In the face of far weaker post-recession economic growth than normal and a discouragingly anemic job market, housing will have to wait until next year and the year after for the gains it needs to dig out of its worst downturn since World War II, according to panelists participating in NAHB’s Construction Forecast Webinar on Oct. 27.

While economists generally have been scaling back their earlier forecasts for housing activity this year, the good news is that the job market should improve sufficiently in 2011 to begin thawing the big freeze in household formations of the past few years and to put consumers in a brighter mood, both of which are prerequisites for boosting housing demand, they said. Read More

Calling the Federal Reserve's new interim rule on appraisals a welcome step in clarifying the home valuation process, NAHB on Oct. 22 said it would work with the Fed and others to ensure that the final rule provides transparency in the appraisal process along with sufficient flexibility to address the unique aspects of valuing new homes.

"The interim rule makes it clear that home builders and others can ask an appraiser to consider additional information about a property, including information about additional comparable properties. That's critical to our members because in far too many cases we're seeing appraisals based on inappropriate comparables." said NAHB Immediate Past Chairman Joe Robson, who has been leading the association’s push for sound appraisal practices.... Read More

In an effort to provide a greater deterrent and encourage employers to provide a safer workplace, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Oct. 1 instituted a new penalty structure that increases fines for non-compliance by 300% to 400% for employers who have been previously cited for serious, willful, repeat or failure-to-abate safety violations.

"For many employers, investing in job safety happens only when they have adequate incentives to comply with OSHA's requirements," said Dr. David Michaels, OSHA assistant secretary of labor. "Higher penalties and more aggressive, targeted enforcement will provide a greater deterrent and further encourage employers to furnish safe and healthy workplaces for their employees."

Prior to Oct. 1, OSHA also began stepping up its inspections and increasing the penalties levied against not only large builders, but small- and medium-sized home builders, as well.... Read More