Shows how building 100 homes benefits a typical metropolitan area.
  
  
• Home Building’s Direct Impact on the Economy
  
  
• Housing’s Contribution to Gross State Product
  Measures how much housing contributes to the economic output of each state.
  
  
• Housing Market Statistics from HousingEconomics.com
  Full array of statistical categories available to NAHB members, a limited number available to non-members.
  
  
• In-Depth Analysis from HousingEconomics.com
  Full array of analysis of factors affecting housing and the impact on the industry available to NAHB members, a limited number available to non-members.

Is the Housing Correction Over? Attend Construction Forecast Conference on April 26

Will housing demand outweigh affordability hurdles, inventory overhangs and the retreat of investors? Where are home prices headed?

Get the answers to these and other questions at the Construction Forecast Conference — Spring 2007 on April 26 in Washington, D.C.

Panels of nationally recognized experts will discuss economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys at the day-long conference.

For more information and to register, click here.

Can't Attend in Person? Webcast of Conference Also Available

The conference is also available via Webcast. For Webcast information, visit www.nahb.org/cfcwebcast. 

Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s State Starts Forecast (sample). The starts forecast includes downloadable Excel tables of total, single-family and multifamily starts by region and state.

To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com.

NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Cooling Market

With the current cooling of the nation’s housing market expected to persist into the middle of the year, NAHB has developed a comprehensive online toolkit geared to providing association members with information that will help them prosper in today’s changing business environment.

To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar.

For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.

Builders' Tip: Making A Grit-Free Cap for Pneumatic Tools

	Click for larger image.

As I was trying out a new nailer, it occurred to me that the nailer would probably last longer if I just could keep dirt and grit out of its innards while the tool wasn’t in use.

So, I decided to make some plastic caps to cover the nailer’s hose coupling.

• I made the caps using 3/8-inch ID plastic tubing, the kind that is often used for water levels.
  
  
• With a butane lighter, I flamed the end of the tubing until it melted.
  
  
• Then I squished the end shut with a pair of wide-lipped pliers.
  
  
• After waiting a half-minute or so, I removed the pliers and cut off the end of the tube. The resulting cap is about 1 inch long.
  
  
• As shown in the accompanying drawing, I used a large sewing needle to thread a loop of braided fishing line through the side of the cap.
  
  
• The line wraps around the nailer’s handle, keeping the cap where I need it.

This technique can be used with larger or smaller diameter tubing, cut to different lengths, to make caps for innumerable items that have lost their original caps or didn’t come with them.

I’ve even used them to cap tubes of partially-used caulk. By the way, filling the cap with the appropriate solvent before slipping it onto the caulk nozzle will prevent the caulk from hardening.

— Ted Vish, Weaverville, N. C.

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

To request a reprint of this feature, e-mail Christina Glennon at Fine Homebuilding.

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

BuilderBooks.com is your source for training and education products for the building industry. The official bookstore for NAHB, BuilderBooks.com offers award-winning publications, software, brochures and more available in both English and Spanish.

To view these publications online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.

Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Cooling Market

With the current cooling of the nation’s housing market expected to persist into the middle of the year, NAHB has developed a comprehensive online toolkit geared to providing association members with information that will help them prosper in today’s changing business environment.

To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar on the NAHB Web site.

For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.

Tax Incentives Available to Create Affordable Housing

Special tax incentives designed to create affordable housing, promote economic development and stimulate job growth are available to small businesses located in economically distressed areas under the Community Renewal Act of 2000, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

IRS Publication 954, Tax Incentives for Distressed Communities, provides information about the tax incentives for businesses located in designated Empowerment Zones or Renewal Communities.

Incentives for Commercial Property, Too

For businesses that hire local residents, upgrade equipment and build or rehabilitate commercial property, substantial cash savings through tax incentives are possible, as well.

More than $19 billion in federal tax incentives is reserved exclusively for Renewal Communities, Empowerment Zones and the Gulf Opportunity Zone. These incentives include wage credits, increased deductions, accelerated depreciation, low-interest loans through facility bonds and tax savings on capital gains.

In most cases, businesses must be located in designated Empowerment Zones or Renewal Communities to qualify for the incentives. However, some incentives are available to businesses regardless of location.

For more information and an online locator of the designated zones, visit the Department of Housing and Urban Development Web site at www.hud.gov, or IRS Publication 954.

NAHB Members:

Click here to learn more about Empowerment Zone Tax Incentives and to download a complete list of incentives available.

Attend the Housing Credit Group Issues Forum

Mark your calendars for the Housing Credit Group Issues Forum in Seattle on Sept. 5. The forum discussion will feature ways to break down common barriers to affordable housing. 

For more information on the Housing Credit Group, click here.

Builders Search NAHB’s Technology Directory for Solutions

Builders seeking software and technology solutions are turning to NAHB’s Technology Solutions Directory, an easy-to-use directory that enables builders, remodelers, contractors and other industry professionals to find valuable information on software and IT solutions and services for their businesses. 

Created by NAHB’s Business Management & Information Technology Committee, the technology help line has become an on-demand and manageable resource for building industry professionals overwhelmed by the profuse amount of technology solutions choices available and who want to focus on industry-oriented solutions that meet their needs.

The Technology Solutions Directory — available to members online at www.nahb.org/tsd ― lists technology solutions by vendor and by type, including estimating software and systems, accounting/financial control, scheduling, sales and marketing, and Web site design.

To Be Listed

Software and technology solutions providers interested in being listed can sign up at www.nahb.org/tsd3.

To learn more, e-mail Wil Heslop at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8472.

The Technology Solutions Directory is solely for educational and informational purposes. Nothing in the directory should be construed as policy, an endorsement, warranty or guaranty by the National Association of Home Builders of the listed software, IT service or the software/IT vendor. The National Association of Home Builders expressly disclaims any responsibility for any damages arising from the use, application or reliance on any information contained in this directory.

Photo Gallery: Homes Gone Green

Photo Gallery, which follows, is a regular feature of NAHB HouseKeys, the consumer-oriented e-newsletter from NAHB for home owners and prospective home owners.

Photo Gallery showcases a portfolio of homes, with each feature focusing on a different theme. The feature that follows, which was originally published in NAHB HouseKeys on March 20, showcases homes designed and built green.

	The Galleries at Turney, built by Modus Development of Phoenix, Ariz., features eight detached residences. In addition to high-efficiency Bosch appliances, the homes also utilize low water-use plumbing fixtures, low-emittance windows and doors, high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, and low volatile organic compounds (VOC) paint. Innovative design features include a “rainscreen” façade system of corrugated zinc paneling and a fiber-cement skin that “floats” over the home and shields it from the harsh effects of the sun.

Waldsee BioHaus, an environmental living center at Concordia Language Villages in Bemidji, Minn., is the first building in North America to be certified as a “Passive House” — one of the world’s toughest energy standards — by Germany’s Passivhaus Institute. Germany’s Passivhaus standard is the world’s leading criteria in energy efficient construction. The center uses 85% less energy than comparable U.S. buildings by using innovative and broadly applicable insulation, heat recovery and air exchange systems and high-quality windows and doors with low-E (emittance) glazing.

This Albuquerque, N.M. home, built by the Strosnider Company, is designed to maximize living space with elevated ceilings and abundant natural light throughout.  Features include engineered lumber, blown-in insulation throughout, low-E windows, Solatube skylights, a foam-seal air filtration package and Energy Star® digital auto programmable thermostats. As a result, the home's air quality is improved and it has an average 30% reduction in utility costs and a significant reduction in water use.

	An important aspect of building green is incorporating an environmentally-friendly lifestyle for residents. The “Pull-a-Part”™ town house, designed by national architectural firm BSB Design, does just that. It's a townhome-style structure pulled apart with just enough spacing between the units to give both the home owner and builder the privileges of a single-family home and to avoid the insurance issues that come with an attached product. With a long, 40- to 50-foot-wide stretch of a communal front yard, or paseo, and private backyards for each of the homes, the community is nestled in an environment that promotes walking to shops, schools and recreational facilities. The homes and community design provide increased affordability and sustainabilty and foster less car use.

This home, located in Paso Robles, Calif., and developed by Estrella Associates, Inc., is an example of how the production housing market is addressing green building. It was built using PolySteel insulated concrete forms (ICF) rather than traditional wood-framed construction, an innovative practice that reduces reliance on lumber (sustainable building), improves energy efficiency and soundproofing, and increases resistances to termites, water intrusion and seismic forces.

This home located in Pacific Highlands Ranch, San Diego is built by Pardee Homes of Southern California. Pardee has been a pioneer in green building in Southern California and Nevada, and was the first regional builder committed to building only Energy Star® homes, which can save home buyers up 30% or more in energy costs. Pardee’s innovative LivingSmart® program, which encompasses a comprehensive array of green building standards, plus multiple, user-friendly ways for buyers to expand their choices, is offered at several Pardee neighborhoods in Southern California and Las Vegas.

The next Photo Gallery will showcase outdoor spaces. To submit homes for consideration, e-mail Niki Clark at NAHB. Put "Photo Gallery: Outdoor Spaces" in the subject line of the e-mail.

For more information about NAHB HouseKeys, or to subscribe, visit www.nahb.org/HouseKeys.

HouseKeys Articles Available to NAHB Members

NAHB member companies are invited to use non-bylined articles in NAHB HouseKeys for their consumer outreach, including Web sites, newsletters or magazines.

NAHB will provide a graphic that can be posted on your own Web site or in print products to promote NAHB HouseKeys to home buyers and prospects.

For more information, visit www.nahb.org/HouseKeys, or e-mail Niki Clark at NAHB.

Charrettes Give Builders Quick Glimpse Into Design Process

The best plans to emerge from the charrette are presented and discussed in the final session of the Design Institute.

The design charrette at the upcoming NAHB/BALA Design Institute for Builders near Seattle will give builders who attend the charrette sessions an opportunity to participate — at a very accelerated pace — in the design process from the earliest stages.

Charettes are hands-on problem-solving over a very short, intense period of time. They also are some of the more popular sessions at the Design Institute conference.

At each session, groups of designers and builders are given a floor plan design problem and a deadline under which to develop a solution.

The process begins, quite literally, with a blank slate. Aside from the barest of guidelines — the project at the Design Institute will be a single-family home — participants in each charette session will decide every detail of the project — lot size, elevation, even the demographics of the owners — as they develop their answer to the problem.

“Builders can witness the thought process, see mistakes and revisions. They can participate fully in the process,” said Jeff LeFetra, an architect with Bassenian Lagoni in Newport Beach, Calif.

Two architects will be on hand to draft the participants’ suggestions. The goal of each group is to present a completed floor plan by the session’s conclusion. The best plans will be presented and discussed during the closing session of the conference.

The Origin of the 'Charrette'

The word charrette is from the French for “cart” or “chariot” and originated in 19th century Paris at the art and architecture school, École des Beaux-Arts. At that time, architecture students worked furiously on their design presentations en charrette —  literally “in the cart” — while being wheeled through the streets of Paris on their way to turn in their assignments to their professors, according to the National Charrette Institute headquartered in Portland, Ore.

(Another popular origin of the word charrette also has it derived from carts, but not the carts used by the French architecture students. These carts were used by condemned prisoners on their way to the guillotine — giving present-day charette participants a somewhat less-nuanced perspective on the concept of deadlines.)

 Attend the NAHB/BALA Design Institute for Builders

The NAHB/BALA Design Institute for Builders, the only design conference specifically for building industry professionals, will be held June 25-27 in Bellevue, Wash. (near Seattle).

Attendees will learn the latest in residential housing design trends from the industry's top professionals, tour beautiful award-winning homes and communities that display the best in cutting-edge architectural design, and learn how to profitably apply these design ideas to the homes they build.

For more information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/designinstitute.

An architect helps charrette participants translate their ideas into floor plans at the 2006 Design Institute.

Public Needs to Be Sold on Density as Building Boom Nears

The authors of a new book depicting where high density development is successful and where it is not concede that architects and land planners have their work cut out for them in convincing the nation’s households to embrace alternatives to the traditional single-family home on an expansive yard.

But with 100 million additional people expected in the United States by 2050, rising energy and transportation costs, growing greenhouse gas emissions from driving, and disappearing farmland and open space in metropolitan areas, the need for well-designed density has never been greater, according to “Visualizing Density,” a new book published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

In the next 25 years, the authors — landscape architect and land planner Julie Campoli and pilot, aerial photographer and architect Alex S. MacLean — project that the nation will need 60 million new units to house the population, which equals more than half of the housing stock on the ground now.

“And that doesn’t include the 104 billion square feet of new space that will be needed for commercial, industrial and institutional uses,” they say. “The next generation of Americans will face an unprecedented building boom."

The book examines scores of different neighborhoods across the country to provide objective and comparative views of various approaches to building higher density. More than 1,200 aerial views are included.

“Despite all the advantages of building closer, resistance to density is widespread, to say the least,” the authors write. U.S. cities and villages were dense for only about 150 years, compared to 1,000 years or longer in many developed nations, before they started losing population to the suburbs in the mid-20th century.

“Psychologically, we’re a nation of single-family home owners,” they say. “We’re accustomed to a lot of space between our neighbors and ourselves. This cultural bias often underlies discussions of growth and development and merges with negative stereotypes of recent public housing failures. Many people view density as a threat, believing that it leads to sinking property values, rising crime and traffic congestion.”

Among the reasons cited for why Americans hate density:

• Crowding. It’s true that there is such a thing as “bad” density, the authors say. This is represented by poorly planned and designed development that lacks amenities, is crowded and monotonous and offers few environmental or economic benefits.
  
  The concept of crowding, they say, can be the result of too many people trying to fit into too few housing units. For instance, “measured in persons per square mile, some areas of South Central Los Angeles are the densest neighborhoods in the country, but measured in units per acre they have a relatively low density. They are dense in population, but not in housing units.”
  
  Undesirable density can also be found in recent sprawling growth in desert cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix, they say. This development is oriented to highway corridors and its form is largely determined by the storage of cars. “A remote 500-acre subdivision of single-family homes on cul-de-sac streets, located near a highway interchange, but with a relatively high density of eight units per acre, could be accurately described as sprawl,” they say. “It’s just a denser version of sprawl.”
  
  
• Monotony. “Many examples of ‘bad’ density arise from the stack ‘em and pack ‘em approach to housing design, which is tempting to developers in our age of mass production,” they write. While pointing out that the approach epitomized by builder William Levitt of applying factory techniques to on-site construction and working at a large scale “brings down the cost of construction and makes housing more affordable, it also breeds monotony. When the same building form is repeated relentlessly across a broad area, it provokes a response that there are ‘too many’ structures, regardless of the actual number. Density is perceived to be greater than it is.
  
  “All too often, the term ‘density’ evokes an image of repetitive, featureless housing developments with little greenery and no privacy. Some dense neighborhoods are bleak, but it’s not a function of how many housing units are built on each acre. Crowding and monotony are the consequences of poor design, not the inevitable results of density.”

The book notes that interest in more walkable, mixed-use and concentrated neighborhoods is on the rise among some demographic groups, such as retiring baby boomers and young professionals seeking transit-oriented development for shorter commutes.

“But for others, density continues to have negative consequences,” according to the authors. “In many established neighborhoods, concerns about traffic congestion and parking, and strains on infrastructure, schools and parks have led to resistance to more concentrated settlement patterns.”

The book grew out of a series of Lincoln Institute courses taught by Campoli and MacLean since 2003. Participants in those classes shared many stories of concentrated developments that were rejected outright or forced to reduce the number of housing units. The authors concluded that there was a clear need for a better way to present density to the public.

Design Matters. Register Now for the BALA Design Institute

In a competitive market, design can be the difference.

At the NAHB/BALA Design Institute for Builders, the only design conference specifically for building industry professionals, you'll learn the latest in residential housing design trends from the industry's top professionals, tour beautiful award-winning homes and communities that display the best in cutting-edge architectural design, and learn how to profitably apply these design ideas to the homes you build.

The Design Institute will be held June 25-27 in Bellevue, Wash. (near Seattle)

To register and for more information, visit www.nahb.org/designinstitute.

Attend the Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Conference and Awards Gala

The Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Conference and Awards Gala is the premier industry event for the multifamily industry. Make plans to attend: April 11-13 at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood, Fla.

For more information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/pillarsconference.

Register for 50+ Symposium by March 30 and Save $100

Register for the upcoming Building for Boomers & Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium in Denver by Friday, March 30 and save $100 off the regular registration rate on the premier education and networking event for housing professionals who serve the 50+ market.

Held at the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center and hosted by the NAHB 50+ Housing Council, the symposium will be from May 30 to June 1 and feature three housing tours showcasing different market segments of the 50+ housing industry — active adult communities, service-enriched communities and transit-oriented development (TOD).

Education

In addition, the educational programs, which include for-credit post-conference courses, will explore such topics as:

• Higher-Density Housing that Appeals to Boomers
• Kitchens and Master Suites: Two Keys to the Hearts of Boomers
• How 50+ Consumers Buy and Sell Homes
• Beyond Sun City: Exciting New 50+ Designs for Home and Community

Innovative Design and Marketing

New to the symposium this year will be the Best of 50+ Housing Awards gala, held on May 31, honoring the winners of the prestigious design and marketing awards program showcasing the latest trends and most innovative design.

“With the addition of the Best of 50+ Housing Awards gala and our expanded schedule of housing tours, this year’s 50+ Housing Symposium has even more to offer to attendees,” said Bob Tippets, 2007 Chairman of the NAHB 50+ Housing Council. “And housing professionals can take post-conference courses to get credit toward the new Certified Active Adult Specialist in Housing (CAASH) designation.”

The Glass House, by East-West Partners, is on the transit-oriented development tour at the 50+ housing symposium.

Green Building 

The symposium will also feature a press conference on Green Building and the 50+ home buyer on Thursday, May 31. Colorado builder John Kurowski, of the Kurowski Development Co., and Baltimore-based architect Ed Hord, AIA, of Hord Coplan Macht, will discuss how big the demand is among boomers for green building and how builders and architects are responding to this demand.

Of Note

• Trends: Keynote speaker Andrew Zolli, a noted foresight and global trends consultant, will examine the ways in which increased longevity will touch every part of life, from work to career to health care and financial planning.
  
  
• Not So Big: In addition, best-selling author Sarah Susanka will talk about how the "Not So Big" movement that is influencing the way boomers inhabit their lives.
  
  
• Long-Term Opportunities: Real estate advisor Tim Sullivan, president of Sullivan Group Real Estate Advisors, will assess the long-term opportunities and challenges facing building professionals today.

To Register

To register, or for more information, visit www.nahb.org/build4boomers. Attendees may also register on site.

Attendees who register by Friday, March 30 will save $100. Advance registration for Building for Boomers & Beyond ends May 11.

* Separate fees apply to the awards gala and housing tours.

Find Out What the 55+ Market Wants

“Boomers on the Horizon: Housing Preferences of the 55+ Market,” available through BuilderBooks.com, can help you better build and market homes to this age group.

Capitalize on the niches, needs and opportunities of this rapidly growing market by learning their preferences.

To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665

Market Realities, Trends Highlight Pillars Conference

The 2007 Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Conference and Awards Gala will be held at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood, Fla.

The changing market realities, emerging trends, best practices and cutting-edge information needed to stay ahead of the curve in the multifamily market will be discussed at the Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Conference and Awards Gala, the premier industry event for the multifamily industry, on April 11-13 at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood, Fla.

The market realities and trends to be discussed include:

• Multifamily Economic Forecast
  NAHB’s chief economist, David Seiders, will forecast how the apartment and condo markets are likely to perform over both the short and long term.
  
  
• Multfamily Market Outlook
  Industry analyst Ron Witten, president of Witten Advisors, LLC, will present a comprehensive update of multifamily markets across the country and offer his outlook for development, acquisitions, dispositions, financing and pricing.
  
  
• State of the Multifamily Industry
  Leaders of both the for-rent and for-sale segments of the housing industry will compare notes and share strategies about what’s in store for the industry’s biggest players and how apartment, condo and single-family home builders are adapting to the changing housing environment.
  
  
• Regional Market-by-Market Analysis
  This session provides local market information from the local pros on key markets across the country.

Other additional session will include:

• Cutting-edge ideas and best practices from case studies of award-winning projects
• Navigating entitlement’s treacherous waters
• Managing construction costs to maximize potential
• Green building trends
• Condo and rental design trends
• Making affordable workforce housing work 

To Register

For more information about these sessions and more, and to register, visit www.nahb.org/pillarsconference.

ICC-Developed Log Building Standard Approved by ANSI

A landmark log-home building standard to promote the design, construction and installation of safe and reliable structures built with log timbers recently gained approval of key code-establishing bodies and should begin having an impact on the log home industry as early as May.

The ICC400 Standard for Design and Construction of Log Structures is the first standard of its kind for log structures. It was developed by log-homes industry experts — including members of NAHB’s Log Homes Council — building officials and design professionals through a consensus committee formed by the International Code Council (ICC). The new standard was approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

The ICC develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties and states that adopt codes choose the ICC.

ANSI sets strict rules for standards, which must be developed in a consensus process so that a wide range of expert opinions — in this case, home builders, suppliers and code officials — can be included in the final product.

“The effort behind it was to develop a standard with a recognized stamp of approval, in this case the ANSI certification,” said the ICC’s Jennifer Gibson. “Builders will now have a standard and guidelines that they can use for the construction of a log structure, home or building that will meet building codes and will coordinate with the building codes in place, if a jurisdiction has adopted the International Building Code.”

“This is the first time that a consensus document is available to professionals regarding log building,” said Rob Pickett, of Rob Pickett & Associates and a member of the Log Homes Council who was integral in developing the standard. It’s a document that applies to all types of log construction and it’s important that people involved in different aspects of the log structures industry were involved in its creation.”

The ICC standards booklet with the new ICC400 log building standard will be available through the ICC Web site at www.iccsafe.org/ in May, or by calling 800-786-4452.

ICFs Critical Backbone to Green Building Tour Home

The ICF home by Sage Homebuilders is on display during the Green Building Conference in St. Louis.

A St. Louis home that is being built with insulating concrete forms (ICF) and provides enhanced energy efficiency and is strong enough to withstand tornadoes and other severe weather conditions is on display during NAHB’s 2007 Green Building Conference this week.

ICFs are stay-in-place forms in which concrete is poured around a stacked foam frame. The construction technique creates a continuous point of attachment and a solid thermal envelope to help the structure meet or surpass several green building standards.

The ICFs in the custom home by Sage Homebuilders give the home an energy-efficient core that slows heat transfer and lowers overall energy costs. The Sage ICF home is also fire resistant and offers superior structural integrity than traditional wood-framed homes.

“In the past, home builders may have dismissed concrete as simply a solution for sidewalks and roadways, but the Sage ICF home showcases two of the most important benefits our product offers for green homes — energy efficiency and durability,” said Dave Shepherd, director of sustainable development for the Portland Cement Association (PCA). “Builders and home owners alike are beginning to realize the wide array of concrete applications for sustainable development.”

Built with a combination of ICF walls and other environmentally responsible applications like fiber-cement siding — a more durable, low maintenance alternative to traditional wood siding — the Sage home is being built following NAHB’s Model Green Home Building Guidelines and is expected to achieve the “Near-Zero Energy Home” standard and recognition as an EPA Energy Star® Home.

“In recent years, we have seen a rising trend in the number of new homes being built with concrete,” said Ed Sullivan, chief economist at PCA. In 2004, 16.3 % of all new, single-family homes were concrete homes, he said. In 2005, that increased to 17.9%

“As green building principles have become more widely accepted in recent years, there has also been increased demand for cement because of the benefits of concrete for sustainable development,” Sullivan said. “Homes like the Sage model reflect the rising trend of using concrete for residential purposes and the increased cement consumption as a result of the green building movement.” 

Attend the Concrete Technologies Tour on May 6-8

The latest advances in concrete construction, production, materials and design will be showcased at the 2007 Concrete Home Building Council Concrete Technologies Tour in Minneapolis on May 6-8.

The tour will feature educational programs, networking and behind-the-scenes tours of six cement-based building materials and manufacturing facilities. 

To Register

For more information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/concretetour.

Log Homes Council Raises $13,000 for Juvenile Diabetes Research

A record-breaking 173 people attended the Log Homes Council President's Tour of five log homes facilities earlier this month.

NAHB’s Log Homes Council (LHC) raised more that $13,000 to benefit the Eastern Tennessee chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation during the Log Homes Council President’s Tour held in Knoxville, Tenn. earlier this month.

The council raised the funds through an auction held in conjunction with the three-day tour from March 11-13.

More than 170 people attended the tour of five council members’ facilities — Barna Log Homes, Hearthstone, Heritage Log Homes, Stonemill Log Homes and Tennessee Log Homes.

In addition, 43 companies were recognized for their service to the council, including six companies that have been council members for 30 years; 17 companies that have been members for 20 years; 12 companies that were 10-year members; and eight companies that have been members of the council for five years.

For more information, e-mail Cortney Klein at NAHB, call her at 800-368-5242 x8357, or visit www.nahb.org/presidentstour.

Home Depot to Sell Modular Housing at New Orleans Stores

Home Depot and Homestar Builders will begin selling modular homes in New Orleans through Home Depot stores.

The Home Depot and Homestar Builders will begin selling modular housing at Home Depot stores in New Orleans as part of a pilot program launched in conjunction with the New Orleans Home and Garden Show this week.

The modular housing pilot program will address some of the housing and housing labor shortages affecting the region as it continues to rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The modular homes produced for the program are manufactured in Texas and Alabama and will be built to meet the International Residential Building Codes — the same as required of site-built homes. Code compliance will be inspected by third-party inspectors to assure quality and compliance.

“There’s such a high demand for skilled home construction labor in