NBN Online for the week of May 21, 2007

Builders Call for Major Overhaul of Immigration Bill

As the Senate prepared to debate legislation to reform U.S. immigration laws, the nation’s home builders on May 21 announced their opposition to the bill.

While noting that the nation’s home builders have championed comprehensive immigration reform, NAHB Executive Vice President and CEO Jerry Howard said that the problems with the Senate overhaul bill “are so grave and extensive that we believe this legislation cannot be fixed without making major revisions.”

If the bill were to be enacted in its current form, Howard said, it “would do irreparable harm to America’s small businesses, which have generated the lion’s share of new job growth in the economy.”

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FHA Reform Would Help Head Off Subprime Foreclosures

Modernization of the Federal Housing Administration is needed promptly to help address the subprime mortgage problem that continues to unfold across the country, Alphonso Jackson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, told a May 14 Homeownership Summit in Washington, D.C. on preventing borrowers from losing their homes through foreclosure.

“The President and I have been strongly encouraging Congress to pass legislation that modernizes the FHA,” Jackson said. “We need this reform now. Every day of delay places more and more home owners at unnecessary risk.”

National Membership Day: More Prizes Than Ever Before

NAHB members participating in National Membership Day on Tuesday, May 22 will have a chance to win more prizes than ever before — including Whirlpool appliances, NASCAR tickets, a Harley Davidson jacket and more.

Whirlpool, NAHB’s exclusive membership sponsor, will be awarding top prizes to the day’s most successful recruiters. In addition, several NAHB Member Advantage companies will be giving prizes to winners of the Biker Alley Trivia contest broadcast throughout the National Membership Day Webcast.  

The “Leaders of the Pack” membership day Webcast will be broadcast from the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

To register for and view the Webcast, click here.

About two-thirds of all the local HBAs — 515 — are registered to participate in NAHB’s annual membership drive, which is expected to sign up more than 10,000 new members during the day.

$2 Million Just Released: Apply Now for ‘Buy Now’ Ad Grants

The NAHB Executive Board recently approved the release of the remaining $2 million of the NAHB “Buy Now” Advertising Assistance Program. Launched in February, the program provides $3 million to assist local associations in an effort to bolster home sales in markets hit hard by the current housing downturn. The initial $1 million was quickly disbursed in grants to 51 HBAs.

Following the release, NAHB immediately began processing 35 additional applications — worth more than $600,000 — that had been approved and were awaiting funds from the program’s second phase.

In total, 86 local associations in 29 states have now applied for and have received, or been approved to receive, nearly $1.7 million in advertising assistance. Including the matching funds that the HBAs contributed, the total value of their advertising campaigns is $5.3 million. To see a list of the HBAs and the grant levels, click here.

With $1.3 million in funds still available, NAHB encourages HBAs that have not yet applied for advertising assistance to apply today.