Nation's Building News Online: March 30, 2009Print All Articles Text Version |
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Builders Urge Congress to Remedy AD&C Lending CrisisAlleviating the acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) lending crisis that has been choking off credit for home builders with devastating results took center stage on March 24 as more than 500 builders from across the country converged on Capitol Hill for the annual NAHB Legislative Conference. “Our message to members of Congress was right to the point,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson. “The economy will not rebound until we get credit flowing again to the housing sector. It’s time to put the housing industry back to work and get the economy moving again.” Also, hundreds of NAHB members who were unable to attend the day-long conference participated by calling the Capitol Hill offices of their representatives and senators to deliver the same message. Builders visiting with their lawmakers urged their members of Congress to sign onto a bipartisan draft letter sponsored by Reps. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) and Gary Miller (R-Calif.) to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other regulators calling attention to the drastic impact that the ongoing financial crisis is having on the nation’s home builders. The congressional letter notes that lenders are now making demands on existing AD&C loans that appear to exceed sensible regulatory requirements. “These demands are increasingly impairing previously performing loans and, in some cases, forcing builders with viable projects into insolvency, and frustrating the purpose of the Troubled Asset Recovery Program (TARP), which was to allow lenders to extend credit to deserving borrowers and stabilize the economy,” the letter says. “Financial institutions should not be compelled to turn performing loans into ‘troubled’ assets,” the letter continues. “In many cases, rather than shutting off credit, lenders would be far better served by working with borrowers to extend performing loans. Again, it is not in anyone’s interest — not lenders, not builders, not the economy as a whole — to force sound and viable borrowers into insolvency.” Examiners are conducting more frequent bank examinations, and requiring institutions to update appraisals on AD&C projects and to increase loan loss reserves. Overly conservative appraisals are presenting further challenges by limiting home sales and refinancing opportunities and exacerbating pressure on outstanding mortgage and housing production loans. The heightened regulatory scrutiny is having an impact on borrowers, and many builders are rapidly drawing down interest reserves and having to put up additional equity as appraised values decline. The latest setback for home builders is the rising number of bank and thrift failures. Builders with outstanding loans that are placed under the control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation are frequently unable to contact a decision maker to deal with routine, but time-sensitive matters related to loan draws or extensions. NAHB believes that in the vast majority of these cases the institutions would be better off working with the borrower to modify or extend the loan, rather than requiring additional equity or curtailing credit. In their meetings with representatives and senators, builders called for action on the following NAHB legislative priorities:
For more information, e-mail Molly Murray at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8282. Photos by Keith Jewell and Steve Rusnak
Promote ‘New Homes Month’ With Free NAHB Resources Online
April is New Homes Month and NAHB has free resources — including marketing materials on the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit — available to members so they can highlight the benefits of homeownership and, in particular, buying a new home, throughout the month. New homes today are better than ever before, with numerous features and amenities to accommodate today’s discerning home buyers and their busy lifestyles. New technologies, more efficient square footage and improved layouts make today’s new homes more comfortable and livable than at any time in the past. New homes are also more energy-efficient. In fact, new homes built today are about twice as energy-efficient as new homes were just 20 years ago. To help you take full advantage of New Homes Month, NAHB has developed a free, online promotional toolkit packed with resources and materials for builders and local associations to use throughout the month. The promotional toolkit — available to members only — includes a series of articles, advertisements, consumer flyers and other resources to help maximize New Homes Month. You also will find resources to promote the first-time home buyer tax credit, which is a great way to motivate potential customers to check out your new-home inventory now before they miss out on this unbeatable opportunity. These materials can be used to promote spring home shows or parades of homes and other special events you may be planning in April. To view the resources available in the New Homes Month promotional toolkit, click here. For more information, e-mail Brooke Fishel at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8061.
Builders Encourage Efforts to Step Up Residential Energy EfficiencyAs national policymakers consider enacting more stringent energy-efficiency requirements for new homes, the NAHB Executive Board last week approved a resolution to support these attempts as long as they remain practical and cost-effective for home buyers. The resolution affirms NAHB’s support of efforts that would make the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code 30% more energy-efficient than the 2006 model code. At the same time, the resolution challenges home builders, manufacturers and policymakers to meet that goal in ways that are “technologically achievable and economically justified,” while allowing for multiple paths to achieve the reductions though improvements in equipment, appliances and the building envelope. The Executive Board unanimously approved the resolution when it met March 23 in Washington, D.C. the day before scheduled visits to Capitol Hill during the association’s annual Legislative Conference. There are several ways to enhance residential energy efficiency, including making sure that heating and air conditioning equipment is efficient and sized appropriately for the home, said Dwight “Sonny” Richardson, chairman of the NAHB Construction, Codes and Standards Committee. “We can’t just assume that there’s a one-size-fits-all approach to increasing energy-efficiency,” Richardson said. “Every home is different, and every climate unique. It’s our job as builders to provide an appropriate energy-efficiency solution for each home and each home buyer,” he said. “We need to make sure that we can use every tool in our toolboxes — all the products, materials and construction techniques we employ — as we strive toward these goals. We need to ensure that there are a number of simple, prescriptive solutions available to the nation’s builders. Flexibility ensures that we can build homes that are not just right for the neighborhood, but for our customers’ pocketbooks,” he said. The resolution acknowledges the role that the home building industry plays in reducing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and energy use while making that reduction technologically feasible for home builders and economical for home buyers. Because code changes only affect new homes, the resolution also points policymakers to the national imperative of getting existing homes on the energy-efficiency path, as well. “New homes are far more efficient and contribute far less to greenhouse gas emissions than existing homes and can save our customers money month after month”, noted Richardson. “We can get a lot more 'bang for our buck' by upgrading the energy efficiency of the existing housing stock, while at the same time providing employment opportunities for remodelers.” NAHB has long been an advocate for energy-efficiency provisions that are cost-effective and affordable for home buyers throughout the nation and is committed to researching and developing new products and building techniques, as well as financing practices that promote energy efficiency in new and existing buildings, the resolution says. Working with the International Code Council, NAHB also played a pivotal role in developing the ICC-700 2008 National Green Building Standard, which is more stringent than code. It is the first national green standard to be approved by the American National Standards Institute, Adopted in January, the standard is already being used to design and direct the inspection and certification of green homes, developments and remodeling projects. The resolution affirms the importance of a code development consensus process that brings together all parties — including building code officials, energy-efficiency experts, builders, environmental advocates, product manufacturers and building science consultants. This process does a more effective job of achieving significant reductions in energy use than mandates, the resolution says. Congress should not “authorize the Department of Energy to develop a federal energy-efficiency code or amendments to any other model energy code that would effectively be a federal mandate for energy efficiency in residential construction,” the resolution states. “We want to make sure that a transparent, rigorous, consensus code process stays intact because it respects the regional and climactic differences of our nation,” Richardson said. “We need to work through the code process together to achieve our goals, and not, as some would advocate, throw the baby out with the bath water.” For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132. What Might Be Hurting Home ValuesGrowing numbers of appraisers and consumer groups think that low-balled value estimates on short sales and bank-owned foreclosures are artificially depressing property values. Their complaints focus on what are called “broker price opinions,” or BPOs, which substitute for appraisals. Unlike standard property valuations performed by licensed appraisers, which can cost hundreds of dollars, BPOs often cost $50 and are performed by real estate agents who may have minimal or no appraisal training and are subject to no regulatory oversight. BPOs have become a booming business as foreclosures and short sales have risen sharply. When banks that own foreclosed houses need to put values on them for resale, increasingly they order BPOs that can be delivered quickly at rock-bottom prices. Selling BPOs to value houses violates the law in 23 states, according to appraisal industry leaders. In other states, BPOs may not be prohibited, but critics say they may be far off the mark in accuracy, typically coming in below appraised value. When BPO-valued houses are listed at fire-sale prices, they pull down the values of other houses in the neighborhood because, under current lending industry underwriting guidelines, appraisers must consider recent listing prices as well as closed sale prices. (www.washingtonpost.com)
Signs of Life in the Housing Market“Nine out of 10 lenders” have stopped making construction loans for projects with 100 or more units, according to developer David Barry, president of the Applied Companies in Hoboken, N.J. “But that leaves some that are lending money.” “A larger company, with a history,” like his, or the Roseland Property Company, another residential builder that has several projects under construction now, “can secure financing and begin work, and will be poised to take advantage of the next market cycle, at the start of it,” Barry said. His company’s development arm, called Ironstate, began work last fall on a 15-story rental tower in Jersey City, even as Wall Street, 10 minutes away by PATH train, had begun imploding. That structure has risen six floors at this point, and Ironstate is set to break ground on another one this spring, at its Shipyard complex in Hoboken. “We believe strongly in the fundamental health of the region,” said Barry, whose father, Joseph, founded his company almost 40 years ago. “Everyone thinks the world is literally coming to an end,” he added. “We try to remain conscious of the cycle and are poised to take advantage when the next one begins.” “It is a challenge bringing new buildings into a market like this, when the cycle is on the downside,” said Debra Tantleff, a vice president of Roseland, “but we are creating units at various price points that will be in place at the moment of the next uptick.” Both she and Barry said they expected some improvement in the economy and the housing market within the next six to 18 months. (www.nytimes.com)
Early Numbers Indicate Columbus-Area Housing Market Is ThawingReal estate professionals in the Columbus, Ohio area are hoping that interest rates below 5%, an $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit and house prices that remain some of the lowest in years will begin to thaw the home buying iceberg after one of the toughest sales years in memory. Ashley Valentini, a loan underwriter with Synovus Mortgage Corp who typically handles between $60 million and $85 million in loans each year, said that in January she closed an all-time high of 78 loans worth $20 million. That compares to $40 million for all of 2008. Kristi Watkins, an agent with Coldwell Banker Kennon, Parker, Duncan & Key, calls 2008 “horrible” after closing only four home sales all year. What gives her hope this spring is that she already has sold four. And there are more shoppers out there. “It’s picking up,” Watkins said. “I guess it’s the interest rates. I think people are tired of waiting….We’re showing houses now, where we didn’t show as many last year.” (www.ledger-enquirer.com)
Buyers Seek Smaller HomesThe lot that once housed the home of Roy Orbison’s widow is being transformed into a small subdivision of English Country-style homes. Although only two of the eight lots in the new Arundel Court neighborhood have sold, Castle Contractors owner Alan Looney said while the market may have slowed, the flow of potential buyers hasn’t. “Smart investors understand it is an incredible time to build a home due to lower material and labor costs, as well as very low interest rates,” Looney said. “Labor costs are really competitive right now. Lumber is at historic lows, hardwood flooring is lower, roofing has better prices. The suppliers have been willing to provide some price breaks, and that may be due to them getting some concessions from their manufacturer. Six months to a year from now, when home inventories are low, inflation will occur when people start to build and prices will go back up. I feel it really is by far the best time to build.” Built on relatively small lots, the homes average 4,000 square feet, and even though they are large, they are attracting potential buyers who are downsizing from larger homes and like the smaller floor plans, said a local Realtor®. (www.tennessean.com)
Interest Grows in Home RemodelingLow mortgage rates and falling construction costs are spurring some home owners to go ahead with long-delayed improvement projects. As a result, home remodelers in the Atlanta market are faring better than home builders who have failed in droves amid the housing market’s meltdown. “We’ve been pretty lucky,” said contractor Ed Turner, who is adding a family room and a second floor with two bedrooms and an office to the home of Ashley Lee. Turner said he has a handful of other projects going, including two investment properties he’s renovating and two he recently sold. The picture is still mixed, to be sure. Remodelers’ revenue has declined during the recession, and they’re facing stiff competition from home builders who have fled their industry. What’s more, the recession and depressed housing prices are making it difficult for some home owners to qualify for loans to bankroll their projects. “There is a lot of money in the stimulus package for remodeling,” said David Ellis, executive vice president of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association. Federal grants to weatherize older homes, mainly aimed at low-income elderly home owners, will jump from $200 million last year to $5 billion, Ellis said. The stimulus package also includes tax credits to encourage home owners to invest in “green work,” he said, such as installing energy-efficient windows. “There’s going to be a lot of opportunity,” he said. (www.ajc.com)
Wood Is GoodFrom the walls of Colonial log buildings to the floors of trendy urban lofts, wood has been at the heart of American residential life for centuries. “Nothing has ever replaced it,” says Rick Perrotte, owner of Perrotte Wood Refinishing in Lawrenceville, Pa. Whether it is in structural products, or in staircases and cabinetry, where fabricated products sometimes boast lower cost and more strength, wood maintains its popularity. It even shows up more frequently in window blinds and even countertops. “Wood is friendly, warm and clean,” says Chico Kadosh from Perfect Flooring in Squirrel Hill. He says some clients have no problem dealing with wood that goes to $40 a square foot when efficient alternatives are available at a quarter of that cost. In a structural sense, wood is overwhelmingly dominant, says Buddy Showalter, director of technical media for the American Forest & Paper Association. Wood frames make up 99.8% of all roofs, he says, and 89% of all interior walls. The latter figure is skewed a bit because of non-wood construction in Florida, where stucco is often used. Otherwise, Showalter says the figure would be about 95%. Anita Howard, communications director of the National Wood Flooring Association, says hardwood floors were installed in 10.5% of all new homes in 2007, down a bit from the amounts in the previous three to five years. (www.pittsburghlive.com)
Chipping Away at Mortgage Deduction a Bad IdeaA March 23 editorial in USA Today argues that the mortgage interest tax deduction is a huge housing subsidy that boosts the deficit and disproportionately benefits the rich. It adds that criticism over the Obama Administration’s budgetary proposal to limit the deduction for people in the top tax bracket, a move that would raise about $31 billion in revenue annually, is questionable. And it goes on to suggest that a gradual reduction in the deduction applied to new mortgages could yield significant benefits. “The best approach might be to gradually scale back the $1 million deduction limit on new mortgages,” the editorial concludes, “perhaps by $100,000 a year for five years. That would increase fairness and reduce the deficit. It would also aid the housing industry now by encouraging people to buy while the limit is still high and help to prevent another bubble once the market recovers.” Following is an opposing view from NAHB Chairman Joe Robson that appeared with the USA Today editorial: President Obama's budget proposal to cap the value of the mortgage interest deduction for higher-income taxpayers appears to be facing a stiff wind on Capitol Hill. And for good reason.
The root of today's economic problems can be traced to falling home values. Any attempts to reduce the value of this important housing incentive would further destabilize the housing market by increasing the after-tax cost of housing, forcing down demand and putting even more downward pressure on home values at the worst possible time. This would lead to more foreclosures, more problems with troubled mortgage-backed assets and a deeper slump in home sales, which would drag down home prices even more. Proponents of this plan argue that this would directly affect only the top 2% of households. Though this sounds reasonable, the harsh reality is that reducing the value of the mortgage interest deduction would increase the cost of housing for many middle-income families, especially in high-cost areas such as California, the Northeast and other major metro areas. Buyers in these markets, particularly younger families, rely on the deduction to help them afford their homes. Chipping away at the mortgage interest deduction is not the way to raise additional revenue in this economic climate — it would only hurt the ailing housing market and economy. Congress should instead focus on policies that will stimulate housing demand. This will spur home sales, reduce excess inventory, stabilize home values and help revive the economy. Now is not the time to set a dangerous precedent that could mark the beginning of the end of the mortgage interest deduction as we know it. The mortgage interest deduction is the bedrock of our national housing policy. Now, more than ever, it needs to be protected, not plundered. Rising in February, New Home Sales May Be Near BottomProviding a welcome glimmer of hope that potential home buyers are starting to return to the market, sales of newly built, single-family homes rose for the first time in seven months in February, according to Commerce Department figures released on March 25. The report showed a 4.7% gain in new-home sales to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 337,000 units in February, along with upwardly revised figures for each of the previous three months. "This is an encouraging sign that the market may finally be reaching a bottom,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson. “Consumers are beginning to take advantage of the first-time home buyer tax credit, historically low mortgage rates, very affordable home prices and the great selection of homes they have to choose from in the midst of a real buyer’s market. For those with good credit and job security, the stars are all aligned to buy a home at this time.” "February’s gain may also be tied to demand delayed in January, when potential buyers were waiting to see what kind of incentives would be included in the economic stimulus package,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Keep in mind that the January to February average for new-home sales is still below the fourth quarter 2008 average, and we do expect sales numbers to bounce around a bottom before climbing slowly mid-year and beyond. Nevertheless, it is apparent that measures within the recent stimulus package — including the first-time buyer tax credit as well as higher mortgage ceilings for conforming loans — Fed moves to lower mortgage rates and home builder sales incentives are helping to reverse the three-year slide.” Crowe cautioned that certain negative factors must still be addressed, including tight credit conditions for home buyers as well as the still-rising inventory of foreclosed homes on the market. Indicating that builders are keeping a tight rein on inventories, the number of unsold new homes on the market continued to decline for the 22nd consecutive month to 330,000 units in February. The months’ supply also declined, to 12.2 in February, down from 12.9 in the previous month. Regionally, new-home sales rose strongly in the two largest markets in February, with gains of 9.7% in the South and 6.6% in the West. Sales declined in the Northeast and Midwest, by 3.3% and 9.1%, respectively.
Tax Credit Web Site Looks at Opportunity of a Lifetime Builders and other industry professionals can help spur home sales by referring prospective first-time home buyers to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The NAHB Web site provides detailed information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers included in the economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama. Consumers can use the Web site to find information on the tax credit – including a detailed question and answer section. It also includes information about other housing-related and small business measures in the legislation and a number of home-buying resources for consumers. Spanish Version Also Available Online A Spanish version of this increasingly popular Web site is also available to provide detailed information on the tax credit to Spanish-speaking first-time home buyers. Industry professionals are encouraged to highlight either tax credit Web site when marketing to their potential first-time home buyer market.
Plan to Attend Construction Forecast Conference Plan to attend or watch the 2009 Spring NAHB Construction Forecast Conference & Webcast on Thursday, April 23 in Washington, D.C. to get the latest facts, insights and analysis of the housing industry. Panels of nationally recognized experts at the day-long conference will discuss economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys. For more information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/cfc.
Want to Know the Housing Starts Through 2017? Find out in HousingEconomics.com's Long-Term Forecast. Subscribe and get downloadable Excel tables that feature the housing starts forecast, gross domestic product (GDP), demographics and more. To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com. Record Low Mortgage Rates Hard for Would-Be Buyers Not to NoticeThe housing market heard encouraging news last week on both mortgage interest rates and housing prices, suggesting that now is a good time for prospective buyers who have been sitting on the fence to make their move. For the week ending on Thursday, March. 26, the average interest rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to another record low in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, hitting 4.85%. That was down from 4.98% the previous week and 5.85% the same time a year ago. Freddie Mac’s weekly survey dates pack to 1971 for interest rates on 30-year mortgages. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.85% last week, down from 4.91% the week before and 5.24% a year earlier. Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, attributed the latest downswing in mortgage rates to the recent announcement by the Federal Reserve that it intends to purchase Treasury securities over the next six months and a subsequent decline in bond yields. Nothaft said that there is about a two percentage point difference in today’s fixed rate on a 30-year mortgage and its recent peak of 6.63% last July. This amounts to a monthly savings of $225 in mortgage payments on a $200,000 loan, he said. Statistics for February on both new and existing home sales, he said, which both climbed about 5%, indicate that “potential home buyers are taking notice of these historically low mortgage rates.” While no one can tell for certain just how low mortgage rates will fall, prospective buyers who are holding out for even further declines may be disappointed. John Koskinen, the interim chief executive of Freddie Mac, said that home loan rates are near their bottom and any further decreases are liable to be small, according to a Reuters report on March 27. Earlier in the week, on March 24, the Federal Housing Finance Agency's monthly House Price Index showed U.S. home prices rising 1.7% on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis from December to January. December’s previously reported 0.1% increase was revised downward to a 0.2% decrease. For the 12 months ending in January, prices for the country on the whole fell 6.3%, according to the latest index, leaving prices 9.6% below their peak of April 2007. For the nine Census divisions, seasonally-adjusted monthly price changes from December to January ranged from a negative 0.9% in the Pacific division (Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California) to a positive 3.9% in the East North Central division (Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio). The government report noted that the January home sales reflected in the FHFA data disproportionately occurred in areas with the strongest markets. It also observed that home sales volumes for the month were relatively low. Tax Credit Web Site Looks at Opportunity of a Lifetime Builders and other industry professionals can help spur home sales by referring prospective first-time home buyers to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The NAHB Web site provides detailed information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers included in the economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama. Consumers can use the Web site to find information on the tax credit – including a detailed question and answer section. It also includes information about other housing-related and small business measures in the legislation and a number of home-buying resources for consumers. Spanish Version Also Available Online A Spanish version of this increasingly popular Web site is also available to provide detailed information on the tax credit to Spanish-speaking first-time home buyers. Industry professionals are encouraged to highlight either tax credit Web site when marketing to their potential first-time home buyer market. Plan to Attend Construction Forecast Conference Plan to attend or watch the 2009 Spring NAHB Construction Forecast Conference & Webcast on Thursday, April 23 in Washington, D.C. to get the latest facts, insights and analysis of the housing industry. Panels of nationally recognized experts at the day-long conference will discuss economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys. For more information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/cfc. Want to Know the Housing Starts Through 2017? Find out in HousingEconomics.com's Long-Term Forecast. Subscribe and get downloadable Excel tables that feature the housing starts forecast, gross domestic product (GDP), demographics and more. To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com. Tax Credit Spurs First-Time Home Buyers, Survey FindsOf the households participating in a Move, Inc. telephone survey earlier this month who said they plan to buy a home this year, 18.1% indicated that they would be doing so in order to take advantage of the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit in the stimulus package enacted in February. The survey found that the housing downturn, which is now entering its third year, has created significant demand for homeownership, especially among first-time buyers. In all, 23% of those surveyed said they plan to purchase a home in the next five years, and more than half of them (53.5%) would be first-time buyers. By comparison, 41% of home buyers in 2008 were purchasing for the first time, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Of those polled, 5.8% said they planned to purchase a home in the next 12 months, 12.8% said they expected to buy within two years and 11% were looking at a two- to five-year horizon for their home purchase. Although the survey found that the $8,000 credit has apparently motivated a significant number of households to seek to close on a first home before the incentive expires at the end of November, nearly half of the respondents (47.6%) reported that they did not know about the credit and 29.3% said that it wasn’t large enough to get them to act right now. Potential home buyers with higher incomes are more interested in the tax credit than those in lower income brackets, Move found, with 43.4% of first-timers earning $50,000 or more saying they planned to use the tax credit. More than half (52%) of those responding to the survey said they were concerned that they or someone they know will face foreclosure in the next six to 12 months. As a reason for the foreclosure, 27.1% cited recent unemployment, 29.3% future unemployment and 25.6% because more is owed on the home than it’s worth. Ranked as the top three solutions for stabilizing the housing market were: cracking down on mortgage fraud (cited by 56.9% of those in the poll), lowering interest rates (51.6%) and giving first-time home buyers tax breaks as incentives to buy (43.5%). Opinion was fairly evenly split over whether the government is doing enough to stabilize the housing market; 46.2% said “yes” and 43.8% indicated “no.” The Move survey found that nearly one out of five home owners (18.9%) plans to take advantage of the Administration’s new program to help prevent foreclosures. “It’s not all doom and gloom,” said Steve Berkowitz, Move’s CEO. “We found Americans are optimistic about homeownership despite concerns. They’re doing everything they can — from reducing discretionary spending to pay their mortgages, to planning to take advantage of the Administration’s new program to stop foreclosures. They’re also working with lenders to modify loans. Even more impactful are numbers that show interest in homeownership is strong, as nearly a quarter of all adults plan to buy a home in the next five years.” Tax Credit Web Site Looks at Opportunity of a Lifetime Builders and other industry professionals can help spur home sales by referring prospective first-time home buyers to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The NAHB Web site provides detailed information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers included in the economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama. Consumers can use the Web site to find information on the tax credit – including a detailed question and answer section. It also includes information about other housing-related and small business measures in the legislation and a number of home-buying resources for consumers. Spanish Version Also Available Online A Spanish version of this increasingly popular Web site is also available to provide detailed information on the tax credit to Spanish-speaking first-time home buyers. Industry professionals are encouraged to highlight either tax credit Web site when marketing to their potential first-time home buyer market. Plan to Attend Construction Forecast Conference Plan to attend or watch the 2009 Spring NAHB Construction Forecast Conference & Webcast on Thursday, April 23 in Washington, D.C. to get the latest facts, insights and analysis of the housing industry. Panels of nationally recognized experts at the day-long conference will discuss economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys. For more information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/cfc. Want to Know the Housing Starts Through 2017? Find out in HousingEconomics.com's Long-Term Forecast. Subscribe and get downloadable Excel tables that feature the housing starts forecast, gross domestic product (GDP), demographics and more. To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com. Many First-Timers Considering Buying a Home This SpringIn a survey for Century 21 Real Estate fielded earlier this month among prospective first time home buyers who indicated they were likely to purchase a home in the next two years, a majority — 78% — said that now is a good time to buy a home, despite widespread concern about the economy. Of those responding to the online poll, 68% said that now is a better time to buy than six months ago. Prices emerged in the online survey as the primary driving force for prospective first-time buyers, with 85% saying they consider current homes prices affordable and 73% saying that taking advantage of current pricing would be a major factor in their decision to buy. However, potential first-time buyers are still split between “being willing to consider an offer now” (42%) and “waiting for prices to go down before they seriously consider making a purchase” (48%). “Current pricing, rates and incentives — such as the first time home buyer tax credit — provide tremendous opportunities for first-time home buyers to get into the market,” said Tom Kunz, the president and CEO of Century 21. “Our research shows that while consumers still have concerns about the future of the economy, many are actively considering their options as we move into the spring selling season,” he said. More than three-quarters of those polled — 77% — said they are more likely to buy a home in the next six months because of the $8,000 first-time buyer credit. Perceptions about the residential mortgage market remain a key concern for potential first-time home buyers, the survey found. Seventy-two percent considered current mortgage rates affordable and 62% recognized that rates are lower than they were a year ago. However, 75% said they believe it is difficult to get a home loan right now and 74% think it is harder to get a loan than the same time last year. “Traditional mortgage investors, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and VA are receiving significant financial backing from the federal government, keeping interest rates low and mortgage funds available for qualified buyers,” said Marshall Gayden, senior vice president of Century 21 Mortgage. “Home buyers who have a stable job history of at least two years, solid credit (620 and above) and downpayment money that can be documented (3.5% on FHA loans) are well positioned to secure a mortgage in today’s credit environment,” Gayden said. Prospective first-time buyers also indicated that there is a real need for someone who can provide accurate and reliable information while they look for a home. When asked about the real estate transaction process, more than half — 59% — of potential buyers rated their understanding of the process as only “fair” or “poor.” “Between home loans and the closing process and understanding the new government stimulus, real estate professionals play a vital role in working with first-time home buyers to help them navigate the current market,” said Kunz. Among other key findings of the survey:
Tax Credit Web Site Looks at Opportunity of a Lifetime Builders and other industry professionals can help spur home sales by referring prospective first-time home buyers to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The NAHB Web site provides detailed information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers included in the economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama. Consumers can use the Web site to find information on the tax credit – including a detailed question and answer section. It also includes information about other housing-related and small business measures in the legislation and a number of home-buying resources for consumers. Spanish Version Also Available Online A Spanish version of this increasingly popular Web site is also available to provide detailed information on the tax credit to Spanish-speaking first-time home buyers. Industry professionals are encouraged to highlight either tax credit Web site when marketing to their potential first-time home buyer market. Plan to Attend Construction Forecast Conference Plan to attend or watch the 2009 Spring NAHB Construction Forecast Conference & Webcast on Thursday, April 23 in Washington, D.C. to get the latest facts, insights and analysis of the housing industry. Panels of nationally recognized experts at the day-long conference will discuss economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys. For more information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/cfc. Want to Know the Housing Starts Through 2017? Find out in HousingEconomics.com's Long-Term Forecast. Subscribe and get downloadable Excel tables that feature the housing starts forecast, gross domestic product (GDP), demographics and more. To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com. Builders Hope Toxic Asset Plan Will Free Up Mortgage CreditThe Treasury Department — in conjunction with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve — announced last week a $500 billion plan to buy up toxic assets that are dragging down the balance sheets of the nation’s financial institutions. The long-awaited Public-Private Partnership Investment Program (PPIP) is designed to address the problem of “legacy assets” — older and distressed mortgage-related assets, some of which are also referred to as “toxic” — that are compromising the ability of banks and other financial institutions to raise capital and lend. NAHB hopes the plan will help to free up housing credit moving into the spring home-buying season. Using $75 to $100 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) capital, and capital from private investors, the PPIP will generate $500 billion in purchasing power to buy legacy assets — with the potential to expand to $1 trillion over time. The PPIP will be designed around three basic principles:
How it works
The resulting process of price discovery will also reduce the uncertainty surrounding the financial institutions holding these securities, potentially enabling them to raise new private capital. The Legacy Securities Program is designed to draw private capital into these markets by providing debt financing from the Federal Reserve under the TALF and through matching private capital raised for dedicated funds targeting legacy securities. How it works
Tax Credit Web Site Looks at Opportunity of a Lifetime Builders and other industry professionals can help spur home sales by referring prospective first-time home buyers to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The NAHB Web site provides detailed information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers included in the economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama. Consumers can use the Web site to find information on the tax credit – including a detailed question and answer section. It also includes information about other housing-related and small business measures in the legislation and a number of home-buying resources for consumers. Spanish Version Also Available Online A Spanish version of this increasingly popular Web site is also available to provide detailed information on the tax credit to Spanish-speaking first-time home buyers. Industry professionals are encouraged to highlight either tax credit Web site when marketing to their potential first-time home buyer market.
Plan to Attend Construction Forecast Conference Plan to attend or watch the 2009 Spring NAHB Construction Forecast Conference & Webcast on Thursday, April 23 in Washington, D.C. to get the latest facts, insights and analysis of the housing industry. Panels of nationally recognized experts at the day-long conference will discuss economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys. For more information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/cfc.
Want to Know the Housing Starts Through 2017? Find out in HousingEconomics.com's Long-Term Forecast. Subscribe and get downloadable Excel tables that feature the housing starts forecast, gross domestic product (GDP), demographics and more. To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com. Eye on the Economy: Economy Moving Toward RecoveryReal gross domestic product (GDP) contracted at a 6.2% annual rate in the final quarter of last year, the sharpest contraction since the depths of the 1982 recession. Available evidence on economic activity for the early part of 2009 shows that another major decline in GDP is in the cards for the first quarter of the year. We’re currently estimating -5.5%. The labor market also is weakening rapidly. Payroll employment has fallen by 2.6 million over the last four months (through February) and the civilian unemployment rate has moved up considerably over that period — reaching 8.1%. Further deterioration of the labor market is inevitable in March, a pattern revealed by weekly data on new and continuing claims for unemployment insurance. Housing Production Still Is Weakening The housing sector, which began to weaken more than two years prior to the onset of national recession at the end of 2007, still is a major negative for the U.S. economy. The housing production component of GDP (residential fixed investment) suffered a severe setback in the final quarter of 2008 and will post an even weaker performance in the first quarter of this year. Employment in residential construction naturally continues to trail down systematically as housing production continues to weaken, and falling house prices continue to take heavy tolls on household wealth, consumer spending, mortgage credit quality and the national and global financial systems. The ongoing contractions in residential fixed investment and residential construction employment have reflected serious imbalances between supply on the market and effective demand for both home owner and rental housing units. There still are very large numbers of vacant housing units on and off the market, but massive cutbacks in new housing production along with prospects for near-term stabilization of home buyer demand should be improving the supply-demand balance before long. The Economic Recession Now Is Truly Global The recession increasingly is global in scope and nature, and a rare decline in world real GDP now is a virtual certainty for 2009. Trade flows are contracting substantially for both developed and emerging economies, and the U.S. now is registering sharp declines in both exports and imports. Our nominal trade deficit has been falling since last July, partly reflecting lower prices of imports — especially energy. However, the trade sector most likely will make a negative contribution to U.S. real GDP growth in the first quarter of this year, as in the fourth quarter of 2008, due partly to the rise in the dollar since mid-2008. Inflation Concerns Are Giving Way to Deflation Fears The global economic recession and growing slack in labor markets have totally defused earlier inflation concerns in financial markets and at our central bank, and the specter of potentially destructive deflation has crept onto the radar screen. The Producer Price Index for finished goods moved down substantially during the last five months of 2008, and year-over-year changes for January and February were solidly in the red zone. Producer prices at earlier intermediate and crude stages of production have been throwing off large negatives in recent months, and those downward pressures will make their way into the finished goods measure as the year rolls along. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has been decelerating markedly since mid-2008 and year-over-year changes for the December-February period were negligible. The core CPI (excluding prices of food and direct energy) has shown year-over-year gains of less than 2% for the past three months, and the chain-core version allowing for substitution with the market basket of goods and services has been just over 1% — not far from price stability. The Financial System Still Is Functioning Poorly The national and global financial market crisis has rightfully earned the title of “Great Recession” for the current economic situation. Daunting problems in the financial systems pose formidable impediments to near-term economic stability and recovery both here and abroad, despite enactment of large fiscal stimulus packages in the U.S. and elsewhere. This reality was emphasized in a recent meeting of the finance ministers of the G-20 countries in England. It’s true that extraordinary efforts by the Federal Reserve and foreign central banks have improved the functioning of interbank markets and some short-term credit markets — particularly commercial paper — since the virtual freeze last fall. But our banking system apparently remains seriously undercapitalized despite major injections of TARP funds. Banks and other major financial institutions still are weighed down by “toxic” mortgage assets, mortgage foreclosure problems still are mounting, and quality spreads in mortgage securities and bond markets, corporate and municipal, are extremely wide. Under these conditions, private credit markets still are in serious states of disrepair. The Federal Reserve Pulls Out the Stops The flagging economy, threat of deflation and persistent problems in the financial sector have spurred the Fed to pull out the policy stops. The Fed has dropped the federal funds rate from a cyclical high of 5.25% in the second quarter of 2007 to the 0.0%-0.25% range that’s prevailed since the end of 2008, effectively exhausting the major tool of monetary policy. The Fed also has thrown open the discount window to both banks and primary securities dealers and has waded into both the commercial paper market and the home mortgage market by substantially expanding its balance sheet operations in order to improve credit flows and reduce costs of credit in these markets. The Fed delivered a lot more support to credit markets at the conclusion of the March 17-18 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). As expected, the FOMC held the target range for the federal funds rate at 0.0% to 0.25% and committed to hold it there for an “extended period.” NAHB assumes that this rate will prevail through the end of next year. Two major unexpected policy moves were announced on March 18. First, the FOMC decided to purchase and hold up to an additional $750 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities and an additional $100 billion of housing agency debt, on top of the $500 billion and $100 billion of agency mortgage-backed security and debt committed to earlier — bringing the overall total for this year to a whopping $1.45 trillion. The Fed said these moves were taken to provide “greater support to mortgage lending and housing markets.” The second surprise from the FOMC was a decision to purchase up to $300 billion of longer-term Treasury securities over the next six months, “to help improve conditions in private credit markets.” This essentially amounts to a decision by the Fed to “peg” Treasury rates, apparently in the two- to 10-year range, with the expectation that downward pressure will be put on rates of comparable maturity in private credit markets. Treasury Supplies More Details on Public-Private Toxic Asset Plan On March 23, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner supplied more details on a critical component of the Obama Administration’s plan for stabilizing the financial system, i.e., the public-private partnership designed to get toxic or “legacy” assets off the books of banks and other financial institutions. The immediate financial market reaction to Geithner’s detailed plan was quite favorable, in stark contrast to the negative reactions to Geithner’s unveiling of the bare bones of the program in early February. The new Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP) will set up dedicated funds that will provide markets for both legacy loans and legacy securities. The public and private sectors will invest equal amounts of capital in the funds, and guaranteed debt financing will be provided by FDIC for the loans program or the Treasury for the securities program. The program is designed to generate price discovery for illiquid loans and securities, largely through auctions of loan pools by the FDIC to private investors. The established price may or may not be acceptable to the financial institutions putting up the loans and securities for sale. The Treasury clearly has moved this ball well down the playing field, but there’s still some distance to go before the investment funds are set up and transactions are struck. It could be midyear before proper assessment of the PPIP can be made. AIG Bonus Flap Threatens to Disrupt Public-Private Policy Initiatives The recent public and political outcries over large “retention bonuses” paid to many executives of AIG, following massive injections of funds into this company by the federal government, threaten to divert the attention of policymakers from critical market needs at exactly the wrong time and to undermine the efforts to contain the financial crisis. We’re assuming that the political response to retention bonuses paid to executives of AIG and other financial companies receiving substantial federal support, including large commercial banks, will not be severe enough to discourage participation of private capital in efforts by the Treasury and the Fed to salvage the financial system. But damage has been done, and delicate balances may very well have been jeopardized. Policy Blitz Moves Economy Toward Recovery There have been some glimmers of light in the darkening economic picture, including retail sales for January and February and sales of both new and existing homes in February. It’s clear that ongoing market adjustments in key sectors are essential to eventual economic recovery and expansion. The policy blitz coming from the Administration, Congress, the Federal Reserve and foreign policymakers certainly is helping in moving the train down the track toward the recovery tunnel — and the light at the other end should be in view soon. NAHB’s baseline (most probable) forecast shows resumption of real GDP growth during the second half of this year, topping-out of the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2010, resumption of payroll employment growth by the second quarter of next year and inflation rates that approach zero in 2010 but do not slip into the deflationary zone. This economic recovery pattern cannot materialize without near-term stabilization of the housing sector, and we’re counting on support from recent policy initiatives to help housing turn that corner. Our forecast shows a bottom for home sales in the first quarter of this year, a bottom for total and single-family housing starts in the second quarter, and a bottom for the residential fixed investment component of GDP in the final quarter of 2009. National average house prices should stabilize within a few quarters, and the majority of the decline may now be behind us. NAHB analyzes the economy from the point of view of the housing market every other week in the free e-newsletter, “Eye on the Economy.” The preceding is a reissue of the March 25 edition. To subscribe to “Eye on the Economy,” click here. Tax Credit Web Site Looks at Opportunity of a Lifetime Builders and other industry professionals can help spur home sales by referring prospective first-time home buyers to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The NAHB Web site provides detailed information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers included in the economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama. Consumers can use the Web site to find information on the tax credit – including a detailed question and answer section. It also includes information about other housing-related and small business measures in the legislation and a number of home-buying resources for consumers. Spanish Version Also Online A Spanish version of this increasingly popular Web site is also available to provide detailed information on the tax credit to Spanish-speaking first-time home buyers. Industry professionals are encouraged to highlight either tax credit Web site when marketing to their potential first-time home buyer market. Plan to Attend Construction Forecast Conference Plan to attend or watch the 2009 Spring NAHB Construction Forecast Conference & Webcast on Thursday, April 23 in Washington, D.C. to get the latest facts, insights and analysis of the housing industry. Panels of nationally recognized experts at the day-long conference will discuss economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys. For more information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/cfc. Want to Know the Housing Starts Through 2017? Find out in HousingEconomics.com's Long-Term Forecast. Subscribe and get downloadable Excel tables that feature the housing starts forecast, gross domestic product (GDP), demographics and more. To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com. Register Online for NAHB Spring Construction Forecast ConferenceRegister online for the 2009 Spring NAHB Construction Forecast Conference and webcast on Thursday, April 23 in Washington, D.C. where nationally-recognized housing and economics experts will provide answers to the most critical questions facing the industry today. Panelists at the conference will discuss key questions including:
The panels include:
To Register Online registration is available through Friday, April 17. To register and learn more, visit www.nahb.org/CFC. Can't Attend in Person? Webcast of Conference Also Available For webcast information, visit www.nahb.org/CFC. The purchase price includes unlimited access to the webcast archive for three months and electronic copies of the presentation materials. For information on the conference, e-mail Christabelle Smith at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8416. Tax Credit Web Site Looks at Opportunity of a Lifetime Builders and other industry professionals can help spur home sales by referring prospective first-time home buyers to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The NAHB Web site provides detailed information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers included in the economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama. Consumers can use the Web site to find information on the tax credit – including a detailed question and answer section. It also includes information about other housing-related and small business measures in the legislation and a number of home-buying resources for consumers. Spanish Version Also Available Online A Spanish version of this increasingly popular Web site is also available to provide detailed information on the tax credit to Spanish-speaking first-time home buyers. Industry professionals are encouraged to highlight either tax credit Web site when marketing to their potential first-time home buyer market. Useful Links to Monitor Economic and Housing TrendsThe 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.
Tax Credit Web Site Looks at Opportunity of a Lifetime Builders and other industry professionals can help spur home sales by referring prospective first-time home buyers to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The NAHB Web site provides detailed information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers included in the economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama. Consumers can use the Web site to find information on the tax credit – including a detailed question and answer section. It also includes information about other housing-related and small business measures in the legislation and a number of home-buying resources for consumers. Spanish Version Also Available Online A Spanish version of this increasingly popular Web site is also available to provide detailed information on the tax credit to Spanish-speaking first-time home buyers. Industry professionals are encouraged to highlight either tax credit Web site when marketing to their potential first-time home buyer market.
Plan to Attend Construction Forecast Conference and Webcast Plan to attend or watch the 2009 Spring NAHB Construction Forecast Conference & Webcast on Thursday, April 23 in Washington, D.C. to get the latest facts, insights and analysis of the housing industry. Panels of nationally recognized experts at the day-long conference will discuss economic trends, government policies, developments in the housing industry and the results from NAHB's recent surveys. For more information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/cfc.
Want to Know the Housing Starts Through 2017? Find out in HousingEconomics.com's Long-Term Forecast. Subscribe and get downloadable Excel tables that feature the housing starts forecast, gross domestic product (GDP), demographics and more. 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. As April 15 Nears, Home Buyer Tax Credit Comes Into ViewWith the deadline for tax season approaching, home builders should make qualified first-time home buyers aware of the methods they can use to claim the recently enacted $8,000 home buyer tax credit. The tax credit may be claimed by buyers who have not owned a home in the previous three years prior to the purchase. The credit amount is equal to 10% of the purchase price, up to a maximum of $8,000. The credit is refundable — it can be claimed even if the home buyer has less than $8,000 in tax liability, and it is a true tax credit. Provided that the home buyer uses the home as a principal residence for at least three years, the credit does not have to be repaid to the IRS. Qualifying home purchases must occur on or after Jan. 1, 2009 and before Dec. 1, 2009. The program is subject to income phaseouts, which begin at $150,000 modified adjusted gross income for married couples and $75,000 for single taxpayers. More details can be found at www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. After purchasing the home, home buyers can claim the credit by completing IRS Form 5405. It should be noted that buyers cannot complete this form, and claim the tax credit, before they complete the home purchase, which in most cases occurs when the title of the property transfers. The amount of the tax credit, as calculated on this form, is entered on line 69 of the IRS 1040 income tax return. Buyers have several options in claiming the tax credit in order to accelerate the time they receive their expected refund:
For further information, e-mail Robert Dietz at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8285; or contact Brooke Fishel x8061. Tax Credit Web Site Looks at Opportunity of a Lifetime Builders and other industry professionals can help spur home sales by referring prospective first-time home buyers to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The NAHB Web site provides detailed information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers included in the economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama. Consumers can use the Web site to find information on the tax credit – including a detailed question and answer section. It also includes information about other housing-related and small business measures in the legislation and a number of home-buying resources for consumers. Spanish Version Also Available Online A Spanish version of this increasingly popular Web site is also available to provide detailed information on the tax credit to Spanish-speaking first-time home buyers. Industry professionals are encouraged to highlight either tax credit Web site when marketing to their potential first-time home buyer market. Learn How to Get a Green Edge at Audio Seminar on April 16Learn how builders, remodelers and other industry professionals are using green building to their advantage in today’s tough market during the hour-long NAHB audio seminar, “Seeing Green in a Red Market,” beginning 2:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 16. Speakers will discuss their real-life experiences with green and the tools that have helped them achieve success during the downturn. Participants will learn:
NAHB audio seminars are a cost-effective way for members and their employees to learn. One registration fee per phone site enables as many people as can fit in a room to participate. The registration fee for “Seeing Green in a Red Market” is $79. To register, visit www.nahb.org/SeeingGreen. Registrants also will receive free online access to the archived seminar after April 16. Learn More at National Green Building Conference in Dallas Kick off green building education with the seminar on April 16 and then fortify that education at the 2009 NAHB National Green Building Conference on May 8-10 in Dallas. Learn more about the critical paths to green building, articipate in interactive sessions and become part of the driving force for the green building and remodeling markets. For more information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/GreenBuildingConference. ‘National Green Building Standard’ Available at BuilderBooks.com “The National Green Building Standard,” available through BuilderBooks.com, provides “green” practices that can be incorporated into multifamily and single-family new home construction, home remodeling and additions and site development. The standard covers lot design, resource, energy and water efficiency; indoor environment quality; and owner education. Currently the first and only ANSI-approved green building rating system, the National Green Building Standard is the benchmark for green homes. To view or purchase this publication online, click here. ‘Building Greener Neighborhoods’ Available at BuilderBooks.com “Building Greener Neighborhoods,” available through Digital Delivery at BuilderBooks.com, shows those involved in building new communities the advantages and rewards of saving, planting and transplanting more trees in their developments. The examples are drawn from decades of experience of land developers, home builders and urban foresters. To download this publication in a PDF format, click here, or call 800-223-2665. ‘Profit from Building Green’ Available at BuilderBooks.com “Profit from Building Green — Award-Winning Tips to Build Energy Efficient Homes,” available through BuilderBooks.com, showcases what energy conscious award-winning builders are doing, provides innovative energy-efficient features and covers successful techniques for building this niche market. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665. Free NAHB Webinar to Discuss Impact Fee Alternatives on April 21With more communities turning to impact fees to address such problems as aging infrastructure, traffic congestion, overcrowded schools and inadequate water and sewer capacity, NAHB is holding a free webinar on April 21 to give members the tools they need to shift community discussions and solutions to alternative financing mechanisms that will solve infrastructure problems in an ailing economy. The webinar, by NAHB’s Land Development Committee with support from NAHB Multifamily, will introduce builders, developers, home builders associations and land development professionals to the resources available from NAHB. Participants will also learn about strategies to press the case for impact fee rollbacks and alternative solutions. In addition, participants will learn:
To register for this free webinar, click here. The webinar is the first in a series on development issues that will be provided by the NAHB Land Development Committee. For more information, e-mail Jennifer Jones at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8469. Attend Free Webinar on Strategic Planning on April 7The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA), founding sponsor of NAHB’s Home Technology Alliance, will offer a free webinar on developing business strategies and strategic planning. The session will be held Tuesday, April 7 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. EDT. The webinar will provide step-by-step guidelines on how to efficiently implement a strategic business plan with an efficient “One-Page Strategic Plan.” The program includes:
For more information, e-mail Casey Keller, CEDIA director of curriculum and learning, or call 317-328-4336. The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association is an international trade association of companies that specialize in planning and installing electronic systems for the home. These systems include home networking, home automation and communication systems; media rooms, single- or multi-room entertainment systems; and integrated whole-house subsystems providing lighting control, security and HVAC systems.
Evaluate and Assess Your Business Managerial and Operational Systems “Benchmark Your Business,” available through BuilderBooks.com, helps home builders, developers and trade contractors evaluate and assess business management and operational systems. This resource guide directs the reader to a wealth of resources to improve benchmarks for each system. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665. Free Online Business Survival Tips Available Till April 17Now through Friday, April 17, NAHB members can get free business survival information on such issues as bankruptcy, reorganization, liens, subcontractor disputes, partnership issues and more that will help them survive the downturn. The information, prepared by the Texas-based international law firm Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, will be available on the NAHB Web site in a "Frequently Asked Questions" format that will address a variety of topics, including: Bankruptcy/Reorganization
Members whose questions are not answered on the Web site posting will be able to call or e-mail the law firm for more information. For further information on this program, e-mail David Jaffe at NAHB.
Builders and other industry professionals can help spur home sales by referring prospective first-time home buyers to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The NAHB Web site provides detailed information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers included in the economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama. Consumers can use the Web site to find information on the tax credit – including a detailed question and answer section. It also includes information about other housing-related and small business measures in the legislation and a number of home-buying resources for consumers. “The new tax credit provides a great opportunity for first-time home buyers,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson. “Combined with today’s near record low interest rates, the large selection of homes on the market and very competitive pricing, the tax credit should provide the extra incentive needed to get prospective buyers who have been sitting on the fence into the market.” Industry professionals are encouraged to highlight the tax credit Web site when marketing to their potential first-time home buyer market. Builders’ Tip: A Simple Trick to Clean Mini Paint Rollers
The accompanying drawing shows how I have adapted a paintbrush/roller spinner to clean the little rollers. My trick is easy to create — I use a dowel and some electrical tape — and it takes the hassle out of cleaning the little rollers. Here is all there is to it:
Tips & Techniques provided by Fine Homebuilding.
To contact Fine Homebuilding, e-mail Christina Glennon.
Tax Credit Web Site Looks at Opportunity of a Lifetime Builders and other industry professionals can help spur home sales by referring prospective first-time home buyers to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The NAHB Web site provides detailed information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers included in the economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama. Consumers can use the Web site to find information on the tax credit – including a detailed question and answer section. It also includes information about other housing-related and small business measures in the legislation and a number of home-buying resources for consumers. Spanish Version Also Available Online A Spanish version of this increasingly popular Web site is also available to provide detailed information on the tax credit to Spanish-speaking first-time home buyers. Industry professionals are encouraged to highlight either tax credit Web site when marketing to their potential first-time home buyer market.
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. CRM Can Help Build Quality Customer RelationshipsLeveraging the right software solutions and Internet communication can provide a cost-effective method to maintain quality customer relationships Within the building industry, the concept of customer service is a bit hazy. Some builders don’t see the value in maintaining active relationships with customers past the sales cycle. Others actively continue to work with customers long after the contracts are signed in the hopes of finding repeat business. And yet, the simple truth is that the value of customer service for builders and developers can’t be overestimated. “Providing a more personal touch by using traditional customer service techniques of prompt replies, active communication and attention to detail does provide measurable return-on-investment (ROI) impact in referrals and repeat business,” explains Dave Clements, president and CEO of Lasso Data Systems, a provider of customer relationship management (CRM) software to the real estate industry. “Building those relationships using strong, durable and quality ‘materials’ is just as important in many ways as building an exceptional home.” Today’s technologies offer a cost-effective path toward building strong customer relationships. In the current economic downturn, building and maintaining those relationships is more important than ever. The following are three areas in which the right technology can help support effective customer communication and relations: E-mail Marketing More and more often, a community’s Web site is a prospect’s first contact with a project. Whether the lead is gathered through the Web or through a sales center visit, collecting e-mails creates an ever-growing database of opportunities for communication. E-mailing prospects is more than just a powerful marketing tool — e-mails provide a constant, steady opportunity to communicate with customers and maintain that critical relationship via low-cost, high-impact means. Even better, e-mails can be tracked and measured down to each click. “Our agents have realized that we can send an e-mail out to a thousand people, determine that 600 prospects viewed the e-mail and see that 30 of them forwarded the e-mail,” explains Carolyn Gladwell, vice president for marketing and sales for CamWest Development, a new-home builder based in Kirkland, Wash. When sending two e-mails promoting a community, Gladwell said, “we found that a buyer who had been sitting on the fence for six months had forwarded both of the e-mails we sent.” At a sales meeting discussing the e-mails, the agent said she thought that the buyer had lost interest long ago. The e-mail tracking changed her mind and “she said she knew who her first phone call would be after the meeting.” Inventory Management At first glance, proper inventory management is more of a benefit to the builder than to the customer. However, there are many customer benefits in having accurate, detailed inventory information available at the click of a mouse. “For a sales executive, having that inventory information at hand and updated in real time is a powerful and underrated tool in adjusting pricing. The information helps assure that each buyer gets the fairest deal on their home possible,” says Clements. “The right customer relationship management software will support inventory management and provide a high level of detail in tracking performance of a project over time.” “We use inventory management to track every detail of unit sales and to manage pricing, upgrades and price changes from one central system that is accessible anytime, anywhere,” says Cameron McNeill, president and CEO of MAC Marketing Solutions, a Canadian-based marketing and sales firm that specializes in presale and launch strategies for large-scale residential and resort property developments. Customer Service While customer relationships are typically placed under the overall heading of “customer service” and usually dedicated to a specific department within the organization, every interaction with a prospect or buyer is an opportunity for customer service. Consequently, the relationship with the customer actually stretches across the organization to include every person who comes into contact with a customer through the life of the relationship. CRM software helps track a customer’s relationship across an organization and, in the case of WestStone Properties, which builds home in the central part of the United States, CRM software is being used to maintain a single, comprehensive database of all the company’s customers. “It’s online, so everybody has access to it,” says Michelle Mackay, vice president of marketing for WestStone. “Our policy is that all communication with customers has to go through our CRM software. It’s really all-inclusive.” “Every single person in this office has access to it, to a certain degree. It’s our single go-to communication center. We can have a long-term relationship with a client from the day we meet them to the day they move in, which is important,” says Mackay. The bottom line is that technology is there to support exceptional customer service. Using the right applications can streamline the process and provide substantial measurable benefits for builders and customers alike. Carol Ruiz is vice president of public relations for red rocket LA, a marketing and public relations firm based in Culver City, Calif. that delivers targeted and integrated communications for clients ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Ruiz has nearly 20 years experience in real estate-related public relations. For more information, e-mail the company, call 310-841-0994, or visit www.redrocketla.com. Tax Credit Web Site Looks at Opportunity of a Lifetime Builders and other industry professionals can help spur home sales by referring prospective first-time home buyers to www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com. The NAHB Web site provides detailed information on the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers included in the economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama. Consumers can use the Web site to find information on the tax credit – including a detailed question and answer section. It also includes information about other housing-related and small business measures in the legislation and a number of home-buying resources for consumers. Spanish Version Also Available Online A Spanish version of this increasingly popular Web site is also available to provide detailed information on the tax credit to Spanish-speaking first-time home buyers. Industry professionals are encouraged to highlight either tax credit Web site when marketing to their potential first-time home buyer market. ‘ValueMatch Selling for Home Builders’ Available at BuilderBooks.com “ValueMatch Selling for Home Builders,” available through BuilderBooks.com, presents a selling process that focuses on selling feelings and appealing to prospective buyers’ emotional need to buy a new home in today’s market rather than product. Learn how to build rapport with prospective home buyers, meet their needs, make powerful presentations that are focused on their values and go for the close. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665. ‘Customer Service for Home Builders’ Available at BuilderBooks.com “Customer Service for Home Builders,” available through BuilderBooks.com, provides the tools need to add new life to a customer service program. The publication includes forms, checklists, documents and a resource guide. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
Subscribe to Sales + Marketing Ideas Magazine for Cutting-Edge Information For additional cutting-edge sales and marketing information, subscribe to NAHB’s Sales + Marketing Ideas magazine (www.smimagazine.com). Click here to learn about membership benefits of the National Sales and Marketing Council and the Institute of Residential Marketing.
Marketing Critical in Optimizing Revenue in Tough MarketLooking over the shoulders of the hotel industry, savvy multifamily housing companies are integrating revenue management with their marketing efforts in order to maximize the value of their properties, Steve Lefkovits, founder, president and CEO of Joshua Tree Consulting, told attendees at NAHB Multifamily’s Pillars of the Industry Conference in San Diego on March 18. With prospects for starting new multifamily properties bleak until the financial markets thaw and the economy stops shedding jobs, speakers throughout the conference stressed that developers need to focus on managing their existing assets to provide the income that will enable them to ride out the current downturn. “The purpose of marketing is to make more money,” said Lefkovits. By studying information on prices and demand, marketing professionals can make decisions that will yield the optimal return, he said, increasing revenue by 2% to 4%. Despite the proven effectiveness of incorporating statistically-based, math-driven spreadsheets into the marketing process, Lefkovits said, only about 9% of multifamily companies have revenue management departments, and not all of them have been linked to marketing operations. At a time when there is virtually “an infinite amount of media outlets” for advertising properties to prospective renters, he said, companies can increase the efficiency of their marketing budgets a whopping 30% to 50% by looking for sources that generate the lowest costs per lead and per lease. They can also “exploit the tradeoff between more advertising and concessions to get more traffic,” he said. To drive prospective renters to the property, listing vacancies on craigslist for free is an obvious place to start, he said, and “then layer on the least expensive sources.” Proceeding from there, ads should be purchased according to what’s needed to attain the desired yield. Lefkovits recommended non-traditional advertising sources. “People want to find you in niche places,” he said. Whatever the source of the leads, he pointed out, there is a good chance that they are getting wasted. Typically, half of e-mail leads are never answered, and 60% of phone calls — which account for four-fifths of all lead activity — are missed. The time spent on the calls that are answered, he said, is “atrocious,” averaging only one minute or so. Lefkovits said it was important to track leads using a third-party. When internal self-reporting systems are used, the results tend to be misleadingly optimistic. “The closing ratio isn’t what you think,” he said, with the likelihood of a visit to a property being converted into a signed lease perhaps only 25% on average. Companies should forecast their vacancies over 90 days in order to reach prospects, who start researching the availability of properties 60 days out, he said. Incorporating marketing into revenue management, Lefkovits said, will help ensure that the property is targeted “at the right price to the right customer at the right time.” Using statistical, “non-emotional” demand functions and data, he said, “facilitates effective rent presentation with no concessions.” Presenting one price, in turn, gives the sales team the opportunity to offer the property at that price and stand by it. “Revenue management facilitates the distribution of pricing,” said Lefkovits. For more information on how this works, he recommended the Web site www.multifamilyrevenue.com. For more on why revenue management is successful, he cited a presentation at the 2007 Apartment Internet Marketing Conference by Kathleen Reidenbach, vice president of revenue management and distribution for Kimpton Hotels. Her address provided details on how Kimpton has used revenue management to increase its revenue and market share and to optimize its pricing using demand information. Pricing Units Is Critical David Lynd, chief operating officer of The Lynd Company, noted that “pricing units in a deflationary environment is critical,” and can have its pitfalls. “You need pricing software,” he said, citing one case where managers were dropping prices on all units and floor plans, when demand was actually down for only one-bedroom units on the property and the market would have supported rent increases on two-bedroom apartments. Just a $50-a-month mistake in pricing for a handful of units on a year’s lease “adds up quickly,” Lynd said. “You need to know how and when to push rents.” In today’s difficult times and with rents declining, Lynd said his company is focusing on increasing the percentage of its renewals and locking in residents at a fixed price for a longer period of time. He also reported problems in generating leads and then not having the ability to convert them into leases. A new program, he said, generated 180 leads, but “they went entirely unanswered,” because the platform was complex and his employees already had too many things to do. “The new technology was just another thing on their plate,” he said. “The organization has to be prepared to deal with it.” Resident Retention Along with becoming more efficient in how it generates leads, Israel Carunungan, director of marketing for The Bozzuto Group, said that resident retention is key to beating the competition in today’s difficult marketplace. “Retain more residents and the less traffic you need to bring in,” he said. “You do need a formal program,” starting with resident surveys that will help the management team identify issues that should be addressed. Also important, he said, is maintaining accurate e-mail addresses and phone numbers for contacting residents. “Rent-to-own programs are also a great way to retain residents,” Carunungan said, providing prospective home owners with a head-start in saving up for the larger downpayments now being required and lining up healthy prospects for the for-sale community. Also worthwhile is designing Web sites not just to sell apartments but to include portals enabling management to interact with residents and allowing residents to communicate with each other. “You can create a community Facebook page,” he said. “The key to success is engagement,” he added, and for that to succeed the content needs to be actively refreshed. Social networking is “big now and where we’re all going in terms of marketing,” said Carunungan. Targeted events for residents are also effective, he said, such as activities for pet owners, restaurant dinner nights and ice cream socials. Events can be timed around periods when there are a high number of leases coming up for renewal. “It does create a sense of community,” he said. For more information on multifamily resources available from NAHB, e-mail Ann Marie Moriarty at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8350. Marketing Multifamily Housing’ Available at BuilderBooks.com “Marketing Multifamily Housing,” available through BuilderBooks.com, teaches how to successfully market multifamily developments, get referrals, implement unique marketing techniques, boost profits and fill homes without using inflated promises. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
NAHB Honors Year’s Best Apartments and CondosA revived New England mill town, a converted beaux-arts office building, a mansion built by an early captain of industry and a host of stellar urban infill communities took top honors in this year’s NAHB Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Awards, which were presented in San Diego on March 18. The winning communities are apartments and condos that present neighborhood-friendly exteriors, stunningly chic lobbies and common areas. The residences typically use earth tones for warmth, but sparkle with light and flashes of color, and they back up their high-gloss images with substance: workable floor plans, strategic smart-growth locations, an awareness of green and sustainable building techniques, and top-notch amenities and services. The 17 winning communities are located in nine states, with four in California and three in Washington, D.C., and they are primarily in large urban or close-in suburban areas. NAHB’s Pillars Awards — considered the most prestigious in the industry — honor excellence in multifamily housing development, design, marketing and management and provide a showcase of future trends. In addition, NAHB recognized winners for excellence and superior leadership in 12 other categories, including eight related to marketing. The NRP Group was honored as Multifamily Development Firm of the Year and the Bozzuto Management Company was named the Property Management Company of the Year. The Best Multifamily Community of the Year — Irvington Terrace, an affordable community — was chosen from the winning entries of the builder award categories. The judges this year decided not to name finalists in the Best New Loft Condominium Community. Following are the 2009 Pillars winners: Builder Awards Best Garden Apartment Community ( four stories & under)
Best Rental Apartment Community (non-garden, 5 stories or less)
Best Mid-Rise Apartment Highland Park; Washington, D.C.
Best High-Rise Apartment (nine-plus stories)
The West End Apartments; Boston
Best Affordable Apartment Community (40% of units must be affordable to people earning 60% or less of area median income)
Irvington Terrace; Fremont, Calif.
Best New Loft Apartment Community The Halstead at Slatersville Mill; Slatersville, R.I.
Best Adaptive Reuse (from non-residential product to rental apartments) The Woodward; Washington, D.C.
Best Garden/Small Scale Condo Community The Residences at Vail Mansion; Morristown, N.J.
Best Mid-Rise Condominium Community Park Terrace at Mission Bay; San Francisco
Best High-Rise Condominium Community
The Carlyle; Minneapolis
Best Adaptive Reuse of a Condominium Community (from non-residential product to a condo community) Century Plaza; Phoenix
Best Mixed Use Community
Adelicia; Nashville
Best Multifamily Community Site Plan Vista Del Sol; Tempe, Ariz.
Best Mixed Use Community Site Plan
Seabridge Marina; Oxnard, Calif.
Best Clubhouse at a Multifamily Community Ventura Lofts; Houston
Best Student Housing Rental Apartment Community
Vista Del Sol; Tempe, Ariz.
Most Creative Financing of an Affordable Apartment Community
The Blakeley Building; Lawrence, Mass.
Best Conversion/Repositioning of a Multifamily Asset Citrus Grove of Rialto; Rialto, Calif.
Marketing Awards Best Leasing or Sales Center Silo Point; Baltimore
Best Interior Merchandising at a Multifamily Community
The Paramount on Lake Eola; Orlando
Best Brochure for a For Sale Multifamily Community Platinum; New York City
Best Brochure for a Rental Apartment Community The West End Apartments; Boston
Best Overall Sales Campaign for a Condominium Community
Platinum; New York City
Best Overall Leasing Campaign for a Rental Apartment Community Avalon Morningside Park; New York City
Best Corporate Web Site
Clark Builders Group, LLC; Arlington, Va. Best Property Web Site
Platinum, New York City
Individual Awards Property Manager of the Year Kristin Noble; McLean, Va.
Firm Awards Multifamily Development Firm of the Year
The NRP Group; Cleveland
Property Management Company of the Year
Bozzuto Management Company; Greenbelt, Md.
For more information, e-mail Ann Marie Moriarty at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8350. Apply for 2009 NAHB Remodelers AwardsNAHB Remodelers invites its members to apply for a variety of awards each year that recognize the achievements of both local councils and individual members. The awards include: Livable Community Awards
Remodelers’ Spring Board PreviewNAHB Remodelers’ committee meetings will be held on Thursday and Friday, May 28-29, during NAHB's spring board of directors meeting at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. The NAHB Remodelers Board of Trustees meetings and general sessions will be on Friday, May 29. To download the NAHB Remodelers schedule at the spring board meeting, click here. For more information, e-mail remodel@nahb.com. Join the Fun of Remodelers Night Out at Buffalo Billiards on May 28 Remodelers Night Out ― where remodelers can relax and network between meetings during NAHB’s upcoming spring board of directors meeting — will be from 6:00-9:00 p.m. Thursday, May 28, at Ireland's Four Fields in Washington, D.C. Ireland’s Four Fields, six-time winner of the Best Irish Pub in Washington, D.C., will feature music by The Sean Fleming Band. The fee for the evening is $45 per person and includes appetizers, seasonal beers, wine, soda and rail drinks. To register for Remodelers Night Out, click here. Reservations must be received by May 21. Ireland’s Fore Fields is at 3412 Connecticut Ave NW. For more information, e-mail Abbey Cameron at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8217. Enter NCBC 2010 Awards of Excellence Competition
The program recognizes achievements for design, market appeal, overall aesthetics, challenges faced during building and overall success of projects that are either built or renovated. The deadline for entries is Aug. 3. NCBC sponsors the Awards of Excellence program to bring recognition to commercial building projects that range in size from less than 5,000 to more than 100,000 square feet. Projects must have been completed after Dec. 31, 2006 and may be entered in commercial, industrial, institutional, medical, mixed-use commercial/retail, recreational, retail and green building categories. "Our Awards of Excellence is an effective way to showcase your work to others in the industry and receive peer recognition, which you can use for marketing your business capabilities,” said Carl Harris, of the Carl Harris Company, Wichita, Kan. and NCBC vice chair. “In today’s complex market, being recognized in a special way for meeting and exceeding project goals — while adhering to new, green building standards and other regulations — will make you stand out.” Last year, 21 projects were honored. All are listed on the NCBC Channel on the NAHB Web site. Applicants can enter one or more projects in the competition. Projects may be submitted by the builder, developer, architect or contractor of the project. The six divisions in which a project can be entered include:
Several award winners have said that the NCBC honor not only gave their company credibility in their market, it also boosted their project team’s morale. “We applied for the NCBC Awards of Excellence in an effort to strengthen our business development program,” said Ernie Straub III, president, Straub Construction Company, Shawnee, Kan. “In these competitive times, it’s important that we continue enhancing our portfolio with accomplishments and highlight the high caliber of people we have working at Straub Construction.” Straub Construction earned Project of the Year honors for its Weaver Auditorium project, a 31,000-square-foot facility built for the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. “Weaver Auditorium involved various challenges, as all projects do. However, we worked together to successfully overcome these challenges and built a project both Straub Construction and the owner are very proud of,” said Straub. “Being named Project of the Year made us all feel highly honored.” Myefski Cook Architects of Glencoe, Ill. was honored for two of its projects, Go Global Office Suites, a new, 30,000-square-foot, three-story office building in Northbrook, Ill.; and the expansion of North Shore Community Bank & Trust at its charter location in Wilmette, Ill. "Having North Shore Community Bank selected as the winner of the Chairman’s Award has been an honor shared not only within our firm and the other team members responsible for the creation and execution of the award-winning design, it was an honor shared by our client and the community in which the project is located,” said John W. Myefski, AIA, principal of Myefski Cook Architects, Inc. Winners will be notified by mail no later than Nov. 1 and featured in Commercial Builder Online Magazine. For more information, e-mail Kisha DeSandies at NAHB, call her at 800-368-5242 x8455, or download a brochure and application from the NAHB Web site. University of Housing Honors Five Designees of the YearFive housing professionals were honored by The NAHB University of Housing as Designees of the Year at the 2009 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas for elevating the image of designations and housing professionals in their communities. The designees honored included:
Winners were selected by the Certified Graduate Builder Board of Governors for successfully promoting their professional designations to consumers and members through innovative techniques, elevating the image of the designation in their community through charitable work or community projects, and in mentoring activities that focused on helping others start or complete a professional designation. The NAHB University of Housing offers 16 professional designation programs on topics ranging from green building and remodeling to sales and affordable housing to help those in the housing industry advance their professionalism and business knowledge. For more information, call The NAHB University of Housing Professional Designation Help Line at 800-368-5242 x8154.
Earn Professional Designations at NAHB Spring ConferencesNAHB members can earn credits toward valuable designations by taking required courses at two spring conferences — the Building for Boomers & Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium in Philadelphia and the National Green Building Conference in Dallas — hosted by The NAHB University of Housing. Credits Toward Certified Active Adult Specialist in Housing (CAASH) Members attending the 50+ Housing Symposium on April 27-29 at the Marriott Philadelphia can take the three required courses for the Certified Active Adult Specialist in Housing (CAASH) designation. The CAASH designation gives housing professionals the essential knowledge, tools and skills to serve the rapidly burgeoning 50+ market. The three pre-conference courses include:
In addition to the pre-conference courses, the symposium offers a wide range of education sessions and two active adult community bus tours. To register for the conference, visit www.nahb.org/Build4Boomers. Advance registration ends Friday, April 3.
Credits Toward Certified Green Professional Members attending the National Green Building Conference on May 8-10 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas can take pre- and post-conference courses required for NAHB’s fastest growing designation, Certified Green Professional (CGP). The CGP designation teaches builders, remodelers and other industry professionals techniques for incorporating green building principles into homes using cost-effective and affordable options. The courses available at the National Green Building Conference include:
Additional CGP requirements can be found at www.nahb.org/CGPinfo. In addition to the CGP courses, the conference will hold more than 30 education sessions. To register for the conference, visit www.nahb.org/GreenBuildingConference. Advance registration ends Friday, April 10. For more information on all of NAHB’s 2009 conferences, visit www.nahb.org/Conferences. Find Out What the 45+ Housing Market Wants “Right House, Right Place, Right Time: Community and Lifestyle Preferences of the 45+ Housing Market,” available through BuilderBooks.com, will help determine the right design, home features and amenities to attract boomer home buyers in your market. Author Margaret A. Wylde guides readers through the latest survey results on this important consumer group and explains what their responses mean for today’s and tomorrow’s home building industry. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665. ‘National Green Building Standard’ Available at BuilderBooks.com “The National Green Building Standard,” available through BuilderBooks.com, provides “green” practices that can be incorporated into multifamily and single-family new home construction, home remodeling and additions and site development. The standard covers lot design, resource, energy and water efficiency; indoor environment quality; and owner education. Currently the first and only ANSI-approved green building rating system, the National Green Building Standard is the benchmark for green homes. To view or purchase this publication online, click here. Education Calendar
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. 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. KB Home Earns National Housing Quality RecertificationFollowing a rigorous audit of the quality assurance systems of each of its divisions, KB Home, one of the nation’s largest home builders, has received recertification under the National Housing Quality (NHQ) program for its company-wide commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, the NAHB Research Center announced last week. For the second consecutive year, KB Home remains the only builder in the country to have earned the Research Center’s NHQ Certified Builder designation for all of its operations nationwide The company became the first major builder to participate in the NHQ’s pilot program when its Las Vegas division earned the certification in 2004. KB Home went on to implement the program in all of its divisions, becoming the first builder to achieve national certification in February 2008. To help achieve certification, many of KB Home’s divisions independently sponsored NHQ training sessions for their trade partners. “The training and quality assurances inherent in the NAHB Research Center’s NHQ program are a natural extension of KB Home’s unrelenting focus on customer service and operational excellence,” said Jeff Mezger, the company’s president and CEO. “Nothing is more important to our home owners than quality, and we are proud to be the only home builder to have our quality management system backed by this rigorous third-party certification on a national level.” Designed to foster consistency and quality in building practices, NHQ certification is presented to home builders and trade contractors who have documented and implemented quality management systems and participated in systematic reviews of the implementation of those systems. Twenty-nine home building companies are currently included in the program. Certification requirements ensure that all elements of a company’s quality assurance system are aligned to improve quality performance and provide greater customer satisfaction. Since implementing the NHQ program, KB Home has seen its customer satisfaction ratings rise to their highest levels ever. “In the current housing environment, builders are seeking higher customer satisfaction ratings and a competitive edge,” said Bob Hill, director of certification and laboratory services at the NAHB Research Center. “By meeting the rigorous requirements of the NHQ program and earning this certification again this year, KB Home is making a powerful statement to potential home buyers that their satisfaction is the company’s top priority.” For more information, e-mail Anne Holtz Schmick at the NAHB Research Center, or call her at 800-638-8556 x6211. Green Remodel Project a Highlight of Dallas Home TourKicking off the 2009 NAHB National Green Building Conference in Dallas, Earl Williams on May 8 will be showing the results of a recently completed, $135,000 whole-house remodel. The remodeling project was the result of a referral Williams received from a real estate agent who was working with a couple moving into the Dallas area and seeking a home with modern amenities — but in an established neighborhood. “Most new homes are further out in the suburbs, and they really didn’t want to go there,” Williams said. “The family wanted the sidewalks, they wanted the trees.” The house they chose was in an area of town that fit the bill, but the 17-year-old house itself was in need of more than a little updating. The house needed to accommodate a boisterous family with a casual lifestyle — and it also had to include features that would enable it to be resold quickly in just a few years. Employed by a company that tends to move its executives frequently, the clients knew they wouldn’t be able to stay long. Williams gave careful consideration to the family’s requirements and then presented them with a plan. “I gave them some ideas and told them about my green strategies,” Williams said. “I told them that green is going to continue to grow and that green would be a tremendous boon for them when they resell. They told me, ‘We want green for green — a payback on our investment.’” Given a tight budget and a move-in date of only two months later, Williams accepted the challenge and went to work. “We needed to focus on every system in that house,” Williams said, and so he inventoried the heating and air conditioning system, with special emphasis on the duct work. He examined the plumbing, with an eye toward improving water efficiency and he looked at the home’s energy use, particularly with the plug load. He made significant improvements to all of them. “The only things I did not change were the windows and the interior walls,” he said, which stayed right where they were. Williams first tackled the HVAC system, knowing that air conditioning runs a lot in most Dallas homes, and in too many of them, it doesn’t run very well. “I think that a lot of people in homes built 15 years ago just didn’t size the unit correctly,” he said. “If you wanted to have a cool house in the summertime, the reasoning went, you should just install a bigger compressor. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.” The air conditioning in his client’s home ran constantly without seeming to make any difference. “They wanted us to put in a third unit so they didn’t sweat,” he said. But the problem wasn’t with the units, it was the ductwork, he said. “We had a number of duct issues and the air returns were very sloppy and inefficient. If you put air into a room, you need to take air out of the room. We put returns every place we put a duct and we divided the downstairs into three separate HVAC zones,” with the kitchen on the east side, the living areas in the middle and the bedrooms in the west. “Each one is set independently during the course of the day; there is no point in heating or cooling areas that aren’t being used at night and vice versa all through the day,” Williams said. “We upgraded their original 10-SEER units to dual speed, 16-SEER units. As it turned out, we were actually able to use a lot less tonnage rather than more, as was originally requested.” In addition to making the HVAC system more efficient, fixing the ductwork also improved the quality of the home’s indoor air. “The home owner loves it,” he said. “There are no strange smells and no stale smells,” which are more common in a poorly ventilated home. The next stop in the renovation was the kitchen. The original countertops were granite, a popular choice in many high-end kitchen remodels, Williams said, but because they were not appropriate for his clients, he took them out. “The countertops need to match the lifestyle of the people that are using them. This is a very active family with a teenage daughter and middle-school son, constantly in and out, making their own sandwiches and snacks, friends always around — and granite is not quite bullet-proof enough for a family like that,” he said. Instead, Williams recommended engineered stone, because it’s “more forgiving, easier to maintain and repair, and it’s quite elegant.” The owners chose a recycled quartz countertop from the DuPont Zodiaq line for the kitchen and also for the bathrooms. The kitchen appliances were replaced with new, more efficient models that carry Energy Star certification, and the light fixtures — both in the kitchen and throughout the house — were refitted with compact fluorescent bulbs. Integral to green building practices, water efficiency was especially a concern of the family, Williams said, because they had lived with water restrictions in San Antonio, their previous home. He replaced the faucets with low-flow fixtures, switched out the toilets with dual-flush models and installed a tankless water heater. Williams also made a point of including safety features in the bathrooms, something he pays closer attention to as an NAHB Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist. He installed walk-in showers to help prevent slipping and falls, and the toilets are “comfort height. They look good, they look elegant and they are so much better when you have a bad back,” he said. The walls were repainted with low or no-VOC paints. Engineered flooring was placed in some rooms, and carpet made from corn-based fibers went into others. He chose Sonora carpet from Mohawk, which, he said, has a good price point and is durable. “It’s a cool product and I love it,” he said. Outside, Williams chose an exterior paint from Sherwin-Williams that comes with a 50-year warranty, mindful that green also means sustainability. “That’s another example of green with a payback,” he said. Finally, Williams made sure that the appliances, materials and fixtures he replaced did not end up in a landfill. Too much usable material ends up being tossed out, rather than reused, he said. “The dumps here in America are like the finest department stories in the rest of the world. If anything can be reinvented, redeployed or recycled — the ‘three R’ approach — we do it. We donate to charities, subcontractors, neighbors, Boy Scouts — we donate to everybody,” he said. Broken mirrors, old carpet and other unusable materials go to the recycler, as does the packaging for the replacements. And when there are extra screws, bolts or other materials that come onto the job site, they are consigned to a special box that Williams keeps for that purpose. As the work continues and his contractors are searching for a piece of hardware, “it’s amazing how you can search through the box and usually get what you need — and then recycle what’s left at the end of the project.” “We fight to keep as much as possible from going to the landfill,” Williams said. “I really believe in my three Rs.” Visit www.nahb.org/greenbuildingconference to register for the housing tour and conference. Preregistration ends on April 10 and tour spaces are filling up quickly. For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.
“The National Green Building Standard,” available through BuilderBooks.com, provides “green” practices that can be incorporated into multifamily and single-family new home construction, home remodeling and additions and site development. The standard covers lot design, resource, energy and water efficiency; indoor environment quality; and owner education. Currently the first and only ANSI-approved green building rating system, the National Green Building Standard is the benchmark for green homes. To view or purchase this publication online, click here.
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.
“Building Greener Neighborhoods,” available through Digital Delivery at BuilderBooks.com, shows those involved in building new communities the advantages and rewards of saving, planting and transplanting more trees in their developments. The examples are drawn from decades of experience of land developers, home builders and urban foresters. To download this publication in a PDF format, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
“Profit from Building Green — Award-Winning Tips to Build Energy Efficient Homes,” available through BuilderBooks.com, showcases what energy conscious award-winning builders are doing, provides innovative energy-efficient features and covers successful techniques for building this niche market. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665. Learn to Green Your Business at Green Building ConferenceThe NAHB National Green Building Conference in Dallas on May 8-10 will feature new business management courses on how to green your business that will cover everything from green business practices, the legal issues and liabilities surrounding green building, green government programs and more. Among the offerings:
Courses, Speakers, Tours and More The conference offers more than 30 educational sessions in green business management, building science, design and sales and marketing. Author Joel Makower, the co-founder and executive editor of Greener World Media as well as a senior strategist at GreenOrder, a sustainability consultancy, will be the keynote speaker. The conference will also feature a tour of green homes in the Dallas area, a dinner honoring the winners of the NAHB National Green Building Awards and an exhibit hall featuring the latest green products and materials. In addition, the 2009 class of Certified Green Professionals (CGP) will be honored at a pre-conference reception on Thursday, May 7. To date, more than 2,000 builders, remodelers and other home building industry professionals have earned the CGP designation. To Register To register for the conference, visit www.nahb.org/GreenBuildingConference. Advance registration ends Friday, April 10.
“The National Green Building Standard,” available through BuilderBooks.com, provides “green” practices that can be incorporated into multifamily and single-family new home construction, home remodeling and additions and site development. The standard covers lot design, resource, energy and water efficiency; indoor environment quality; and owner education. Currently the first and only ANSI-approved green building rating system, the National Green Building Standard is the benchmark for green homes. To view or purchase this publication online, click here.
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.
“Building Greener Neighborhoods,” available through Digital Delivery at BuilderBooks.com, shows those involved in building new communities the advantages and rewards of saving, planting and transplanting more trees in their developments. The examples are drawn from decades of experience of land developers, home builders and urban foresters. To download this publication in a PDF format, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
“Profit from Building Green — Award-Winning Tips to Build Energy Efficient Homes,” available through BuilderBooks.com, showcases what energy conscious award-winning builders are doing, provides innovative energy-efficient features and covers successful techniques for building this niche market. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665. Earn BuilderBooks Green Savings in April for Use Through JuneBuilderBooks is offering green savings that can be earned in April and redeemed through June. Anyone who purchases the ANSI-approved “National Green Building Standard” online in April will receive a 20% discount coupon toward their next online purchase of any BuilderBooks titles in May or June. To earn the discount, purchasers must enter the discount code GREEN on the check-out page at BuilderBooks. A discount coupon will be e-mailed to them in early May for use on their next online purchase. BuilderBooks offers a variety of green building titles to help builders and remodelers get the green edge they need to get ahead of the competition in today’s tough market. BuilderBooks also offers business management, sales and marketing, remodeling and other titles and resources to help members navigate the downturn and prepare their businesses for the market’s eventual return. For more information, visit www.BuilderBooks.com, or call 800-223-2665.
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.
“Building Greener Neighborhoods,” available through Digital Delivery at BuilderBooks.com, shows those involved in building new communities the advantages and rewards of saving, planting and transplanting more trees in their developments. The examples are drawn from decades of experience of land developers, home builders and urban foresters. To download this publication in a PDF format, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
“Profit from Building Green — Award-Winning Tips to Build Energy Efficient Homes,” available through BuilderBooks.com, showcases what energy conscious award-winning builders are doing, provides innovative energy-efficient features and covers successful techniques for building this niche market. To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665. EPA Rules for Chesapeake Bay Watershed Raise ConcernsHome builders associations whose members build in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed are closely watching U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to develop Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements for the region and studying how these new regulations would affect the building industry. The issue holds consequences for builders elsewhere in the country because, once in place, the Chesapeake Bay TMDL is likely to be used as a model for similar plans in other watersheds throughout the U.S. — with the possiblel goal of “no discharge” development. A mid-March conference call with NAHB staff members included a detailed discussion about the proposal, which will be published this summer for comments and changes and must be in place by May 1, 2011. Bay states subject to the TMDL will rely on Low Impact Development (LID) in place of traditional best management practices to reduce sediment, nutrients and peak flows from new construction sites and from redevelopment in urban areas. To use LID techniques — which include permeable pavements, green roofs, rain gardens, swales and other devices that allow the storm water to seep into the ground — builders will need to obtain more information about the building site than has been required in the past. Many builders have limited experience with choosing and installing LID devices and estimating the associated costs — including the risk of their failure — and providing for their maintenance. When finished, the TMDL will cover 64,000 square miles in six states and the District of Columbia, making it the largest and most complex regulation if its kind, according to the Chesapeake Bay Program, a partnership of affected states, advisory groups and the EPA. The NAHB environmental issues staff will provide the EPA with comments on the proposal after discussions with affected HBAs. In addition, the Pennsylvania Home Builders Association is spearheading a study of the computer modeling that the EPA used to develop its TMDL proposal. That study is expected to be completed in May. For additional information, e-mail Glynn Rountree at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8662. Builders File Suit Over Santa Cruz River DecisionThe nation’s home builders are challenging a Dec. 8 federal regulatory ruling that an Arizona riverbed fed by runoff from sewers and storm drains is a “traditional navigable water” — a decision with far-reaching implications for home buyers and property owners for miles around. In concert with the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association and the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, NAHB has filed an injunction against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C. on March 23. NAHB Chairman Joe Robson said that the agencies had made their decision behind closed doors with no opportunity for public scrutiny or input. “There was no notice given to any affected landowners,” he said. “No one could submit evidence or offer other comments — the public was completely shut out of the process. The law says that rulings cannot happen that way.” Robson added that the federal action fails to live up to the Obama Administration’s pledge “to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation and collaboration.” By designating the Santa Cruz River a “traditional navigable water,” the federal agencies immediately gain jurisdiction over dry desert washes, arroyos and other water features within the 2.3 million-acre Santa Cruz watershed that would not otherwise qualify as “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. Currently, those areas are covered by state and local regulations. “There is no permanent, flowing water through the Santa Cruz River. It can’t be an ‘interstate highway of commerce’” — which is how a traditional navigable water is defined under the Clean Water Act, Robson said. “The facts do not support the declaration.” Determinations of Clean Water Act jurisdiction come with a high price tag. In one of its decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged that the average applicant for an individual Clean Water Act permit spends 788 days and $271,596 in completing the process, and the average applicant for a nationwide permit spends 313 days and $28,915 — not counting costs of mitigation or design changes. “As the housing sector and the economy struggle to recover during the current recession, the public must be afforded the opportunity to comment on the economic impact of federal government decisions,” Robson said. For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132. Lowe’s Continues Support for Job Corps GradsThree recent graduates of the Home Builders Institute's Job Corps programs are among the more than 200 students who have benefitted from the HBI/Lowe’s Building Careers Scholarship Fund. The fund was established in April 2004 to help Job Corps graduates defray the cost of making successful transitions into jobs in the home building industry. Lowe’s Home Improvement presented HBI with a $50,000 check at the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas in January, bringing its total contribution to the scholarship program to $300,000. Among the students recently singing the praises of Job Corps and Lowe’s:
For more information on the HBI/Lowe’s Building Careers Scholarship or to hire an HBI Job Corps graduate, e-mail Keith Albright or Maria McIntyre at HBI, or call them at 800-795-7955 x8911 and x8912, respectively. Study Finds Home Technology Preserves Builder ProfitsDespite a weak economy and the housing market downturn, builders have not abandoned home technologies, according to the findings of the “7th Annual State of the Builder Technology Market Study” released earlier this month by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). Seven in 10 of the builders polled (71%) reported that technology had helped them preserve home renovation revenue that might otherwise have declined this year because of the down economy — an increase of 10 percentage points from last year’s survey results. The study found that builders are finding more selling points in entertainment-related technology features, which corresponds with the growing consumer trend to stay at home in light of the economy. Among their entertainment-related offerings, 69% of the builders said they had increased multi-room audio and 74% reported an increase in home theaters in 2008. Home theater installation was up eight percentage points in 2008 and was the only category that did not decrease or remain the same in overall installations. Seventy-one percent of the builders participating in the survey said that trade shows have become the leading source for builders to find information on home technologies. In a declining market, the study found, trade shows offer a one-stop shop for product/training information and are a cost-effective resource for builders to learn about technology offerings. “Home technology is poised to take off as the economy and housing markets improve,” said Steve Koenig, CEA’s director of industry analysis. “Builders are aware of the value of home technology and have increased their marketing efforts,” he said, “suggesting builders are leaving no stone unturned to help move inventories while recognizing the importance of home technology for consumers.” The Builder Technology Market Study was conducted last November. It was designed and formulated by CEA Market Research, the most comprehensive source of sales data, forecasts, consumer research and historical trends for the consumer electronics industry. The complete study is available free to CEA member companies and can be purchased by non-members for $699 at myCEA.CE.org. A webcast presentation of the study is scheduled for Wednesday, April 8, 3:00-4:00 p.m. EST. To register, e-mail Steve Kidera, or call him at 703-907-4358. Headquartered in Arlington, Va., the Consumer Electronics Association is a member of the National Council of the Housing Industry — The Leading Suppliers of NAHB. 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. NAHB-Produced Programs on DIY, Fine Living and HGTVThe NAHB Production Group produces weekly television shows on DIY, Fine Living and HGTV for consumers. The following is the latest lineup: "Rock Solid" on DIY
"I Want That" on Fine Living
HGTV Seeking ‘Dream Home’ Builder/Architect Teams HGTV is seeking developers, builders and architects to create the 2010 HGTV Dream Home, the grand prize in the network's annual sweepstakes. To learn more, click here. About the NAHB Production Group The NAHB Production Group is a full-service, self-contained, media production unit creating programming for cable television, broadcast television, non-profit, museum and corporate clients. Productions range from magazine format shows for general audiences to museum-installation videos for specialized use. The production group includes award winning journalists, writers and photographers with experience in broadcast, documentary and corporate television.
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. Apply for Centex ‘Build Your Future’ Scholarships by April 6Applications for the Centex "Build Your Future" scholarships to undergraduate students pursuing careers in the residential construction industry for the 2009-2010 academic year are due on April 6. The Centex "Build Your Future" scholarship program encourages students to further their education in such industry-related fields as construction management, construction technology, civil engineering, architecture, design or any of the trade specialties at the college or university they are attending. Preference is given to students who are active NAHB Student Chapter members at their university or college and who maintain a 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale in all course work and a 3.0 in their core curriculum courses. Scholarship applications are reviewed and awarded by a small group of Centex employees. Established in 2000 by Centex Homes with a $1 million pledge, this scholarship was created to help address the pressing need for educating and training managers. Since then, Centex has awarded more than $250,000 to students attending residential construction programs across the country. The scholarships provide students with tuition assistance. Applicants must be pursuing study in a housing- related program such as construction management, building, construction technology, civil engineering, architecture, design or any of the trade specialties at the college or university they attend. Applicants interested in applying for the scholarship funds must be pursuing study in a housing-related program, be registered as a full-time student this coming fall, be a rising sophomore in a two- or four-year college or university and have at least one full academic year of course work remaining after the scholarship is received. To Apply Scholarship applications can be downloaded from the scholarship page of the National Housing Endowment Web site, www.nationalhousingendowment.org. Applications are available in Word and PDF formats. About Endowment Scholarship Programs The endowment administers 12 scholarship programs and awards more than $300,000 each year to students pursuing careers in residential construction and related fields. For more information, visit the endowment Web site at www.nationalhousingendowment.org. Endowment Funds IBS Student Scholarships for 2010
The scholarships 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. Students and faculty are challenged every year to raise travel money to attend the events and participate in activities at the IBS. “The board of trustees of the National Housing Endowment felt this program was so valuable, they made the decision to continue the funding,” said Gary Garczynski, endowment chairman and 2002 NAHB president. “Even in these hard times, we still must invest in the future of our industry.” The endowment Board of Trustees voted to extend the funding during a meeting at IBS earlier this year after receiving scholarship requests for more than $200,000 from students and HBAs to attend the 2009 IBS. About 1,300 students and faculty attended the 2009 IBS — the most ever to attend the show — and scholarships were given to more than 525 students. “I learned about new products and ideas and tried some new tools at IBS. Being there really made me feel like I was headed in the right direction,” said Mark Kinney, a student at Central Michigan University. “The scholarship was very helpful. I hope the program will entice more students to enter this special industry.” “Learning about all aspects of housing development has helped me understand more about the housing industry,” said Patrick O’Neill, a student at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo who participated in the Residential Construction Management Competition at IBS. “I was able to get more of a ‘top level’ understanding of home building while at IBS.”
While students in the competition gained plenty of first-hand experience, the technology and products on display at IBS also gave students insight into the advances being made in residential construction. “One of the aspects of the show that impressed me the most was the amount of technology and innovation at the show,” said Jeremy McGrath, a student at Pennsylvania State University. “Students oftentimes are led to believe that residential construction is not as technologically advanced as commercial construction, but from what I saw at IBS, that is far from the truth.” “The endowment is working to increase the number of professionals 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 rewarding careers in the industry,” said Garczynski. “We appreciate our partnership with the Home Builders Institute and the NAHB Student Chapters, without whose support this program would not be such a success.” Applications for scholarships for the 2010 International Builders’ Show will be available online in early fall. HBAs: Challenge/Build/Grow Initiative Proposals Due April 17The National Housing Endowment, the philanthropic arm of NAHB, is seeking proposals from state and local home builders associations through its Challenge/Build/Grow (CBG) matching funds initiative. Under the program, HBAs are encouraged to find opportunities to build new partnerships in their communities to assist local programs targeting issues of importance to the industry — including job training, image building and labor shortage, educational and scholarship support. The endowment will award HBAs a total of $25,000 through the grant initiative, with each applicant eligible for a matching challenge grant of up to $5,000. HBA Proposals Must Be Received by Friday, April 17 Applications and guidelines can be downloaded from the endowment Web site by clicking here. Completed proposals can be e-mailed to the endowment at nhe@nahb.com. HBAs requesting grants are encouraged to seek advice on their proposals from the endowment staff well in advance of the deadline. Since the program was launched in 2001, more than $175,000 has been awarded to state and local HBAs throughout the country. For more information about grant opportunities, or to download funding guidelines, visit www.nationalhousingendowment.org. Apply for Herman J. Smith Scholarships by May 4
The Herman J. Smith Scholarship Fund, honoring 1981 NAHB President Herman J. Smith, provides assistance to graduate and undergraduate students studying construction management, mortgage finance and related fields. Last year, 12 students were awarded scholarships totalling $24,000. “We are so proud to work with the National Housing Endowment to provide educational opportunities for worthy students,” said Patsy Smith, who serves as a life trustee for the endowment. “Herman’s favorite motto was ‘always leave the woodpile higher than you found it.’ I believe this scholarship is a testament to his philanthropic work and to his great love of this industry.” Since its inception, the Smith scholarship has awarded more than $164,000 to exemplary students. Applicants interested in applying for the scholarship funds must be in a housing-related program such as construction management, construction technology, civil engineering, architecture, design or any of the trade specialties at a college or university. Preference is given to students who are residents of Texas or who are attending a Texas college or university, and who are active members in the NAHB Student Chapter at their college. To Apply Smith scholarship applications and instructions can be downloaded from the National Housing Endowment Web site by clicking here. Applications are available in Word and PDF formats. About Endowment Scholarship Programs The endowment administers 12 scholarship programs and awards more than $300,000 each year to students pursuing careers in residential construction and related fields. For more information, visit the endowment Web site at www.nationalhousingendowment.org. Robert Karen Named New Jersey’s ‘Legend of Housing’Robert H. “Bob” Karen will be recognized by the New Jersey Builders Association (NJBA) as the 2009 “Legend of Housing” on April 23 at Caesars, Atlantic City during the 60th Annual Atlantic Builders Convention. The association’s highest honor, the designation was established to recognize exceptional accomplishments and contributions to the home building industry and to pay tribute to those whose dedication has resulted in a substantial, measurable and lasting impact on housing families in New Jersey. With more than 40 years of experience in home building, Karen served two consecutive terms as NJBA president from 1991 to 1993. Under his leadership, the association conducted its successful “Fix the Hammer” campaign — a legislative initiative under which seven major home building industry bills were enacted, including the Permit Extension Act. Beyond the notable legislative initiative, Karen’s goal for the campaign was to see the association through tough economic times — not unlike today’s. “Fix the Hammer” became a rallying cry for the association and served to engage and unify its membership in support of the industry, saving jobs and companies alike. As a result, builders were able to proceed on homes on which they otherwise might not have been able to break ground — in the process, providing housing, jobs and economic stimulus for the state at a time when they were desperately needed. A graduate of American University in Washington, D.C. , Karen studied under NAHB’s chief economist, Michael Sumichrast. Upon graduation, he managed projects in Maryland and New Jersey, qualifying them for FHA 235 subsidized mortgage financing and providing many low- and moderate-income families the opportunity to become home owners. Karen is a nationally recognized expert in the field of active adult community development. His communities have received national acclaim and numerous industry awards. Working for K. Hovnanian, Inc. from 1993 until 2001, he led the development of active adult communities and was responsible for conceptualizing and successfully establishing the company’s Four Seasons brand. Past recipients of the “Legend of Housing” award include home builders, business professionals and citizens, including Ethel Lawrence, the housing advocate behind the famous Mount Laurel decision — a state constitutional mandate requiring municipalities to provide realistic opportunities for the production of affordable housing for New Jersey’s low- and moderate-income households. For information about the installation dinner, click here. Avoid Visa/Master Card Hikes in Processing With SolverasEven in this economy Visa and MasterCard are implementing processing rate increases this month. NAHB members and home builders associations can avoid these increases by switching processing providers to NAHB Member Advantage participating company, Solveras Payment Systems by April 15. By switching by the deadline, Solveras will guarantee 2008 processing rates for one year, and members and HBAs will be able to keep more of their profit on every sale. For more information, call 800-613-0148, or request request a free analysis online. 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.
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. Register Online for Spring Spokesperson TrainingOnline registration is now available for the NAHB Spokesperson Training one-day sessions — “Interview Skills” and “Presentation Skills” — at the upcoming NAHB spring board of directors meeting in Washington D.C. in May. With NAHB's new faster and more convenient registration process, members can register securely with a credit card for one or both of the Spokesperson Training sessions. In "Interview Skills," NAHB members will learn how to give clear, concise answers in a high-pressure, spur-of-the moment interview. “Interview Sills” will help participants master strategies for broadcast and print interviews, including message development. Members who attend "Presentation Skills" will 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. Spring Board Spokesperson Sessions:
The fee for each seminar is $495 per person. For more information and 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. 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. FTD Offers 15% Discount to NAHB MembersNAHB members can get a 15% discount on all flowers, gifts and gift baskets from FTD, the newest NAHB Member Advantage participating company and the world’s oldest and one of the best known brands in the floral business. Members can choose from gorgeous red roses, Vera Wang exclusive floral designs, spa sets, chocolates, wine baskets and more. They can also take advantage of FTD’s “Good as Gold” seven-day satisfaction guarantee of receiving beautiful, floral arrangements and plants that are guaranteed to last at least seven days. Plus, FTD's same-day delivery and guaranteed satisfaction are also available with "Say It Your Way" bouquets that are delivered with your own personal audio greeting. With 15,000 retail florists and 45,000 international affiliates, FTD can provide same-day floral service to nearly 100% of the U.S. population. FTD owned and operated U.S. call centers also offer 24/7 availability, including all major holidays. To use the NAHB Member Advantage 15% discount, visit www.ftd.com/nahb , or call 800-SEND-FTD (800-736-3383) and mention code 17421. 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. 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. Members Can Save 10% on Vacation Rentals WorldwideNAHB members can get 10% off the “best available rate" at Endless Vacation Rentals by Wyndham Worldwide, one of the world's largest global marketers of vacation rental properties and part of NAHB’s Member Advantage discount program. Endless Vacation Rentals represents approximately 60,000 vacation properties worldwide* — ranging from studio and one-bedroom accommodations to multiple-bedroom units throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean to villas, apartments, cottages and homes in Italy, France and the United Kingdom. Available during specified periods, these unique vacation rentals offer more space, flexibility, privacy and “comforts-of-home” conveniences to make vacation stays more enjoyable. To Register To use the program, visit www.evrentals.com/nahb, or call 877-670-7088 and give the agent the NAHB discount ID number 20090. The NAHB discount will be applied at the time the reservation is made. The Web site also enables members to review key resort amenities, descriptions and directions. *Destinations and travel times are subject to availability and confirmed on a first-come, first-served basis. Offers include accommodations only and specifically exclude travel costs and other expenses that may be incurred. Promotional discounts and offers may not apply to all properties. Other restrictions may apply. Offer void where prohibited by law. Additional taxes and conditions may apply. Visit www.EVRentals.com for terms, conditions and additional disclosures.
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. 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. Drive Away With a Shiny New $500 GM OfferNAHB members can receive $500 towards the purchase or lease of most new GM passenger cars, light-duty trucks, vans and SUVs — whether for business or personal use.
For complete details, visit www.gmfleet.com/nahb. The program runs through Jan. 4, 2010. For more information, e-mail Tiffany Lindsley at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8273. 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. 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. Focus on Your Business, Not Your Payroll, With PaychexOutsourcing payroll-related services to Paychex will enable you to efficiently keep up with the details of running your business so you can focus on your highest priority, your bottom line. Paychex, an NAHB Member Advantage participating company, can also save you time with additional services that make managing your employees and administering their benefits easier:
For more information about Paychex, click here or call 800-729-2439 and mention code 5685. 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. 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. Pitney Bowes Postage Meters Offer Convenience, SavingsPitney Bowes small business postage meters and scales offer the convenience, savings and increased productivity of having your own post office. Pitney Bowes is an NAHB Member Advantage participating company. Convenience Pitney Bowes postage meters enable member to have postage available 24/7 and avoid the hassle and time needed to go to the post office. Save Money on Postage Pitney Bowes meters and scales let business owners know exactly how much postage is required so they can eliminate overstamping. Small businesses that use postage meters can save up to 20% a year in postage. Postage Tailored to Your Needs With several postage meter and scale options, members can tailor a solution to their business based on the amount of mail they send. Flexible, Trackable Several employees or departments can use the same meter, but each postage expense can be tracked by user or department. Be Prepared for Postal Rate Change Pitney Bowes will notify business owners of new postal regulations and rate changes. Rate changes can be downloaded into Pitney Bowes meters within minutes. For more information, click here, or call 800-376-7047. Be sure to refer to order number 999991198.
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. Calendar of Events
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. 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. |