Nation's Building News Online: October 27, 2008

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Housing Stimulus Needed as Downside Risks Pile Up

Congress should consider providing further “sorely needed” economic stimulus to encourage homeownership and limit foreclosures in order to pull the U.S. economy out of recession, NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders said at the association’s Fall Construction Forecast Conference in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 22.

The steep decline in sales of new single-family homes should be coming to an end in early 2009, Seiders said, setting the stage for “tepid” improvement in new residential construction later that year. However, he warned, that outcome has grown increasingly uncertain in light of the turmoil that has gripped world financial markets.

“Things are a lot worse than any of us had anticipated six months ago,” Seiders said, and the nation’s housing market — which is the root cause of the collapse in confidence among lenders — has continued to spiral downward. “Risks are piling up on the down side. These are tough times, no question,” he said.

While remaining reasonably optimistic that a housing recovery is beginning to take shape, “the uncertainties out there are unprecedented,” Seiders said, and there is a growing risk that today’s major housing contraction could get even worse.

The level of confidence among builders surveyed in October for the monthly NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell to the lowest point since the series was started in 1985, he noted.

“The bottom line is that the financial crisis can’t get much better until the thing that started this thing off, housing starts, gets better,” said Maury Harris, U.S. chief economist for UBS, who also spoke at the conference.

On the brighter side, Seiders said that housing in the first half of 2009 should be helped by the $7,500 tax credit available to first-time home buyers; legislative efforts to address foreclosures; the continuation of affordable mortgage rates; and the availability of fixed-rate mortgage financing through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Citing an increase in pent-up demand for housing, he added that declines in home prices and increases in personal income have helped to restore housing affordability to the more normal levels that existed prior to the peak of the housing boom.

However, even as the demand for housing begins to grow, housing production will be constrained by tighter credit for the loans builders and developers need to break ground on new residential projects, he said.

NAHB is forecasting 936,000 total housing starts for 2008, a 30.2% decline from the 1.34 million homes produced last year. Starts in 2009 are projected to slide 16.2% further, to 784,000 units, and 2010 would bring production up to the 1.0 million level.

Economists Upbeat About U.S. Financial Rescue Efforts

The economy of the U.S. has tumbled into a serious recession, with the world economy close on its heels, but the financial institution rescue efforts of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve should help bring the downturn to an end around the second half of next year, according to economists participating in NAHB’s Fall Construction Forecast Conference on Oct. 22 at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C.

Maury Harris, U.S. chief economist for UBS, noted that the U.S. government, intent on not repeating the mistakes that led to the Great Depression, is pursuing a range of policies just getting underway that will gradually get credit flowing again to businesses and consumers.

“Markets in the pessimistic frame of mind they are in, they are acting like they are not going to give us a chance,” Harris said. Injecting banks with capital to encourage them to return to prime lending is an important step in restoring the health of the financial system, he said.

“There’s still a lot of money in the global economy,” he said, “but the problem is a widespread loss of confidence in financial intermediaries and institutions.”

Conceptually, the Treasury is pursuing a policy of “recirculating money in the financial system using the government’s credit card,” he said, and he called that “very powerful stuff.”

Along with other panelists, Harris predicted that the Federal Reserve would be making further cuts to the federal funds rate, adding stimulative monetary policy to the mix of initiatives being used to repair the U.S. economy. He forecast that the Federal Market Open Committee would reduce that key interest rate by one-quarter of a percentage point at its Oct. 29 meeting, and do the same thing again in December, bringing the rate down to 1%. The economists anticipated that the Fed would hold the rate at that level until late 2009.

Harris said that the Treasury was also likely to be testing its authority to direct lenders to provide forbearance on foreclosures, and that the government would be looking at “a smorgasbord of proposals” to rally the financial markets, including allowing delinquent borrowers to rent their homes and beefing up staffing services to handle mortgage delinquencies.

“Economists missed the severity of this crisis,” said Harris. “But the world’s expert on depressions, Ben Bernanke, is running the Fed right now. We are on the way to finding solutions. Things should work out in the coming year.”

Michael Moran, chief economist for Daiwa Securities America Inc., told the conference that the current recession would be neither especially deep nor protracted in duration, but about average. However, with consumers battered by a loss of wealth in their homes and stock market accounts, there will be “softer” spending in the household sector coming out of the slump, resulting in only “moderate” economic activity in the U.S. for a period of about five years.

Low inventories and the continuation of a positive trade sector, even as both imports and exports slow, will help the economy avoid lapsing into a deep recession, Moran said.

Also, the turmoil in the financial markets, which is “almost a panic situation,” is “out of bounds with what’s going on in the economy,” he said.

A case in point, the spread between the three-month Libor interest rate and the Fed funds rate, which is normally about 10 basis points, surged to an “unimaginable” 350 basis points in September, and is now about 250 basis points, he said.

Moran added that the Case Shiller index of housing prices in 20 cities has exaggerated the decline in the nation’s housing prices during the downturn because it is too narrowly focused and is weighted by housing markets that experienced the biggest bubbles in prices during the housing boom.

He cited findings of a Zillow survey of home owners this summer showing that 38% of the households responding reported that their homes had lost value, while 62% reported no change or a higher value.

Moran told the conference that the Treasury Department’s drive to buy subprime and Alt-A mortgage-backed securities should help increase prices in the secondary market and make some money for the taxpayer. The Treasury is buying these packages at 4% and under various assumptions could be selling them for anywhere from 12.7% to 34.5%, or roughly 20% on average, he said.

At its worst, the cost of losses from troubled subprime and Alt-A mortgages will equal about 2.1% of the nation’s gross domestic product, Moran calculated, which is about the equivalent of the losses stemming from the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s. “That’s not what makes for a depression,” he said. “If we survived the S&L crisis, we should be able to survive this.”

Moran conceded that rising delinquencies on credit cards are another risk factor for the economy and are likely to experience the normal cyclical upward movements that occur when people are losing their jobs and the economy is slowing, but he said that this would amount to nothing akin to the meltdown in the housing market.

Photos by Morris Semiatin

Trying for a Bigger Tax Credit

Reluctant potential home buyers could be in line for some additional tax and financing enticements, either through a post-election lame duck congressional session or from the next Congress arriving in January. Though House and Senate leaders have not agreed on whether to hold a session immediately after the election, national housing industry trade groups are pressing hard for a second round of emergency economic stimulus legislation, ideally before the end of December. The rationale is that the housing debacle was the trigger for the current economic mess, and until the housing market is put back on track — and the huge backlog of unsold new and existing homes is reduced — a serious recession may be unavoidable. NAHB President and CEO Jerry Howard says that reinstituting downpayment assistance for FHA home buyers, and improving it by tying it to higher credit scores, would help crash-strapped purchasers acquire some of the unsold new houses now weighing down local markets. (www.washingtonpost.com)
Washington Post (10/25/08); Kenneth R. Harney

Housing Healthier Near Thriving Metros

As housing prices near a bottom — perhaps by late next year — homes closer to cities with thriving economies and mass transit will outperform outer-ring suburbs and “exurban areas,” where high gas prices are making long car commutes prohibitively expensive, according to a new report released by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The report, based on responses from 600 real estate experts, is focused on commercial real estate, but it also includes an overview of housing markets. Changing consumer preferences could increase demand for condos in urban areas, many of which now have a glut of such properties. At some point, unsold high-end Miami condos overlooking the Atlantic will be “good buys,” the report predicts, noting that ocean views “always find a market.” So-called “24-hour cities" like New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. should also benefit from mass transit systems that can free residents from car dependence, the report said. “Fast-growing Sunbelt cities had pooh-poohed mass transit in their rapid expansions, enabled by interstate highway building during the 1960s and 1970s,” the report said. “Virtually no one contemplated the consequences of car dependence until populations began to overwhelm road capacities.” The Sunbelt is also plagued by water issues. Water issues pose a challenge to further growth in areas dependent on the Colorado River and throughout the Southwest, the report said. Continued growth in areas like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Southern California will require increased conservation and new sources of water. (www.inman.com)
Inman News (10/21/08)

Housing Downturn Could Be Approaching Bottom

An unusual September jump in home sales, together with the biggest monthly drop yet in prices, could be early signs that California’s San Diego County is seeing the bottom approaching in its three-year housing downturn. MDA DataQuick reported that the median price for all homes dropped $22,000 from August to stand at $328,000 last month, the lowest since June 2002. The figure represented a 34.6% drop from the all-time peak of $517,500 set in November 2005. Sales jumped 56.4% to 3,366 transactions from year-ago levels, a reflection of the very low sales completed in September 2007 in reaction to the credit crunch and subprime mortgage crisis. The figures were interpreted as good news by Christopher Thornberg, an economist with Beacon Economics, who said that sales of low-priced properties are attracting investors. “That’s a good thing, because these are the guys who will determine where the bottom is,” Thornberg said. “When they think prices have reached a point where they can buy stuff and rent it out and sell in three or four years and make money, they’ll move in. This was never an if, it was always a when, and now it’s starting to happen.” He added, “It’s the beginning of a recovery — it’s not the recovery …There’s a bottom ahead, we’re not there yet, but it’s clear we’re coming in for the landing.” (www.signonsandiego.com)
San Diego Union-Tribune (10/21/08); Roger Showley

Bargain Hunters Trickle Back to U.S. Housing Market

In the Phoenix suburbs, a five-bedroom home with a large yard and swimming pool attracted a handful of prospective buyers on a recent weekend afternoon, lured by a reduction from $1,095,000 to $998,000 in the asking price and desert mountain views. As he wandered out to the pool with his wife, Elliott Farber, who just relocated from Boston, voiced the cautious optimism of someone who has watched the market fall and thinks it just might be time to jump in. “You have to be a savvy shopper,” he said. “I think the market hasn’t bottomed out yet. At the same time, there’s some (price) threshold…where you have people who just want what they want.” While sales of existing and new homes continue to fall across the U.S. and the credit crisis makes mortgages harder to get than they used to be, tumbling prices have begun to lure a few credit-worthy bargain hunters into the market. (www.reuters.com)
Reuters (10/23/08); Tim Gaynor

Other Woes Make Foreclosure Crisis Hard to Break

More than 4 million home owners with a mortgage were at least one month behind on their payments at the end of June, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, and a record 500,000 had entered the foreclosure process. “We are behind the curve. We are falling behind,” Sheila Bair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., told a Senate hearing on Oct. 23. “There has been some progress, but it’s not been enough, and we need to act. And we need to act quickly, and we need to act dramatically to have more wide-scale, systematic (loan) modifications….” Currently, more than 30% of properties in the foreclosure process are owned by someone with a different address, indicating that the home is likely owned by an investor, according to foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac Inc. Government programs to help home owners are specifically designed not to help such investors, though in reality it may be hard to weed them out. Roughly one-third of all subprime loans modified in the third quarter of last year were delinquent again within 10 months, according to a Credit Suisse report released last month. The Federal Housing Administration says it has helped about 400,000 borrowers refinance over the past year, though only about 1% were behind on their loans. This month, the FHA started the “Hope for Homeowners” program, which was included in legislation passed over the summer by Congress. It is designed to let another 400,000 troubled home owners swap their mortgages for traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, but only if lenders agree to reduce the value of a loan and take a loss. In Washington, the FDIC’s Bair has proposed a plan in which the government would provide guarantees for mortgages that have been reworked by banks, lowering payments to more affordable levels. (www.buffalonews.com)
Buffalo News (10/26/08); Alan Zibel, Associated Press

For Some, Housing Crisis Is Unbearable

Over the past three months, a record number of Californians have lost their homes to foreclosure, and some of those financial losses are turning into human tragedies, as reports of suicide and other desperate behavior emerge. In one case, 53-year-old Wanda Dunn apparently set her house afire and shot herself in the head after facing eviction from the only home she’d ever known. “She’d grown up in the house, from what I understand, and lived there her whole life, so it was all she had,” said a neighbor. “I talked with another of the neighbors down the street, and through the grapevine he’d heard that she really didn’t know what to do if she’d lost her house.” Dunn had inherited her bungalow in the North Pasadena neighborhood named Bungalow Heaven and lost it after she stopped working because of a disability; she had also made bad financial decisions. The new owner let Dunn rent the yellow stucco bungalow, but he lost the house when the subprime meltdown sent California’s real estate into a tailspin. Beverly Hills psychologist Kenneth Siegel says Californians are especially attached to their homes. “California represented for many of us the pinnacle of the effects of hard work,” Siegel said, “of the ability to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.” Owning a home, he said, “represented the physical manifestation of all we have done and how hard we have worked.” (www.npr.org)
National Public Radio (10/27/08); Karen Grigsby Bates

Letters to the Editor: Nurses Play Vital Role in Aging-in-Place

Dear Editor:

I am discouraged that nurses and healthcare professionals in general are not mentioned in your Oct. 20 article, "Aging-in-Place Market a Bright Spot for Housing."

I have been a registered nurse for 25 years, have a real estate license and have personally cared for family members in my home and theirs. My hospital experience has involved care-giving for patients during 12-hour days and night shifts, and the occupational therapists who came to visit stayed only 30 minutes, maybe twice daily during the hours of 9 to 5. Nurses often prepared these patients for their therapy visits, making sure they were up in the chair, bathed and fed. My home health experience was similar and when the patient was sick or not feeling well, nurses kept their appointments, but therapy visits were cancelled.

Though I appreciate and respect the knowledge of occupational therapists, I think it is faulty to assume that they are the only ones equipped to assess the home environment and suggest modifications that allow aging-in-place.

CAPS-trained professionals with a healthcare background play a vital role alongside building industry professionals, and working together with them can change the way we think about housing.

Lisa Childs, RN/CAPS
Home Transitions, Inc.
Asheville, N.C.

A False Impression About Fire Sprinklers

Dear Editor:

As a small builder in the Philadelphia area I was very disappointed to hear the way that mandatory fire sprinklers were passed for inclusion in the 2009 International Residential Code ("IRC 2009 Code Brings Changes in How Homes Will Be Built," Oct. 20).

I am all for safety and building it into the home, and I do not want to put profit above human lives.

I have built homes with and without fire sprinklers and feel that sometimes people have the wrong impression about them. I have been told by customers that they believe their house won't burn because they have them, and we all know that is not true; like smoke detectors, sprinklers buy time to get out of the house.

I also want to report first-hand that we are paying about $2.75 a square foot for city water sprinklers and almost $4.00 for well water. This cost does not include the extra and separate water service from the city at about $1,500. They need to have this second service so they can shut the domestic off if you don’t pay your bill and leave the fire on.

These are tough times for the building industry and who knows what it will be like in 2011 when the sprinklers will be required? I can’t get people to pay for extra insulation let alone tell them we have to add $12,000 to the cost of their home for sprinklers.

I feel this is a case of just another group trying to make a large profit from regulation that is not needed.

Edward F. Moser
The Moser Group
Hatboro, Pa.

Indiana Judge Rules Local Park Impact Fees Invalid

In a major victory for home buyers and home builders in Indiana, a judge has ruled that one local government’s park impact fees are invalid because the fees were not determined in a legitimate and fair way.

The Zionsville Town Council and Plan Commission disregarded a fee proposal that was developed by a professional consultant and unanimously recommended by the parks board and its advisory committee. Instead, the city based its park impact fees on a national average, resulting in fees that were significantly higher.

“This ruling shows once again that local governments cannot make up impact fees out of thin air,” said NAHB Chairman Sandra Dunn. “The amount of the fee must be clearly related to the cost of providing infrastructure needed by new residents."

The case, Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis, Inc. v. Zionsville Planning Commission, was decided by Special Judge Rebecca S. McClure in the Boone County Superior Court, who ruled in a summary judgment that the park impact fees did not comply with state statutes.

Zionsville officials have not announced whether they will appeal the decision.

The Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis (BAGI) has gone on record in support of reasonable impact fees as a means of paying for infrastructure needed to support growth.

“Although BAGI is an organization that represents home builders, we also advocate on behalf of new home buyers,” said Steve Lains, BAGI’s chief executive officer. “In filing this lawsuit against the town of Zionsville, the association is taking action to prevent injustices to home buyers in Zionsville and throughout Central Indiana.”

The court noted that the town failed to provide objective standards in its calculation of the impact fee because it did not adequately identify all revenue sources and alternative funding sources available for the construction of new park and recreation infrastructure. It was impossible to ascertain whether the fee represented new developments’ proportional share of needed infrastructure improvements.

The court also determined that the impact fee statute did not allow municipalities to adopt a fee based on the national average for park impact fees.

BAGI scored an important victory on the question of whether the association had standing to represent the building community in the impact fee case. The court ruled in February of 2007 that BAGI met the U.S. Supreme Court’s three-part test for associational standing.

BAGI plans to ask the court to require the town to provide a full accounting of any fees that have been collected and place them in an escrow account pending the creation of a valid impact fee.

For more information, e-mail Blake Smith at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8583.

Affirmative Minority Marketing Required for FHA Financing

At a time when the nation’s housing market is shifting dramatically to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), NAHB is reminding builders and developers that they are required to affirmatively market their housing to minority populations in order for their homes to qualify for FHA financing.

To ensure that specific steps are followed, as described in 24 CFR 200.620, the regulations require multifamily builders and developers to file an Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan (AFHMP).

As an alternative, NAHB’s Voluntary Affirmative Marketing Agreement (VAMA) provides multifamily builders with an off-the-shelf version of the AFHMP. Under VAMA, the participating builder promises to conduct affirmative marketing and report these activities annually. In return, they do not need to file a literal AFHMP and have it approved by a HUD official.

This saves HUD staff time, and it provides builders with certainty that their multifamily units will meet the affirmative marketing requirements. Once signed, the optional VAMA can be used on all projects to show affirmative marketing compliance with the FHA requirement.

Since 2001, single-family builders haven’t needed a VAMA or an AFHMP. To satisfy the requirement for FHA financing, they can self-certify that they will undertake the actions outlined by Box 11(d) on the HUD Site Certification plan (HUD Form 92541).

Failure to follow through on the promises made by a builder who signs a VAMA can lead to revocation of their ability to use this agreement. Provisions in the agreement basically concern training, marketing and reporting; and an Equal Opportunity Officer should be appointed to oversee the marketing program and ensure that these provisions are met.

Builders will need to read the agreement to see all of the requirements, but here are some of the highlights:

Training

Train employees not to discriminate in sales or employment, and make it clear that your company doesn’t discriminate.
Post signs reminding employees of your non-discrimination policy.
Encourage employees to attend equal opportunity workshops when available.

Marketing

Advertise in media available to all households, like a general circulation newspaper.
Make some additional effort to market to minority households, such as advertising in an African-American or Spanish language newspaper, or on radio or TV stations aimed at minority audiences.
Try to notify community groups and minority organizations of the housing opportunities available from your company.
Display the HUD Fair Housing poster in all places of business, like offices and model homes, and display the Equal Opportunity logo in all advertisements.
If you show people in your advertisements, make them representative of the diversity of the local population.

Reporting

Keep records of all your company’s affirmative marketing and non-discrimination training activities. This includes a description of the training; a list of who took it; a list of where you placed advertising; and samples of the advertising, posters and signs you used. If you made an effort to do something and it didn’t work out, document those efforts.
Report your activities using, if possible, one of the forms available at nahb.org/vama (this link is for NAHB members only) under the description of “affirmative fair housing marketing reports.” The form is straightforward and it provides a useful checklist. Which form you use depends on whether you sign the VAMA through your home builders association or directly with HUD. (An article on VAMA and HBAs will appear in the upcoming Nov. 3 issue of Nation’s Building News.)
File your report every year with either the HBA or HUD, as appropriate.

If your HBA participates in the VAMA, then you must sign the VAMA through the association. If your HBA does not participate, then you must sign directly with HUD, sending your reports to the regional HUD Fair Housing Hub.

In either case, you can use the form on the last page of the Builder’s section of the VAMA at nahb.org/vama.

For a list of the hub offices, click here.

For more information, e-mail Andrew Holliday, NAHB federal regulatory counsel, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8305.

Want to Know the Housing Forecast for the Top 100 Metros?

Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s 2008 to 2009 Metro Forecast (free preview).

Get the metro forecast with in-depth analysis, overviews and downloadable Excel tables.

To learn more, visit www.HousingEconomics.com.

Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips to Navigate the Slowdown

What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.

To help members navigate the uncharted waters of this slowdown, NAHB has compiled a comprehensive “Back to Basics” online toolkit — the best of the basics, the tried and true and the truly new. To access the toolkit, click here.

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 Edge Up in September, But Demand Weak

Sales of newly built single-family homes edged up 2.7% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 units, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Oct. 27. The report also indicated that builders are making substantial progress in winnowing down the supply of unsold units on the market.

"It's great to see some upward movement in new-home sales, particularly in light of the strong efforts that home builders have been making to bring supply and demand back into balance by limiting new construction and offering substantial price- and non-price incentives on already built units," said NAHB Chairman Sandy Dunn.

"Of course, it's too soon to say the market has stabilized, and we still have a very difficult road ahead that will require additional government action to speed the recovery of housing and the national economy," Dunn said.

"Keeping things in perspective, today's gain in new-home sales followed a downward revision for August and was almost entirely concentrated in the West region, where sales bounced back from a very low level in August," noted NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders.

"The fact is that housing demand remains fundamentally weak and the housing contraction continues to weigh heavily on the financial markets and the overall economy,” Seiders said. “Without question, an additional economic stimulus package — including substantial measures to spur home buying and limit foreclosures — is necessary to support home prices, stabilize financial markets and limit the severity of recession."

The number of new homes for sale shrank to 394,000 units in September, down from 425,000 units in August. At the current sales pace, there was a 10.4 months' supply of unsold new units on the market, versus an 11.4 months' supply in August.

Meanwhile, new homes were on the market for a median of 9.1 months in September — a new record.

Regionally, sales activity gained 22.7% in the West and 0.7% in the South in September, but at the same time declined 21.4% in the Northeast and 5.8% in the Midwest.

Economic Picture Darkening for Most Parts of the Country

Most parts of the country are now feeling the sting of a widening recession, with fewer state and regional markets escaping the economic doldrums than in the typical national downturn, economists at NAHB's 77th Construction Forecast Conference said last week.

“The bust we’re in is without precedent,” noted Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com. However, there is reason for optimism that “the financial market panic will abate within the next two to four weeks,” which is the assumption upon which he bases his current market projections.

With average home prices already off 20% from their peaks, Zandi expects a weak job market and rising foreclosures to push prices down another 10% between now and the middle of next July, when he sees the market hitting bottom. However, prices won’t start climbing again until late 2010.

“Nationwide, 27 states are in recession and 14 are very close to recession,” said Zandi, leaving people virtually nowhere to go to find a significantly brighter economic picture. Parts of Texas and all of North Dakota are exceptions to the rule, but on the whole, he said, this recession is taking hold “coast-to-coast.”

Meanwhile, Zandi estimates that there are currently 12 million home owners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth, “and if I’m right, approximately 15 million home owners will be underwater by this time next year.”

At the same time, he expects job losses to mount over the coming year, with the unemployment rate peaking at 8%. “When you mix employment loss with negative equity, that’s when you have a significant problem,” he said.

As dark as the situation has become, Zandi was able to cite “three good, fundamental reasons to believe we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel”:

Housing affordability has improved significantly. “Many Americans can now afford to buy a home because the ratio of house prices to income has improved and in many places is now back to its long-term average,” he said.

The difference between what it costs to purchase vs. rent a home still favors renting at this time, he said, but “if prices go down another 10% and effective rents go up just 3% to 4%, that’s the day that both house price-to-income and price-to-rent ratios will have returned to their long-term average and a recovery in home prices will be underway.”

Housing markets on the longest road to recovery are those where both price-to-income and price-to-rent ratios remain above the long-term average — Denver and Orange County, Calif. providing two examples.

One surprising area with good potential for home price gains is coastal Southern Calif., Zandi said, a region where home prices are now actually undervalued.
Efforts to reduce the excess inventory of unsold homes are making good progress. Zandi estimates it will take another two years to work off the approximately one million excess homes in the inventory nationwide, with new-home construction not staged for a meaningful comeback until 2011, or even later.
The availability and affordability of mortgage credit should get much better. “The nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac means lower mortgage rates,” he said, and once today’s panic-attack in the financial markets subsides, rates on conforming mortgages will go back down to “well below 6% — possibly as low as 5.5% to 5.75%.” (One day after the NAHB conference, Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaging 6.04% for the week ending on Thursday, Oct. 23.)

While crediting government policymakers for good work on mending the financial markets, Zandi said that more still needs to be done, including the likelihood of another round of economic stimulus and careful consideration of a substantial boost for housing.

One proposal would be to double the mortgage interest deduction for next year’s home buyers, 2009, then phase out the incentive over a three-year period, he said. “This would be a measurable inducement to buy a home, and such ideas are reasonable to include in the discussion” over how to frame further stimulus, said Zandi. “We don’t want to increase housing supply, but we do want to increase demand.”

Bernard Markstein, NAHB’s director of forecasting, agreed with Zandi that the housing slump has spread beyond areas of the country whose markets became most overheated during the boom, but he emphasized that recovery is on the way. “We are definitely optimistic about the end of 2009, beginning of 2010 as the period when we’ll really be coming out of this downturn,” said Markstein.

With the possible exception of Texas, Markstein observed that most of the country is taking a beating from the economic downturn now underway. Paving the way for better times, he added, “builders are doing what they have to do, as painful as it is, to reduce construction.”

In his regional outlook, Markstein reported that two states — New Mexico and New York — stand out for posting smaller housing start declines over the past year, but even they are down by 5% to 10%.

Both Zandi and Markstein said that the financial and housing markets will make an eventual comeback and may emerge from their current tribulations in a sounder position.

“Historically speaking, this kind of mess happens every 10 years,” Zandi said, referring to the cyclical downturns that cool off the economy. “But what’s going on now is so significant, it’s searing our collective psyche. We’ve learned something important, and changes that policymakers are enacting now regarding the regulation of our banking system will be codified under the next President so that we will have a better system in place at the end of the day.”

Photos by Morris Semiatin

Want to Know the Housing Forecast for the Top 100 Metros?

Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s 2008 to 2009 Metro Forecast (free preview).

Get the metro forecast with in-depth analysis, overviews and downloadable Excel tables.

To learn more, visit www.HousingEconomics.com.

Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips to Navigate the Slowdown

What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.

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

Fannie, Freddie Economists Say Housing Slump Bottom Is Near

While acknowledging that the housing sector will face another tough year in 2009, the top economists at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac who spoke at NAHB’s Forecast Conference last week said that new housing activity is nearing the bottom of the current downturn.

New home construction and sales will bottom out in the first quarter of next year, though starts will remain flat for most of 2009, according to Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae.

“A modest economic recovery will begin in the second half of next year, but that doesn’t mean it pulls housing along with it,” he said.

Frank Nothaft, chief economist of Freddie Mac, offered a similar assessment.

“We see starts bottoming out in the first quarter of 2009 and sales this winter,” said Nothaft. “We’re close to the bottom, but we’re not quite there yet.”

Nothaft noted that national figures mask regional differences.

“The middle part of the country is holding up pretty well in terms of home values, employment and prices,” he said, adding that house prices will lag behind home construction and sales and won’t hit their trough until 2010.

Both economists said that credit standards for home mortgages have tightened across the board but that funding remains readily available for credit-worthy borrowers who provide a downpayment, have good credit and can document their income.

Jumbo loans are more expensive and require additional underwriting, said Nothaft. “A few years ago the spread between the conforming and jumbo market was 30 basis points. Today, it’s 125 to 130 basis points.”

In recent years, the jumbo share of the market has closely tracked the housing market, hitting a peak of 33% in December of 2005 during the height of the boom period and plunging to an all-time low of 8% in March of 2008, he said.

A major impediment in today’s market, Duncan said, is the huge excess inventory, which stands at a 10- to 11-month supply at the current sales pace.

Though new and existing home sales are slowly whittling away the bloated inventory, Duncan said that prices will need to keep falling to make significant headway on the supply side and, like Nothaft, he expects price to continue to decline into 2010.

“The rate of foreclosures is twice the previous post-war high, adding to the supply problem,” added Duncan.

Though 2.35% of all home loans are currently at least 90 days delinquent or in the process of foreclosure, a closer examination reveals the foreclosure crisis can be traced to regional problems and loan types, the panelists said.

California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada have an excess supply of housing as a result of speculative building, Duncan said, while much of the upper Midwest is suffering the same fate because of population migration and manufacturing job losses. These are the areas that have been hit the hardest by rising foreclosures.

Meanwhile, 14 states reported flat or declining foreclosure starts in the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest quarterly survey results.

“Over the past two years, more than half of all loans entering into foreclosure have been subprime, even though they constitute only 12% of all loans serviced,” said Nothaft.

Duncan said that single-family mortgage originations will be down this year and next, continuing a trend that began in 2006.

Nothaft added that fewer refinancings and sales will result in a projected 25% drop in mortgage originations in 2008 and originations will probably hold at this year’s level in 2009.

Photos by Morris Semiatin

Want to Know the Housing Forecast for the Top 100 Metros?

Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s 2008 to 2009 Metro Forecast (free preview).

Get the metro forecast with in-depth analysis, overviews and downloadable Excel tables.

To learn more, visit www.HousingEconomics.com.

Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips to Navigate the Slowdown

What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.

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

Housing Downturn Could Be Entering Roughest Stretch Yet

The three-year-old slump in the nation’s housing industry could be entering its roughest stretch yet if policymakers in Washington don’t soon find a way to end rising foreclosures and the ongoing downward spiral in real estate values, analyst Ivy Zelman, of Zelman & Associates, told NAHB’s Housing Forecast Conference last week in Washington.

Unlike most of the panelists at the conference who predicted that housing is gearing up for a slow turnaround early next year and that the financial crisis will soon start to wind down, Zelman said that “it’s going to get ugly.”

With consumers reluctant to buy homes in the current economic environment unless they absolutely have to, “I think we’re really in a lot of trouble and there’s no easy way out,” Zelman said.

The $750 billion troubled asset relief program being implemented by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is focused on preventing an economic catastrophe, she said, and “it is not for housing. We now need a new recipe for housing.”

A $15,000 to $20,000 tax credit for home buyers would be good to help “kick start” home buying, Zelman said, but it doesn’t address the bigger problem of the one million foreclosed properties that will be in the hands of banks.

Losing 1% to 1.5% of a home’s value every month they hold it, banks will keep lowering the price until they sell the property, she said, and the more distressed sales on the market, the worse the downward spiral in housing prices will become.

Builders have been competing head-to-head with foreclosures, she said, and there has been a steady drop-off in sales per week per neighborhood since July and August that has grown precipitous in recent weeks. In Las Vegas, for example, there were some 600 to 700 new homes sold in July and in August; in October so far there have been about 60.

Zelman estimated that there are now 1.4 million vacant homes for sale, and foreclosures are adding steadily to the glut. “Until we absorb the inventory, there will be a continued downturn,” she said.

Existing home sales have been showing some stability, she noted; 50% of the homes sold have been foreclosures, and 50% to 70% of those are being purchased by investors who return them to the market as rentals, putting downward pressure on rents.

While consumers have now grown reluctant to buy homes, she said, mortgage financing is readily available. “The FHA (Federal Housing Administration) has exploded,” Zelman said. “Anyone can get it. It’s the new subprime,” with a 3% downpayment requirement, rising to 3.5% next year, and easier credit score and debt-to-income requirements than currently available on loans that can be sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Even as sales bottom out sometime next year, Zelman said, builders who want to start new housing may find themselves in a bind unless today’s credit crunch on loans to produce new housing has eased. Currently, “you can’t get funding for builders, even those who were making money and doing well” before the financial markets froze up, she said.

Zelman said that her official housing starts forecast for 2009 is 750,000 units, but the way things have been going, it could be closer to the 500- to 600-unit range.

Photo by Morris Semiatin

Want to Know the Housing Forecast for the Top 100 Metros?

Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s 2008 to 2009 Metro Forecast (free preview).

Get the metro forecast with in-depth analysis, overviews and downloadable Excel tables.

To learn more, visit www.HousingEconomics.com.

Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips to Navigate the Slowdown

What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.

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

Oversupply Slows Multifamily Rental and Condo Markets

Facing a structural problem, multifamily rental and condominium markets will be slow until they begin to recover in late 2010 or early 2011, analyst Ron Witten, of Witten Advisors, told NAHB’s Fall Construction Forecast Conference last week.

The structural problem, Witten said, “is we have too many structures.”

However, Witten noted that supply is getting “thinner and thinner,” particularly as apartment absorption continues to grow in markets with relatively healthy employment. By the end of 2010, he said, “the glut will be behind us.”

Until then, multifamily housing will face a myriad of obstacles.

“What happens depends on the depth of the recession and how buoyant the recovery is,” he said. “Location, location, location relates to economics as well as real estate.”

The condo market will eventually be rejuvenated by baby boomers and empty nesters looking to downsize, Witten said. But this won’t happen soon, with condo construction dipping below 50,000 units next year — one-third of what was produced during the peak of the boom in 2005 and 2006 when investors helped stimulate a buying frenzy and unsustainable price increases.

“Condominiums were the easiest place for investors to speculate,” he said, and many investors also found it easy to drop their pre-sale agreements as the downturn began to take hold.

Witten presented a mixed prognosis for multifamily rentals, with starts slowing by some 25% in the top rental markets in the country ― Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Austin, Texas.

Demand, he said, will lag behind overall supply next year, with rental production falling to the 1993 level of about 125,000 units.

Witten attributed the rental slowdown to a rise in construction costs combined with a freeze in multifamily financing that is just beginning to ease, although land prices have become more favorable. In addition, because production usually takes between 12 and 18 months to complete, many multifamily developers are reluctant to begin new projects in today’s volatile housing market and economy.

Witten did cite a current opportunity for multifamily developers who are willing to acquire “tired properties” located primarily in or close to major population centers with healthy employment. Those properties are marketable and financing is available, he said.

Photo by Morris Semiatin

David Crowe Replacing David Seiders as NAHB Chief Economist

David Crowe, who has been NAHB’s senior staff vice president for regulatory and housing policy since 2002, has been named the association's chief economist, effective Nov. 17. He is replacing David Seiders, who recently announced his retirement after serving at NAHB for more than 20 years.

"Dave Crowe is uniquely qualified to fill this demanding position," said Jerry Howard, NAHB's president and CEO. "Not only is he a highly regarded economist, he has extensive experience in housing finance and housing policy. Given today's turbulent economy and rapidly evolving housing finance environment, this combination of skills will be invaluable to NAHB as efforts to stabilize the housing and financial markets move forward."

Crowe, who has held several senior level positions in economics, housing policy and housing finance since he joined NAHB in 1989, holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Kentucky. Prior to joining NAHB, he was the deputy director for the Division of Housing and Demographic Analysis in HUD's Office of Economic Affairs.

Howard praised Dave Seiders for his more than two decades of service to the industry, and his willingness to continue to work for NAHB in a consulting role. "Since becoming NAHB's chief economist in 1986, Dave Seiders has established himself as one of the nation's foremost housing economists and helped to solidify NAHB's position as 'the voice of the housing industry,'" he said.

Prior to joining NAHB in 1984, Seiders was a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington. In 1981-82, he was the chief policy analyst for housing finance for President Reagan's Commission on Housing.

"As an NAHB officer I am constantly called upon by our members, the public and the media to discuss the condition of the housing market and the outlook for housing," said NAHB Chairman Sandy Dunn. "Thanks to Dave Seiders and his economic team, I can be confident that the information I have is accurate and on target. Not only is Dave knowledgeable, he's always willing to take the time to explain the nuances of complex and sometimes confusing subjects and situations," Dunn said.

"I have also worked on numerous projects with David Crowe, and he is bringing a similar level of expertise to the position of chief economist. I look forward to working with him and the economics team as the housing market recovers," Dunn said.

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 2009.
Latest Home Mortgage Interest Rates
Contains current and historical data on fixed and adjustable mortgage rates. Updated weekly.
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 4/3/2008).
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.

Want to Know the Housing Forecast for the Top 100 Metros?

Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s 2008 to 2009 Metro Forecast (free preview).

Get the metro forecast with in-depth analysis, overviews and downloadable Excel tables.

To learn more, visit www.HousingEconomics.com.

Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips to Navigate the Slowdown

What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.

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

IBS Education Focuses on Staying Ahead in Tough Market

Every savvy home builder knows that success requires far more than simply being good with a hammer and saw.

The more than 250 educational sessions being offered at the upcoming International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas on Jan. 20-23 will focus on the information industry professionals need to remain successful in today’s difficult housing marketplace.

Builders will have the opportunity to hear about what will attract new business and learn how to manage more profitable jobs, respond to changing consumer needs and capitalize on the growing green building trend.

To make schedule planning easy for the tens of thousands of builders who will be coming to the show from across the country, IBS workshops and sessions are arranged in nine “tracks” or topic areas:

Architecture, Design and Community Planning
Business Opportunities and New Markets
Construction Methods and Systems
Economic Trends and Housing Finance
Green Building and Sustainability
Innovation and Technology
Legal Issues and Government Regulation
Organization and Business Management
Sales and Customer Focus

Something for Everyone

IBS programming has been designed to help builders no matter what their industry niche or how far along they are in their careers. For example, in addition to pre-show courses on dozens of topics, some of the IBS sessions provide credits toward professional designations such as MIRM, CAPS and RCS. The IBS will also include a broad array of advanced-level educational sessions, with the most popular sessions offered multiple times.

Among widely-recognized industry leaders who will be presenting educational sessions:

Steve Easley, internationally recognized construction consultant, will speak on “The Green & Sustainable High Performance Home.”
Tony Crasi, president and founder of Crasi, Inc., will share valuable insights on “Achievable Million Dollar Details.”
Gary Ryness, founder and president of The Ryness Company, will address the fine points of “Moving Stalled Inventory With Auctions.”
Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft will provide a timely presentation on the “Housing and Economic Outlook.”

Hands-on Learning

Builders attending the IBS will also be able to pick up a variety of useful ideas in less formal settings than the educational sessions. The New American Home will showcase the latest in green building technology, the hottest trends in outdoor living and the most up-to-date building techniques. And the IBS exhibit hall will display the newest home building products and solutions from more than 1,700 suppliers and industry partners.

Many builders are using today’s slowing home building market as an opportunity to retool their skill sets so that they are well prepared to lead the competition when the market bounces back. Recognizing this need, NAHB is introducing new pricing options for registered attendees at this year’s show. NAHB members can buy individual tickets to attend IBS education sessions for as little as $50 ($70 for non-members); buy four tickets and get a fifth ticket free; or buy seven tickets and get three free. (For more on IBS cost-saving education options, click here).

The 2009 IBS is expected to draw more than 90,000 attendees from around the U.S. and more than 100 countries, representing every facet of home building and related industries.

To learn more about the variety of education opportunities at IBS, click here.

For the latest IBS information — including floor plans, renderings and construction photos of The New American Home — visit the 2009 International Builders’ Show Web site at www.buildersshow.com.

Register Online for the 2009 Builders' Show in Las Vegas

Registration for the 2009 International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas on Jan. 20-23 — the single, most important and largest industry event of the year — is now open.

This year, IBS will feature:

More than 1,700 exhibitors showcasing their latest products and services
More than 250 education sessions or programs designed to help members stay current on industry trends and issues

Full Registration

Full registration provides attendees with access to four days of exhibits on one million net square feet of exhibit space, all the educational sessions and new, daily-featured speakers.

Full registration is $295 for members through Nov. 7 and $425 thereafter.

Full registration for non-members is $475 and $575, respectively.

Exhibits-Only Registration

Exhibits-only registration is $50 for members through Nov. 7 and $100 after and $50 for their spouses.

Exhibits-only registration for non-members is $100 through Nov. 7 and $200 after and $70 for their spouses.

Education Session Tickets

Exhibits-only registered attendees can purchase tickets to individual IBS education sessions. Individual tickets are $50 for members and $70 for non-members. Registrants can purchase packages of four tickets and get one free or seven tickets and get three free.

(Attendees who purchase full registrations do not have to purchases education session tickets or exhibits-only registration.)

To Register

For registration information, click here. For hotel information, click here.

To register online, click here.

Sign Up for Designation Courses and Education Sessions at IBS

Think radically about industry education programs from The NAHB University of Housing and embrace new ways to navigate the downturn and strengthen your company while attending the 2009 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 16-19.

The University of Housing is offering courses, designations, special all-day sessions and more, so members and their employees can gain the knowledge they need to survive and thrive.

Designation Courses

Plan to participate in one or more of the IBS pre-show designation courses. Brush up on a particular subject or work towards one of NAHB's 16 professional designations to increase your industry knowledge and stay ahead of the competition.

For a complete listing of course and descriptions, and to register, visit www.BuildersShow.com/PreShow.

All-Day Events

Monday, Jan. 19

“Build Outside of the Box: Opportunities in a Down Market Beyond the Single-Family Home”
Discover the benefits and tools needed to diversify into light commercial construction or remodeling.
“Executive Edge”
Geared to C-Level home building professionals, attendees will discuss relevant topics with industry leaders in an intimate setting.

IBS Education Sessions

More than 250 educational sessions across 10 tracks will be offered at IBS. The sessions are available with full registration to IBS, or session admission can be purchased individually.

For more information about the designation courses, education sessions and special all-day education events at IBS, visit www.BuildersShow.com/Education.

Learn About Diversifying Into Light Commercial on Nov. 5

With builders looking to boost business and bolster morale during the downturn, residential builders who have expanded into commercial construction will particpate in an NAHB audio seminar to discuss how to diversify into the light commercial market. The hour-long broadcast begins at 2:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Presented by the National Commercial Builders Council (NCBC) and The NAHB University of Housing, participants in the “Up Your Profits in a Down Market with Light Commercial Construction” seminar will explain how to diversify into light commercial construction and this segment’s similarities and differences — particularly regarding codes and business process — to residential construction.

In addition, the seminar’s experts will discuss why diversifying into light commercial might be easier than you think and how builders can identify opportunities in their markets.

The featured speakers for the seminar include:

Tom Swartz, CGR, CAPS, CGB, of J.J. Swartz Co. in Decatur, Ill.
Swartz is the third-generation owner of a residential and commercial remodeling company founded in 1921. He has been active in NAHB leadership for more than 30 years and was named NAHB’s National Remodeler of the Year in 1996.
John Piazza, CAPS, CGP, of Piazza Construction, Inc. in Mount Vernon, Wash.
Piazza, a custom builder and remodeler, is the chairman of the National Commercial Builders Council and has built numerous award-winning commercial projects over the years. He has been active in NAHB leadership and has served on numerous committees.

To Register

For more information and to register for the seminar, visit www.nahb.org/lightcommercialaudio.

For additional resources about commercial construction, visit the National Commercial Builders Council Web page, e-mail commercialbuilders@nahb.org, or call 800-368-5242 x8455.

Experts to Discuss Finding, Using Alternate Funding Sources

With funding from banks and private investors difficult to secure, builders and developers participating in an upcoming NAHB audio seminar will hear experts in real estate finance and a custom home builder and land developer discuss how to find, approach and work with alternate sources of funding.

The hour-long broadcast begins at 2:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, Nov. 13.

Presented by NAHB’s Business Management Department, Executive Officers Council and The NAHB University of Housing, participants in “Alternate Funding Sources: Ideas and Perspectives to Keep Your Business on Track” will discuss the various resources available and the legal implications and issues borrowers will have to keep in mind when working with these new funding sources.

Panelists include:

Ron Robichaud, of Robichaud Financial Servces based in Laconia, N.H.
Robichaud has more than 30 years experience in real estate in mergers and acquisitions, management consulting and residential and commercial development.

Troy Taylor, of the Algon Group in Atlanta.
Drawing on professionals who have more than 160 years of combined experience, the Algon Group provides real estate and financial advisory services including raising capital, litigation support, mergers and acquisition support, bankruptcy and restructuring and monetizing unique and illiquid assets.
Harley Riedel, of Sticher Riedel, Blain & Prossner, P.A., of Tampa, Fla.
Riedel has served as counsel for the debtor in possession in many of the largest bankruptcy cases in Florida. He is also a founder and has served as president and chairman of the Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association.
Tom Stephani, of Stephani Enterprises, Inc. and Custom Construction Concepts, Inc. of Crystal Lake, Ill.
Stephani develops commercial and residential land and builds light commercial projects as well as custom homes in traditional infill neighborhoods.

Participants in the seminar can e-mail questions to the panelists at alternativefundingaudio@nahb.com through Friday, Nov. 7.

To Register

To register and for more information, click here.

Register for the Companion 'Working With Your Lender' Seminar

Register for the companion seminar, “Builder Financing: Working With Your Lender in the Credit Crunch,” which will be broadcast on Tuesday, Nov. 18 beginning at 2:00 p.m., for the discounted fee of $69 for both.

Sponsored by NAHB’s Housing Finance Committee and The NAHB University of Housing, panelists will discuss the current environment for single-family residential construction lending; strategies, alternatives and hazards for both performing and non-performing credits; and potential legal options that may be available to builders.

Visit www.nahb.org/LenderFinancingAudio for more information and to register.

Learn How to Work Through the Credit Crunch With Your Lender

In an hour-long NAHB audio seminar on Tuesday, Nov. 18, banking experts and a real estate attorney will discuss how single-family builders can work more effectively with lenders during the current downturn and credit crunch.

“Builder Financing: Working With Your Lender in the Credit Crunch” will begin at 2:00 p.m. EST.

Panelists will discuss potential strategies, alternatives and hazards for both performing and non-performing credits, as well as the legal options that may be available to builders.

Registrants can e-mail questions for the panelists at lenderfinancingaudio@nahb.com. Questions should be submitted by noon on Friday, Nov. 14.

To Register

Visit www.nahb.org/LenderFinancingAudio for more information and to register.

The seminar is sponored by NAHB's Housing Finance Department and The NAHB University of Housing.

Register for the Companion ‘Alternate Funding Sources' Seminar

Register for the companion seminar, “Alternate Funding Sources: Ideas and Perspectives to Keep Your Business on Track,” which will be broadcast on Thursday, Nov. 18 beginning at 2:00 p.m., for the discounted fee of $69 for both.

Presented by NAHB’s Business Management Department, Executive Officers Council and The NAHB University of Housing, participants will discuss the various resources available and the legal implications and issues borrowers will have to keep in mind when working with these new funding sources.

Click here to register for the “Alternate Funding” seminar, or for more information.

Builders’ Tip: My Personal On-the-Job Hardware Store

Click for larger image.
When I’m working on a punch list, I often keep plenty of fasteners and related paraphernalia on hand to keep my “gofer” runs to a minimum.

The accompanying drawing illustrates my solution for toting all these items — what I call my personal hardware store.

It’s a double-decker tray for carrying assorted screws and nails and it holds almost every kind of fastener in one compact, organized ― and sometimes heavy — unit.

I made the rig from garden variety 1x pine, with an upright member in the center that acts as a bulkhead and a carrying handle.
The dimensions are based on an industry-accepted standard unit of measure ― a cardboard milk container.
Since milk containers are 3 inches square, the inside dimensions of the upper trays measure 9 inches by 9 inches so I can fit each tray with nine containers.
I made the inside dimensions of the lower trays 9 inches by 9-3/4 inches to allow for 18 more containers.

The extra 3/4 inch enables me to stack the upper trays and provides extra space for staples on one side and precut sandpaper strips for my sanding block on the other.
Because each container lifts out, I never have to dig my fingers into the sharp points of the fasteners. I can just pour a few into my hand or onto my workbench.

I try to keep only a handful of each type of screw in each container to get me through the day. I refill the containers as needed when I get home.

I also hold assortments of similar fastners in each container, which gives me more variety and items to choose from for each job.

The key, however, is keeping everything organized. Every type of fastener has its own spot, so I know just where to find it.

— Phil Miller, Medina, N.Y.

Tips & Techniques provided by Fine Homebuilding.
©2008 The Taunton Press

To contact Fine Homebuilding, e-mail Christina Glennon.

Set Yourself Apart With CGB Designation

Join the ranks of the nation’s top building industry professionals with the Certified Graduate Builder (CGB) designation. The “Builder Assessment Review” (BAR) is your first step towards obtaining the CGB.

This comprehensive assessment measures your expertise in the four key areas of the building industry: building technology, business and finance, project management and sales and marketing.

Your results will show the areas where your knowledge is strongest and weakest and will help determine the courses required for you to obtain your CGB.

To learn where the next BAR will be held, visit NAHB’s education listings, or call the Professional Designation Help Line at 800-368-5242 x8154.

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 to Navigate the Slowdown

What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.

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

More Consumers Want Their Kitchens Connected

By Jason Unger, CEPro

The kitchen has been the center of the home ― a place where families not only eat, but where they can gather to talk about their day ― for several generations.

With technology becoming more prominent in homes, “connected kitchens” with their technologically advanced appliances and networking are adding convenience and smart technology to cooking, shopping and other household needs.

Connected appliances have been in the market for more than a decade, but until now Internet-connected refrigerators, washers and dryers and even microwave ovens have not worked or been as popular as they could have been, which has dampened the popularity of the connected kitchen.

It's not that consumers don't want connected devices in their kitchen, however. The Internet Home Alliance, a cross-industry network of leading companies advancing the connected home market, has conducted research that found consumers want six key technologies in their kitchens:

A home control station
An energy usage monitoring and control system
Wireless Internet access
A recipe projection system
A digital calendar
A universal charging station

These controls are in addition to appliances such as refrigerators and ovens that will enable home owners to begin preparing their meals before getting home.

While control and monitoring have been the major focus of kitchen connectivity until now, audio/visual, information-sharing and entertainment-oriented technologies are emerging in the connected kitchen as well.

The following are several technologies that are becoming increasingly popular in the connected kitchen:

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) — Radio-frequency identification enables various products to “talk” to each other and share information.
Touchscreen Computers — Computers with touchscreen control capabilities give home owners easy and convenient access to information from their kitchen counter or table.
Westinghouse PT-16H610S Flip LCD — This and similar high definition televisions are designed to be installed on kitchen countertops or to hang beneath kitchen cabinets. This particular model can swivel 180 degrees, has built-in speakers, weighs 7.7 pounds and can display photos.
Whirlpool Centralpark Refrigerator — Featuring a Wifi digital photo frame, iPod dock, hidden power port and Internet-connectivity, this refrigerator not only can eliminate the clutter of refrigerator magnets, it can upload and display photos and recipes and enable home owners to enjoy daily weather, sports and news updates with their morning coffee.
Concierge Services — AMX, Crestron, Control4 and Criteria are connected products that enable home owners to order concierge services, such as ordering groceries or making restaurant reservations, or having a car waiting or washed. Concierge services are becoming popular in communities with multi-dwelling units.
Miele's RemoteVision — This module features a small chip with wireless WLAN technology that can link appliances to a monitoring center that can notify the home owner via e-mail, a text message or phone call ― when the refrigerator is open, the oven is on or other mishaps.
TMIO Intelligent Oven — This oven can be controlled remotely over the Internet and has the capabilities to keep food refrigerated during the day and enable the home owners to start cooking it before they get home.

Jason Unger is a technology writer for CEPro, a trade publication and Web site for professionals in the custom electronics business working with home owners, home builders and small and medium sized businesses. For more information, visit http://www.CEPro.com.

The preceding article was excerpted with permission from the CEPro article, “7 Products for the Connected Kitchen."

Information About Home Technology Available From HTA

The Home Technology Alliance (HTA) is a partnership between NAHB and the Custom Electronic Design Installation Association (CEDIA) that was formed to position the housing industry to effectively meet the growing home buyer demand for home technology and provide maximum return on investment in the new home building and remodeling process.

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

CEDIA: A Source for Experienced ESCs

The Custom Electronic Design Installation Association (CEDIA) is a founding sponsor in the Home Technology Alliance and an international trade association of companies that specialize in designing and installing electronic systems for the home.

CEDIA members are established and insured businesses with bona fide qualifications and experience in this field. CEDIA serves as a source for Electronic Systems Contractors (ESCs).

For more information on CEDIA, visit the association’s Web site at www.cedia.org. To find an ESC, click here.

CEDIA members are established and insured businesses with bona fide qualifications and experience in this field. CEDIA serves as a source for Electronic Systems Contractors (ESCs).

For more information on CEDIA, visit the association’s Web site at www.cedia.org. To find an ESC, click here.

Enter Pillars of Industry Multifamily Awards by Nov. 21

Entries are open for the 2009 Pillars of the Industry Awards competition honoring excellence in apartment and condominium design and development — including the best mixed-use community — as well as leadership in marketing and property management.

Apartment owners and developers, property managers, architects, interior designers and others involved in the multifamily housing industry are invited to enter.

The application deadline is Nov. 7. Entry notebooks are due Nov. 21.

The Pillars of the Industry Awards program is the largest and most prestigious of its kind, and both housing professionals and the media look to the awards as a showcase of future trends and innovation.

The awards recognize superior achievement in three areas: building, marketing and individual excellence, including “Multifamily Development Firm of the Year” and “Best Multifamily Community of the Year.”

Award recipients will be honored at a gala ceremony during NAHB Multifamily’s Pillars of the Industry Conference at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego on March 18. The conference, on March 17-18, is the premier educational and networking event for multifamily developers, owners, managers and lenders.

For complete details, including eligibility requirements and application forms, go to www.nahb.org/pillarsawards, e-mail multifamily@nahb.com or call 800-368-5242 x8215.

Market Realities, Emerging Trends at Pillars Conference

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 March 17-18 in San Diego.

The Pillars conference will be at the Hotel Del Coranado.

For developers, multifamily owners, lenders, capital investors, architects, designers and sales and marketing professionals, the conference will enable industry leaders to rethink how to move forward in today’s marketplace.

For more information and to sign up to be notified when registration opens, visit www.nahb.org/PillarsConference.

Education Needed to Sell Green Remodeling Jobs

Before going out and trying to sell green remodeling jobs, remodelers starting out in this growing segment of the market need to learn the fundamentals of green and develop a growth plan to gradually expand the capabilities of their company, Michael Strong, CGR, GMB, CGP, vice president of the Houston-based Brothers Strong, said at the NAHB National Green Building Conference last May in New Orleans.

A typical growth path for remodeling can start out with low- or no-VOC paints, moving next into installing Energy Star-rated windows and then later adopting more sophisticated practices covered in the Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation course, Strong suggested. Remodelers should follow a logical progression that makes the most sense for their business, he said.

Staff training on green building principles is imperative, he said. Employees need training on new systems, specifications and process mapping for planning green remodeling projects — such as properly sizing HVAC systems to maximize a home’s energy efficiency.

Remodelers will also need to establish their green baseline, reviewing and updating the materials and processes in their job specifications, such as adding deconstruction and recycling, Strong said.

Remodelers will also have to work with trades contractors and vendors in making the transition to green remodeling, he said. Contractors may not be up to speed on energy-efficient and recycled products and on how to reduce waste, for example. Also, the process may involve bringing in new people.

Scott Sevon, GMB, CGR, CAPS, CGP, president of Chicago-based Sevvonco, told the conference that he focuses a great deal of effort on educating his prospective customers on the environmental advantages of green remodeling. That starts with a discussion of the economic benefits of reducing energy and water usage and moves on to how such practices as minimizing building materials going to landfills profits the entire community.

Sevon shows his clients samples of green materials like recycled flooring or water-efficient fixtures; walks them through the deconstruction and recycling process used by his company; and highlights available green remodeling options — ranging from those that are highly affordable to the more luxurious.

Tom Kelly, of Portland, Ore.-based Neil Kelly, said that green has been incorporated throughout his company, including its mission statement and educational practices. Both he and his staff are committed to learning and adopting green building principles, he said.

Kelly said his company provides resource-efficient fixtures and products in its showroom where it can demonstrate their quality to customers.

NAHB suggests these ideas for selling green remodeling:

Advertise your Certified Green Professional designation to potential customers. This will help them identify you as an experienced green remodeler.
Promote the idea that your green remodels can be certified through the National Green Building Certification offered through NAHBGreen when the remodeling component is approved.
Participate in green remodeling showcases or promote your green remodels at local remodeling shows.
Include green technologies in your marketing materials or samples in your office or display area.

While green doesn’t have to cost more, depending upon the scope of the project, it can increase costs, and this is an issue where education also comes into play.

“How much more does quality cost?” Strong said he asks his potential customers, reminding them that quality green remodeling can increase the value of their home, reduce utility bills and provide them a healthier and more comfortable place in which to live.

For more information on NAHB’s green remodeling resources, e-mail Kelly Mack, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8451.

Learn About Lead Paint Rule During Oct. 28 Audio Seminar

Experts on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new lead paint rule governing the work of professional remodelers in homes where there is suspected lead-based paint will discuss the rule and its implications during an NAHB audio seminar beginning 2:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Oct. 28.

Presented by NAHB Remodelers and The NAHB University of Housing, seminar participants in the seminar, “The EPA’s New Lead Paint Rule: What it Means for You,” will explain in detail what the new rule covers, exactly what remodelers will have to do to be in compliance and where to find additional information.

Featured speakers include:

Brindley Byrd, CGR, CAPS, of QX2 Contracting in Lansing, Mich.
Byrd is an advocate for the remodeling industry and has been an active member of the NAHB Remodelers Lead Based Paint Task Force since 2003.
Bob Hanbury, CGR, of House of Hanbury in Newington, Conn.
Hanbury is a member of the Connecticut Department of Public Safety State Codes and Standards Committee and has represented the remodeling industry during discussions and presentations on lead paint with HUD and the EPA.
Matt Watkins, NAHB environmental policy analyst.
Watkins has been integral in writing several comment letters about the rule to the EPA. Prior to working at NAHB, he was a certified lead-paint risk assessor and worked extensively in enforcement and compliance for both state and local government. He also worked for a high production builder.

The EPA lead paint rule addresses remodeling and renovation projects disturbing more than six square feet of potentially contaminated painted surfaces for all residential and multifamily structures built prior to 1978 that are inhabited or frequented by pregnant women and children under the age of six. It will take effect in April 2010.

It requires a cleaning inspection after the work is completed and grants the remodeler flexibility in determining the size of the work area, which can reduce the size of the area subject to containment.

The EPA rule also lists prohibited work practices ― including open-torch burning and using high-heat guns and high-speed equipment such as grinders and sanders not equipped with a HEPA filter.

To Register

For more information and to register for the seminar, click here.

After the seminar, registrants will recieve a PowerPoint of the presentations. Registration also includes free access to an archival recording of the seminar through November.

For general information about the rule and what NAHB Remodelers are doing to help their members, visit www.nahb.org/LeadPaint.

Free NAHB Lead Paint Resource

NAHB also has prepared a free, lead paint resource document, “Lead Paint: EPA’s Final Rule on Remodeling and Renovation” to help remodelers understand and prepare for the rule.

To review or download NAHB’s lead paint resource document, click here.

Increase Your Professional Credibility

The Certified Graduate Remodeler (CGR) designation emphasizes business management skills as the key to a professional remodeling operation.

Remodelers who earn the CGR become members of an exclusive national program and gain recognition as industry leaders.

To learn more about the CGR designation, visit www.nahb.org/CGRinfo, or call The Professional Designation Help Line at 800-368-5242 x8154.

'How to Find a Professional Remodeler' Available at BuilderBooks.com

"How to Find a Professional Remodeler," available at BuilderBooks.com, promotes the professionalism of your remodeling business by offering valuable advice to your customers on the process of selecting a remodeler.

The brochure guides consumers from the dream to the reality of having their homes remodeled by skilled and trained professionals. Sections include what to look for in a professional remodeler and what questions to ask.

To view or puchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665 to order.

Apply for University of Housing Designee of the Year by Nov. 3

The NAHB University of Housing will be honoring industry professionals as the 2008 Designees of the Year during ceremonies at the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas in January and is now accepting nominations.

Professional designations offer NAHB members opportunities to improve their skills, advance their careers and exhibit their commitment to professional growth.

At a reception at the Las Vegas Hilton on Jan. 20, the designees will be honored for elevating the image of NAHB professional designations in their communities and for furthering NAHB education and professionalism.

Nominations are being accepted for the CAPS, CGA, CGB, CGR and GMB programs. There is no limit to the number of nominees that can be submitted by local or state home builders associations.

Nomination forms must be received by The NAHB University of Housing by Monday, Nov. 3.

For more information and to download a nomination form, click here.

For more information, e-mail Maria Nande at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8435.

Education Calendar

Nov. 5

Audio Seminar: Up Your Profits in a Down Market With Light Commercial

n/a

Nov. 6-7

Leadership Training Conference

Atlanta, Ga.

Nov. 13

Audio Seminar: Finding Alternative Sources of Funding

n/a

Nov. 18

Audio Seminar: Builder Financing — Working With Your Lender in the Credit Crunch

n/a

Nov. 16-19

Building Systems Councils SHOWCASE

Memphis, Tenn.

Nov. 20-22

State and Local Government Affairs Conference

Memphis, Tenn.

2009

Jan. 20-23

2009 International Builders' Show

Las Vegas, Nev.

Jan. 21

50+ Housing Council Education and Events at IBS

Las Vegas, Nev.

March 17-18

Pillars of the Industry Conference and Awards Gala

San Diego, Calif.

March 29-31

Log Home Council's President's Tour

Boise, Idaho

April 27-29

Building for Boomers and Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium

Philadelphia, Pa.

April 28

Best of 50+ Housing Awards

Philadelphia, Pa.

May 8-10

National Green Building Conference

Dallas, Texas

May 8

National Green Building Awards

Dallas, Texas

May 17-19

Building Systems Councils Modular and Panel Plant Tour

Manchester, N.H.

Aug. 11-15

Executive Officers Council Seminar

Louisville, Ky.

Nov. 6-9

National Conference on Membership

New Orleans, La.

Learn More About Upcoming Conferences and Designations

Interested in attending a University of Housing conference or learning more about NAHB designation programs? Visit www.nahb.org/notifyme, and sign up to receive more information.

Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips to Navigate the Slowdown

What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.

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

Apply for NAHB SAFE Award by Oct. 31, Application Fee Waived

Apply for the NAHB 2008 Safety Award For Excellence (SAFE) awards by Friday, Oct. 31.

NAHB has waived the $50 applicion fee as part of its ongoing commitment to help members weather the economic downturn and to recognize and promote exemplary workplace safety programs.

The NAHB SAFE award honors the achievements of builders and trade contractors who have developed and implemented high-quality construction safety programs, as well as government officials and NAHB-affiliated associations who have made successful efforts to advance safety in the home building industry.

Awards will be made in a variety of categories; for a detailed listing, click here.

For information, requirements and an online application, click here (nahb.org/SAFE).

Award winners will be recognized during a breakfast ceremony on Jan. 20 during the 2009 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas. Winners will receive an award and coverage in this publication.

Read about the 14 companies recognized for their safety achievements with 2007 SAFE awards here.

NAHB is seeking companies to become sponsors for the safety awards program. For sponsorship information, click here; or e-mail Andy Flank at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8059.

NAHB provides members and others in the residential construction industry — including non-English and limited English-speaking employees and trade contractors — with information, guidance and access to training resources to help them protect employees' health and safety.

A variety of safety resources and guidebooks, including the NAHB-OSHA Jobsite Safety Handbook: English-Spanish Edition, can be purchased through www.builderbooks.com/safety.

For more information on the SAFE Awards, e-mail Lindsay Cather at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8163.

Boost Job Site Safety With Fall Protection Training Products

In an effort to increase job site safety and reduce the chance of job related accidents, NAHB has produced the “Fall Protection Video, English-Spanish” and “NAHB-OSHA Fall Protection Handbook, English-Spanish.”

Both are available through BuilderBooks.com.

The 30-minute “Fall Protection Video, English-Spanish” can be used by builders to train workers to use safe work practices that eliminate fall hazards and comply with OSHA fall-protection standards.

The “NAHB-OSHA Fall Protection Handbook, English-Spanish” provides guidelines for creating a written fall-protection plan and identifying safe work practices that can prevent costly accidents and injuries. Written with clear text, photographs and illustrations, the book serves as a user-friendly resource for promoting safety on any job site.

To purchase the handbook and video online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.

Create a Safer Job Site

Four common hazards cause 90% of the injuries and fatalities on residential construction job sites.

The “Recognizing the Big-Four Safety Hazards for the Home Building Industry” course from The NAHB University of Housing shows how to comply with OSHA regulations and to recognize and minimize those hazards most likely to cause accidents.

The course teaches builders to protect their workers from harm and themselves from liability. This course is also available in Spanish.

To find out where upcoming courses are being held, click here, or call 800-368-5242 x8154 for more information.

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.

Study Shows How to Combine SIPs Roofs and Concrete Walls

A new study prepared by the NAHB Research Center and released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) shows builders how to improve the durability and energy efficiency of their homes by combining structural insulated panel (SIPs) roof systems and concrete wall systems in one- and two-family dwellings.

Funding for the study — “The Prescriptive Method for Connecting Structural Insulated Panel Roofs to Concrete Wall Systems” — was provided by HUD’s Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing program, which aims to break down barriers to innovative housing technologies. Support was also provided by the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) and the Portland Cement Association (PCA).

“Through the specifications provided by this research, builders will be able to reduce costs while more easily building high-quality energy-efficient homes,” said Donn Thompson, AIA, PCA’s residential technology manager. “This truly collaborative effort brought together all the different concrete building system manufacturers with the SIP manufacturers to ensure all the practical solutions of the new technologies are addressed.”

In most cases, the new prescriptive guidelines will reduce the need for additional engineering during the design phase of projects using the two systems, often translating to lower costs for both builders and owners.

“When a licensed engineer is required to determine the appropriate connection system and approve the building plans, the cost is often passed on to the home owner,” said Bill Wachtler, executive director of SIPA. “This important document gives builders and design professionals the right connection systems that have been tested and engineered for most residential applications.”

Structural insulated panels consist of a core of rigid foam insulation sandwiched between two facings, typically made of oriented strand board (OSB). SIPs are available as large as 8’ x 24’ and are extremely energy-efficient, making them ideal for roofing applications.

The study covers all types of concrete wall systems, including insulating concrete forms (ICF), concrete masonry, removable form systems, precast wall panels and autoclaved aerated concrete products.

ICFs and other concrete wall systems provide a high level of thermal resistance for an energy-efficient building envelope. The concrete wall systems also form solid, continuous and airtight walls that prevent heated or cooled air from leaking out, the main cause of home energy loss.

Homes built in high wind or seismic zones were not covered in the study.

“To make a completely energy-efficient building envelope, you have to have well insulated walls, a well insulated roof and an airtight connection between them,” said Wachtler. “As energy costs continue to rise and become a greater concern for home buyers, the winning combination of these two energy-efficient technologies has a strong future in the residential market.”

The Future of Residential Construction Is Green

The Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation teaches builders, remodelers and other industry professionals techniques for incorporating green building principles into homes using cost-effective and affordable options.

Earning the CGP demonstrates to clients and peers your commitment to the best and latest in green building practices and techniques. More than 1,000 people have earned the CGPdesignation to date.

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

Attend the National Green Building Conference in Dallas

Attend the 2009 National Green Building Conference in Dallas on May 10-13 to learn more about the critical paths to green building, and to participate in interactive sessions and be part of the driving force for the green building and remodeling markets.

For more information and to sign up to be notified when registration opens, visit www.nahb.org/GreenBuildingConference.

Conference Promotes Trees in Public Spaces

The National Arbor Day Foundation is hosting a new national conference on Nov. 18-20 that promotes the increased use of trees in public spaces.

“Partners in Community Forestry” will be held at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel.

Included in the conference schedule is a presentation on the Building With Trees program, a joint project of NAHB and the National Arbor Day Foundation. Joining NAHB land use planner Ed Tombari will be two past Building With Trees Awards winners, Frank Steward, CEO of Northland Development in Burlington, Mass.; and Kirk Bone of Parker Development in El Dorado Hills, Calif.

The awards program recognizes builders and developers who have taken special efforts to retain existing trees and plant new ones while constructing homes and creating new subdivisions.

The conference session will focus on Building With Trees case studies and the home building industry’s contribution to tree preservation and development in new communities.

Among other conference sessions, a panel of journalists will discuss how to make community forestry newsworthy; public policy opportunities for urban forests; connecting trees to water quality and storm water management; sustainability guidelines and best practices; innovative partnerships; and advanced green infrastructure in compact developments.

Three tours, including a “Trees & Development/Green Building Tour,” are also planned for the conference.

Registration forms and additional information are available at the conference Web site, or by calling 800-833-8624.

For more information, e-mail Jennifer Jones at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8469.

'Option Selling' Can Help Boost Sales, Revenue, Profits

“Option Selling for Profit: The Builder’s Guide to Generating Design Center Revenue and Profit,” by Gina Gullo and Angela Rinaldi, provides a hands-on understanding of high-powered selling in the ever-expanding market of options for new homes and serves as the definitive guide to generating design center revenue and profit.

Options, the authors explain, give customers the opportunity to design a home that suits their individual tastes and lifestyles. By offering a range of options and upgrades, the design phase provides builders with the best opportunity to make a lasting impression and ensure that buyers will favorably remember the entire buying experience.

Available at BuilderBooks.com, “Option Selling” explains how builders can:

Create an option sales program that motivates customers to buy
Capitalize on options and upgrades programs to increase the bottom line
Empower the sales team with the tools they need to succeed
Cultivate loyal customers
Deliver outstanding customer service
Implement a profitable design program no matter the size of the company

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

Hispanic Construction Workers Putting Safety First

By Dennis McCafferty

On a typical workday, Spanish-speaking workers will account for 20 of Fernando Pagés’ 25 crew members. Making sure that each one of those workers is safe on the job site is his first priority, Pagés says, but a unique set of challenges means that attaining this goal is easier said than done.

“Obviously, there’s the language barrier,” says Pagés, who owns Brighton Construction, an award-winning Lincoln, Neb.-based home building business. “Not only is it impossible for workers to read safety instructions on equipment in English, but they often arrive in this country functionally illiterate. They’re from the working class in Latin America. They have a difficult time reading instructions in Spanish as well, except for the very basic details.”

In order to make sure that his crew operates safely, Pagés is on the job site all the time, stressing to his Spanish-speaking workers that he’d rather have them take a longer time to do a job than do it quickly and risk having an accident.

“It’s not only in a business owner’s interest out of liability, but out of interest for them personally,” he says. “I ask them all kinds of questions before they start on a job. Do they understand how to properly use the equipment? Is there any procedure in the job that makes them feel uncomfortable? I want them to know it’s OK to talk about this.”

As more and more Hispanic workers enter the home building industry, a rising number of builders and remodelers are responding to this reality. Given recent statistics that have emerged about construction injuries and deaths among Spanish-speaking workers, it’s clear that the problem needs urgent and consistent attention in order to be addressed.

According to recent findings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hispanic workers face greater risks from work-based injuries, and the construction industry accounts for one out of three of those deaths. From 2003 to 2006, 34% of Hispanic construction worker deaths came from construction job-related injuries, the highest of any industry. In 2006, deaths among Hispanic workers were five per 100,000, compared with an average of four per 100,000 for white and black workers, the CDC reports.

Across the industry, falls are cited as the most common cause of accidental deaths, followed by contact with objects/equipment, exposure to harmful substances/environments, transportation accidents and fires/explosions, according to NAHB.

NAHB and Lowe’s have worked together to help reduce injuries and deaths among Hispanic workers, creating a number of educational tools to help contractors ensure a high degree of safety practices among Hispanic crew members.

The most significant effort is the Sed de Saber Construction Edition program (to see the Spanish-language page, click here), which teaches Latino workers English-language conversation skills and critical job-safety tips. The system contains 500 words and 340 phrases to allow a functional level of English-language conversation and comprehension in about four month’s time, with safety as the primary focus. Lowe’s is the home-improvement sponsor of the program.

“We all know that there are an increasing number of Spanish-speaking workers in the construction industry,” says Fred Humphreys, president/CEO of the Home Builders Institute, the workforce development arm of NAHB. “The gap in communications skills is resulting in a higher injury and death rate. Now, regardless of how one feels about immigration policy, the bottom line is that these workers are getting killed or hurt and we need to do something about it.”

In many ways, educational measures are more realistic than some of the other alternatives being suggested — such as hiring bilingual on-site foremen and supervisors, Humphreys says. “In a perfect world, it would be great to have bilingual building supervisors,” he says. “In the real world, it simply isn’t feasible. What we’re doing is bringing the workers to a level where they can communicate on the basic life skills needed to do their jobs safely.”

Pagés says that if builders or remodelers can’t hire a bilingual foreman, they must make sure that at least one of the immigrant workers speaks both English and Spanish. “In every team of workers, you’ll have one emerge as the leader of the pack,” he says. “That’s the one who needs to convey your safety policies effectively to his Spanish-speaking friends on the crew.”

And Pagés is constantly gathering instructional materials in Spanish that address safety issues, including those from NAHB.

“We set aside lunch breaks to sit down and watch safety DVDs that are presented in Spanish, and then we talk about them,” Pagés says. “Constant communications is essential here. It’s important that the discussion and the instructional materials and DVDs are understood by everyone in the field.”

For more information on Sed de Saber — Construction Edition, e-mail Steve Kramer at HBI, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8925.

This article is reprinted by permission from Lowe’s Commercial Services and first appeared on LowesForPros.com.

Mohawk Makes Carpet From Plastic Bottles and Corn Sugar

Mohawk Industries is among a growing number of manufacturers who are including NAHB National Green Building Program point totals in their product literature to show builders and remodelers how these products can help them score higher.

Mohawk recycles more than 3 billion plastic bottles a year to produce its EverStrand line of carpeting, and its SmartStrand carpet line contains 37% renewable ingredients made from corn sugar.

The EverStrand carpet line can help earn a builder three points in the resource efficiency section of NAHBGreen under item 2.4.1: Use recycled-content materials. Using the Encycle line of carpet tiles and Mohawk’s collection of reclaimed wood flooring can also contribute to the point total. A minimum of two kinds of recycled products are required for the builder to claim the score.

All Mohawk carpet and cushion products also meet the Carpet and Rug Institute's Green Label Plus certification for indoor environmental quality, earning an additional six points in that section of the program.

Headquartered in Calhoun, Ga., Mohawk Industries is a member of the National Council of the Housing Industry — The Leading Suppliers of NAHB.

NCHI members are invited to send details of products meeting NAHBGreen requirements to David Cooper, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8247. A press release announcing the products and their point total possibilities will be issued by NAHB prior to the International Builders’ Show.

This feature is solely for educational and informational purposes. Nothing on this page should be construed as policy, an endorsement, warranty or guaranty by the National Association of Home Builders of the featured product or the product manufacturer. The National Association of Home Builders expressly disclaims any responsibility for any damages arising from the use, application or reliance on any information contained on this page.

Applications for Endowment IBS Scholarships Due Oct. 31

Applications for students to attend the 2009 International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas are now available and due by Oct. 31.

The scholarships ― sponsored by the National Housing Endowment in conjunction with the Home Builders Institute ― enable NAHB Student Chapter members to offset some or all of their travel and attendance expenses at IBS. Providing funding to students has proven to be instrumental in helping them learn outside the classroom and prepare careers in the home building industry.

The IBS scholarship program also helps give young NAHB members the tools to enter into the federation as graduates and to become future leaders.

The endowment has allocated $100,000 for scholarships in this, the second year of the program.

“IBS is something that everyone who intends to enter into residential construction should see,” said one student scholarship winner last year.

“The National Housing Endowment is proud to continue this scholarship program for NAHB’s student chapter members,” said Gary Garczynski, endowment chair and 2002 NAHB President. “The endowment is working to increase the number of college graduates entering residential construction and this scholarship, along with other programs we sponsor, is leading the effort to reward and encourage the best and brightest to choose a rewarding career in residential construction.”

To be considered for funding, a student must meet the following qualifications:

Be a student studying residential construction or a related field at a four-year college or university, two-year college, high school or technical school
Be an active NAHB member at an institution with an NAHB Student Chapter
Be a student who will be traveling to the International Builders’ Show to participate in NAHB Student Chapters activities

Applications must be submitted online no later than midnight Oct. 31.

State and local home builders associations can apply for up to $2,500 in matching funds to distribute to their local NAHB Student Chapter.

Students can apply for up to $500 in non-matched funds.

Individual NAHB Student Chapters can apply for up to $2,500 in non-matched funds. Preference will be given to chapters represented by a Residential Construction Management Competition team at the IBS.

To apply online, visit www.NAHB.org/2009IBSscholarship.

Recipients will be notified by Nov. 21 and funds will be distributed in mid-December.

More Endowment Scholarship Programs

The endowment administers 12 scholarships and awards more than $350,000 each year to students pursuing careers in residential construction and related fields.

For more information, visit the endowment's Web site at www.nationalhousingendowment.org.

Submissions for Lee S. Evans Scholarships Due Nov. 21

Lee and Virginia Evans
Submissions for the Lee S. Evans/National Housing Endowment Scholarship, awarded to exemplary students who major in construction-related fields, are due no later than Friday, Nov. 21.

The scholarships award graduates and undergraduates pursuing degrees in residential construction management in two- and four-year colleges and universities up to $5,000 each year.

Fifteen students were awarded $52,000 in scholarships for the 2008 academic year. Since the Lee Evans scholarship fund was founded in 1993, 170 students have been awarded more than $437,000.

The Lee Evans scholarship recipients for the 2009 academic year will be announced in January at the 2009 International Builders' Show in Orlando.

More Scholarship Programs

The National Housing Endowment, the philanthropic arm of NAHB, administers 12 scholarship programs and annually awards more than $350,000 to students pursuing careers in residential construction and related fields.

For more information and to download scholarship applications, visit the endowment Web site at www.nationalhousingendowment.org.

HomeAid Reaches Milestone of Serving 100,000 Homeless

HomeAid has just announced that it has reached the milestone of serving more than 100,000 homeless men, women and children.

Since it was founded 20 years ago to address the needs of the nation’s homeless population, HomeAid has grown to 22 chapters in 16 states. The organization’s 170 facilities provide more than 4,200 beds each night to homeless families and individuals and represent more than $120 million in project construction costs.

Occupants of HomeAid’s temporary housing are helped to become self-sufficient through a recovery process that facilitates their transition into affordable housing.

“Our model involves builders and their trade partners donating their time, resources, materials and expertise to construct multi-unit homeless housing facilities,” said Jeffrey Slavin, CEO of HomeAid.

“Being able to help more than 100,000 homeless individuals, a large percentage of whom are children, makes a very powerful statement about the generosity of the home building industry, especially during these difficult economic times,” Slavin said.

HomeAid enables builders to do what they do best: build,” said Bert Selva, president and CEO of Shea Homes. “The payback is to help someone who is homeless in his or her transition and, person by person, you start making a difference in the world.”

The labor and materials donated to build HomeAid’s facilities represent an average 61% of their total direct construction costs.

“This donation rate enables a homeless service provider who is given a facility to realize a leveraging effect, when all project costs are included, of more than twice the hard dollars invested in the project,” noted Slavin. “This leveraging effect has enabled our service providers to add capacity to help their communities’ homeless population become productive members of society.”

With another 55 projects now being developed by its chapters, HomeAid expects to see a dramatic impact in the number of homeless people it serves in the next few years.

“As new chapters are added and our organization’s capacity grows to help other non-profit service providers, the ultimate benefactors will be the nation’s 3.5 million homeless families and individuals to whom HomeAid represents an opportunity to rebuild their lives,” said Slavin.

EOs, Strengthen Leadership Skills at Nov. 6 Training Conference

Executive officers and home builders association staff members and volunteer leaders can strengthen their leadership skills and develop new approaches to management at the National Leadership Training Conferences to be held this fall on Nov. 6-7 at the Intercontinental Hotel Buckhead in Atlanta.

Strong association leadership requires continual learning and professional development. Participants will engage in high-level sessions on team planning, organization building, leadership development for association volunteers and ways to create a more dynamic organization — skills that will help them make membership more valuable to current and prospective members.

Session highlights include:

“Team Planning: The President and Executive Officer Partnership” ― This seminar explores the leadership and management styles of presidents and executive officers and provides an opportunity for participants to set their leadership goals for the coming year.
“Identifying Future Leaders and Building a Strong Board” — Participants will learn how to determine the ideal composition of their boards and actively recruit members to serve.
“Building a Remarkable Organization” ― This event provides attendees with the diagnostic tools to keep their association on the road to success. Participants will learn the methods they can use to prevent minor problems from becoming full-blown crises.

Other session topics include “Running Effective Meetings” and “Clever Approaches to Human Behaviors.”

Attendees also will have opportunities to network and share ideas and challenges with their association colleagues.

To Register

To register online for either conference and for more information, click here.

Online Registration Open for Spokesperson Training at IBS

Registration for the two Spokesperson Training sessions — “Interview Skills” and “Presentation Skills” — is now open for the 2009 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas in January.

In the “Interview Skills” session, NAHB members will learn how to give clear, concise answers in a high-pressure, spur-of-the moment interview. The session will help participants master strategies for broadcast and print interviews, including message development.

During the “Presentation Skills” session, members can learn how to confidently prepare and deliver dynamic presentations to any audience. “Presentation Skills” focuses on how to organize and deliver a speech and presentation with accompanying question and answer sessions.

International Builders’ Show Session Schedules:

Interview Skills

Tuesday, Jan. 20

Interview Skills

Wednesday, Jan. 21

Presentation Skills

Thursday, Jan. 22

To Register

Members can register securely online with a credit card for one or both of the Spokesperson Training sessions on the NAHB Web site.

Registrations are limited to 12 participants for each course, so spots will fill up quickly.

To register, click here.

Each seminar is led by professional communication consultants who have more than 30 years of experience training NAHB members on the critical issues they face every day.

The fee to attend the Interview Skills or the Presentation Skills class is $495 per person for each one-day seminar. More than 15,000 NAHB leaders have taken Spokesperson Training since the program began in 1979.

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

UPS Offers Up to 30% Discount to NAHB Members on Shipping

NAHB and UPS, the world’s largest package delivery company, have joined forces to offer NAHB members discounts of up to 30% on shipping.

The NAHB shipping discounts include domestic air and ground, international export and international import.

Association members can also take advantage of hassle-free on-line shipping, 24/7 access and advanced package tracking at your fingertips.

NAHB members are eligible for discounts up to 30% to help manage costs with no catch — and no minimums.

The shipping discounts — which increase the more packages or letters the user sends — will be applied once enrollment is complete.

The enrollment process is fast and easy and is available to NAHB members through the Web site: www.savewithups.com/nahb.

For more information on UPS savings and the complete Member Advantage program, visit www.nahb.org/MA.

Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips to Navigate the Slowdown

What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.

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

Members, Save 10% at Omaha Steaks When Shopping Online

Just in time for autumn cookouts and tailgate parties, NAHB members can save 10% on all Omaha Steaks food and specialty items when they shop online at the Omaha Steaks special NAHB Member Advantage Web page.

Omaha Steaks, a leader in the incentive industry for more than 40 years, has a first-class reputation and a variety of gourmet entrees and items available to members, including beef, pork, poultry, pasta, salmon, tuna, seafood, appetizers, side dishes and desserts.

Members ordering Omaha Steaks discounts ― which also include specialty selections, blockbuster combos, family value combos, soups, snacks, breads, coffee and monthly specials — can use them as gifts for their customers, clients, friends, family and staff members.

The 10% discount can be combined with any special found on the Omaha Steaks special NAHB Member Advantage Web page.

To order online and receive the Omaha Steaks 10% discount, click here.

Other Member Advantage Discounts

For the most up-to-date details on the Member Advantage discount program and all of the participating companies, go to www.nahb.org/MA.

Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips to Navigate the Slowdown

What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.

Williams Scotsman Offers One Month Free Rent, $50 Gas Gift Card

Williams Scotsman is offering NAHB members one month free rent for each mobile office, storage container or specialty trailer leased for six months or longer, plus a $50 gas card for each mobile office, section modular complex, executive/sales office, or GoSpace™ leased for seven months or longer.

These offers are available through Dec. 31 and delivery must be accepted by Jan. 15.

For more information, call Williams Scotsman at 877-884-4065, or visit www.willscot.com/products/mobile-offices.html.

Other Member Advantage Discounts

For information on the Member Advantage discount program and all its participating companies, go to www.nahb.org/MA.

Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Navigate the Slowdown

What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.

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

GM $500 Private Offer: Easy as 1-2-3

Receiving $500 towards the purchase or lease of most new GM vehicles, whether for business or personal use, is now as easy as one, two, three.

Follow these simple steps to get your GM authorization number and turn it in at your GM dealer for your $500 discount. The $500 NAHB private offer may be combined with most current GM incentives:

One: Create a username and password.

Click on the GM logo from www.nahb.org/MA and click on the authorization number link.
Hit the “continue” button under the heading “Obtain username and password to receive authorization to purchase.”
Enter last name, first name, street number (note, this must be the street number on file with your HBA) and zip code.
The page will then pre-populate with your member information. Create a username and password (note, each must be eight characters).

Two: Obtain and authorization number

Once login is complete, you’ll be directed to a page where you’ll be greeted by your first name.
To obtain an authorization number, click on the text, “GM Select Trade Association Private Offer” on the left-hand side of the page.
Enter date of birth (00/00/0000 format), zip code and purchaser information (either yourself or a member of your household). Any member of your household living under your roof is eligible for the $500 NAHB private offer.
Confirm the information that pre-populates.
Print the authorization number page and give it to the dealer.

Three: Go to www.gmfleet.com/nahb and click on the GM logo for all the details and background information on this $500 offer.

Other Member Advantage Discounts

For information on the Member Advantage discount program and all its participating companies, go to www.nahb.org/MA.

Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Navigate the Slowdown

What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.

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

Save $25 on Hertz ‘Green,’ ‘Fun’ or ‘Prestige’ Weekly Rentals

NAHB members can save $25 on weekly rentals of Hertz “Green,” “Fun” or “Prestige” collection vehicles in the U.S. No blackout dates apply.

All collection vehicles can be reserved by make and model. Fun vehicles include SIRIUS Satellite Radio. Green Collection vehicles are fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly. Prestige vehicles include NeverLost® in-car satellite navigation.

For information about this offer and Hertz collection vehicles, click here. This $25 offer is valid through Dec. 31, 2008.

For information on special NAHB member savings with how NAHB members can join Hertz #1 Club Gold® with the fee waived for the first year (a $60 value), click here.

Other Member Advantage Discounts

For information on the Member Advantage discount program and all its participating companies, go to www.nahb.org/MA.

Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips to Navigate the Slowdown

What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.

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

Calendar of Events

Nov. 5

Audio Seminar: Up Your Profits in a Down Market With Light Commercial

n/a

Nov. 6-7

Leadership Training Conference

Atlanta, Ga.

Nov. 12-13

Multifamily Leadership Board Fall Board Meeting

Scottsdale, Ariz.

Nov. 13

Audio Seminar: Finding Alternative Sources of Funding

n/a

Nov. 16-19

Building Systems Councils SHOWCASE

Memphis, Tenn.

Nov. 18

Audio Seminar: Builder Financing — Working With Your Lender in the Credit Crunch

n/a

Nov. 20-22

State and Local Government Affairs Conference

Memphis, Tenn.

2009

Jan. 20-23

2009 International Builders' Show

Las Vegas, Nev.

Jan. 20

2008 Safety Award for Excellence (SAFE) Ceremony and Breakfast

Las Vegas, Nev.

Jan. 20

2009 IRM Commencement Breakfast

Las Vegas, Nev.

Jan. 21

50+ Housing Council Education and Events at IBS

Las Vegas, Nev.

March 17-18

Pillars of the Industry Conference and Awards Gala

San Diego, Calif.

March 19

Pillars of the Industry Awards

San Diego, Calif.

March 29-31

Log Home Council's President's Tour

Boise, Idaho

April 27-29

Building for Boomers and Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium

Philadelphia, Pa.

April 28

Best of 50+ Housing Awards

Philadelphia, Pa.

May 8-10

National Green Building Conference

Dallas, Texas

May 8

National Green Building Awards

Dallas, Texas

May 17-19

Building Systems Councils Modular and Panel Plant Tour

Manchester, N.H.

May 25-31

Spring NAHB Board of Directors Meeting

Washington, D.C.

Aug. 11-15

Executive Officers Council Seminar

Louisville, Ky.

Oct. 29

NAHB Remodeler of the Year Award

Indianapolis, Ind.

Oct. 29

National Remodeling Hall of Fame Award

Indianapolis, Ind.

Nov. 6-9

National Conference on Membership

New Orleans, La.

Learn More About Upcoming Conferences and Designations

Interested in attending a University of Housing conference or learning more about NAHB designation programs? Visit www.nahb.org/notifyme, and sign up to receive more information.

Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips to Navigate the Slowdown

What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.

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

Nation's Building News Online: October 27, 2008

Housing Stimulus Needed as Downside Risks Pile Up

Economists Upbeat About U.S. Financial Rescue Efforts

Read More in Nation’s Building News — Win a Full IBS Registration

Trying for a Bigger Tax Credit

Housing Healthier Near Thriving Metros

Housing Downturn Could Be Approaching Bottom

Bargain Hunters Trickle Back to U.S. Housing Market

Other Woes Make Foreclosure Crisis Hard to Break

For Some, Housing Crisis Is Unbearable

Letters to the Editor: Nurses Play Vital Role in Aging-in-Place

Indiana Judge Rules Local Park Impact Fees Invalid

Affirmative Minority Marketing Required for FHA Financing

New-Home Sales Edge Up in September, But Demand Weak

Economic Picture Darkening for Most Parts of the Country

Fannie, Freddie Economists Say Housing Slump Bottom Is Near

Housing Downturn Could Be Entering Roughest Stretch Yet

Oversupply Slows Multifamily Rental and Condo Markets

David Crowe Replacing David Seiders as NAHB Chief Economist

Useful Links to Monitor Economic and Housing Trends

IBS Education Focuses on Staying Ahead in Tough Market

Register Online for the 2009 Builders' Show in Las Vegas

Sign Up for Designation Courses and Education Sessions at IBS

Learn About Diversifying Into Light Commercial on Nov. 5

Experts to Discuss Finding, Using Alternate Funding Sources

Learn How to Work Through the Credit Crunch With Your Lender

Builders’ Tip: My Personal On-the-Job Hardware Store

More Consumers Want Their Kitchens Connected

Enter Pillars of Industry Multifamily Awards by Nov. 21

Market Realities, Emerging Trends at Pillars Conference

Education Needed to Sell Green Remodeling Jobs

Learn About Lead Paint Rule During Oct. 28 Audio Seminar

Apply for University of Housing Designee of the Year by Nov. 3

Education Calendar

Apply for NAHB SAFE Award by Oct. 31, Application Fee Waived

Study Shows How to Combine SIPs Roofs and Concrete Walls

Conference Promotes Trees in Public Spaces

'Option Selling' Can Help Boost Sales, Revenue, Profits

Hispanic Construction Workers Putting Safety First

Mohawk Makes Carpet From Plastic Bottles and Corn Sugar

Applications for Endowment IBS Scholarships Due Oct. 31

Submissions for Lee S. Evans Scholarships Due Nov. 21

HomeAid Reaches Milestone of Serving 100,000 Homeless

EOs, Strengthen Leadership Skills at Nov. 6 Training Conference

Online Registration Open for Spokesperson Training at IBS

UPS Offers Up to 30% Discount to NAHB Members on Shipping

Members, Save 10% at Omaha Steaks When Shopping Online

Williams Scotsman Offers One Month Free Rent, $50 Gas Gift Card

GM $500 Private Offer: Easy as 1-2-3

Save $25 on Hertz ‘Green,’ ‘Fun’ or ‘Prestige’ Weekly Rentals

Calendar of Events