NBN Online for the week of June 18, 2007

Builders Sharpen Attack on Flawed Immigration Bill

On June 7, just 24 hours after more than 1,250 home builders marched on Capitol Hill to discuss legislative priorities for the housing industry and call on their senators to fix a seriously flawed immigration bill, the Senate voted to derail the controversial measure, leaving its ultimate fate unresolved.

One week later on the evening of June 14, two days after President Bush made a rare visit to Capitol Hill to stump for the bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced a deal to bring the legislation back to the Senate floor as early as the end of this week. However, the situation still remains fluid and it is uncertain whether the bill will be approved by the chamber or become law.

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Builders March on Capitol Hill With Housing Priorities

The immigration debate took center stage as more than 1,250 builders from across the country arrived in the nation’s capital on June 6 to take part in the annual NAHB Legislative Conference and seek support from members of Congress to promote policies that will keep housing a national priority and expand rental housing and homeownership opportunities nationwide.

The builders’ “March on Capitol Hill” attracted the attention of major media outlets, with Forbes running a story entitled “Builders Hit the Hill,” and CNBC, Bloomberg TV and Marketplace Radio reporting on the day’s activities.

‘Buy Now’ Campaign Moves Fence Sitters in Upstate New York Market

The NAHB “Buy Now” Advertising Assistance Program initiated by the Capital Region Builders & Remodelers Association (CRBRA) in Latham, N.Y. near Albany helped change the minds of many potential home buyers who were sitting on the fence waiting for prices to fall, according the HBA’s executive officer, Pam Krison.

“Implementing the ‘Time to Buy/Buy Now Campaign’ at CRBRA exceeded our expectations,” Krison said. “It created positive effects on so many levels. In addition, it strengthened relationships within our association and with our media contacts.”

The HBA’s ad campaign was used to specifically target the potential home buyers who were getting most of their housing news from the national media, Krison said. Her HBA members wanted to tell potential buyers that, locally, the housing slowdown was much less dramatic than what they heard and read in the national news — and that buyers shouldn’t wait for the market to slip further.