New Venue for the 2007 Pillars of the Industry Conference and Gala
The upcoming Pillars Conference will be held at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa, in Hollywood, Fla., April 11-13. The new location has a lovely beachfront site featuring a variety of water sports and sport fishing opportunities, as well as a full spa facility for off-hours relaxation. And, as always, the educational programs will feature a top-flight roster of speakers drawn from upper-tier industry leaders.

(The change was made after the New Orleans hotel which was to have hosted the conference was not able to reopen on time.)

It’s even more enjoyable to attend the Pillars Conference if your company has an entry in the finals of the Pillars of the Industry Awards competition. View the Call for Entries page on our web site to learn how to start the online entry process. Read the frequently asked questions, and examine the criteria for each entry category.

The sooner you start the process, the easier it will be to have everything you need in plenty of time to create a winning entry! For more information, e-mail Laura Zaner or Ann Marie Moriarty, or call NAHB Multifamily at 800-368-5242 x8130.

Legislative: Builders Urge Congress to Pass Storm Water Bill
With time running short before Congress adjourns for the year, builders are coordinating a grassroots push to advance critical storm water legislation and are urging House members to support H.R. 5558, the “Stormwater Enforcement and Permitting Act.”

Introduced on June 8 by Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.) and 16 bipartisan cosponsors, the legislation would update and improve the Environmental Protection Agency’s  burdensome storm water permit and enforcement policies. The bill, which now has 52 cosponsors, takes into account the differences between residential and other construction activities.

With lawmakers planning to recess in early October to campaign for the November elections, it is vital to build momentum for H.R. 5558 now, because it is unclear whether a new Congress will be as receptive to supporting the measure. To view a one-page summary of the bill, click here.

To voice your opinion to Congressional lawmakers, log on to NAHB's Capitol Connect page to send a letter asking your representative to support H.R. 5558 or to sign on as a cosponsor.  For more information, e-mail Jim Tobin at NAHB, or call him at 1-800-368-5242 x8258. For a comprehensive look at the issue, visit BuilderBooks to buy Storm Water Permitting: A Guide for Builders and Developers. [return to top]

Finance: NAHB Meets with Federal Reserve Chair; Multifamily Stocks Still Climb
 

• NAHB Delegation, Federal Reserve Leaders, Meet

NAHB representatives met with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and five of the six Federal Reserve governors last week. In the NAHB delegation were President David Pressly, other senior officers of the association, and selected builders, including multifamily developer Jim Simpson, of Wood Partners.

The Fed is concerned with weakness in residential real estate in almost all the 12 Fed districts. But the apartment market was noted as an area of strength, especially in the New York and Chicago areas.

Read the full story in this week's Nation's Building News.

• Multifamily Stock Index Continues Its Growth

NAHB’s Multifamily Stock Index (MFSI), has hit an all-time high, yet again. The index, which looks at 24 publicly-held U.S. firms specializing in multifamily development and construction, has outperformed the Standard & Poor’s index on a consistent basis, hitting new high-water marks repeatedly in 2006.

The MFSI is featured in the Multifamily Market Outlook e-newsletter that Hotline readers will receive later this week. For more information, e-mail Ann Marie Moriarty.

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Association News: NAHB Works with NAACP, Learns with TCAH, Plays with NFL
 

• NAHB/NAACP Work Together to Remove Barriers to Housing Opportunity

The National Association of Home Builders and the NAACP have released a report, “Building on a Dream,” that assesses the state of minority housing and examines barriers to housing choice and affordability. It concludes with a series of joint policy recommendations designed to improve minority housing opportunity. The report notes that despite recent gains in minority homeownership rates, the homeownership rate for African Americans is 20% below the national average. Half of all African Americans live in unaffordable, inadequate or crowded housing. A shortage of workforce housing in many metropolitan areas creates especially severe problems for minorities, even those employed in key community support occupations, such as police officers, teachers, firefighters and healthcare workers.
 
The full report can be found at www.nahb.org/buildingonadream. It assesses some of the barriers to housing choice and affordability for minority families, including:  
  
* A lack of homebuyer education for minorities
* Excessive development regulations that drive up the cost of housing
* Predatory lending practices that increase the cost of mortgages and the risk of default
* Restrictions on multifamily housing that diminish the supply of moderately priced for-sale and rental housing, and
* Fair Housing Act violations that diminish minority families’ access to quality housing in many neighborhoods.

 In the effort to address these and other barriers to minority housing opportunity, the NAACP and NAHB have developed a set of nine policy recommendations and related action steps, including: 

*Ensure that state and local regulatory activities do not—regardless of intent—violate the Fair Housing Act by disproportionately pricing minorities out of the housing market.
*Encourage local planning and zoning boards to accommodate a range of housing types that meet the needs of families across the economic spectrum and to acknowledge the importance of housing opportunity in their decision-making
*Encourage government legislators, regulators and administrators to remove and avoid lengthy and costly approval processes and excessive development standards that unnecessarily drive up the cost of housing
*Increase funding for federal housing programs, such as HOME, Section 8 rental assistance vouchers and Community Development Block Grants, in order to keep pace with the growing gap between incomes and rising housing costs
*Maintain all existing housing preferences in the federal tax code, including the mortgage interest deduction, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, and deductions for residential property taxes.

In addition to joint work on the report, the NAACP and NAHB are engaged in joint litigation in Texas to stop one city from imposing exclusionary development regulations that would push the cost of housing beyond the means of many families, in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Read the full story in Nation's Building News.

• Affordable Housing Conference Focuses on the Gulf Region

The Campaign for Affordable Housing’s (CAH) 2006 Annual Conference will take place in Houston, Sept. 27 and 28. Many of the sessions will address the problems brought on by last year’s hurricanes in the Gulf coast region, and in the cities—including Houston—that have been so hospitable to those who arrived as strangers  with few resources and many housing and non-housing related needs.

Read more about it in the Campaign’s newsletter, and visit the Campaign’s Web site to register.

• Football Fever Hits Builders
  
  Join other NAHB members to play in the Builders Football League (BFL) on HGTVPro.com—the free, online pro football "pick 'em" contest with a special league for NAHB members. Playing is free, fun and easy―and participants have a chance to win weekly prizes or the grand prize—a Panasonic 61-inch high definition TV—at the end of the season.

There are two ways to join, and the first step in each is to go to HGTVPro.com's Builders Football League. Then either log in and join the NAHB League, using the password: BEATJERRY, or log in and join the 20 Club League (for 20 Club members only) and use the password: 20Power.

Then pick the winning teams each week from Sunday's NFL football match-ups. Helpful "pick" tools and stats make the game fun for rookies and veterans alike. Earn bonus points playing against top TV celebrities and NAHB CEO Jerry Howard (Howard is an avid Oakland Raiders fan).  Play against your friends, HBA colleagues and co-workers by joining the NAHB League within the BFL. Keep track of your prowess. While the season began on Sept 7, you still can play and win weekly prizes!

To join the Builders Football League and begin picking winners, click here. For more information, go to www.nahb.org/bfl.

Calendar: HCG Issues Forum, Fall Board, Multi-Housing World; Awards, more...
 

• Surviving the High Cost Squeeze: Strategies for Tax Credit Developers – Sept. 13

NAHB’s Housing Credit Group – members involved with low-income housing tax credit development – will present a one-day Issues Forum in Salt Lake City, in conjunction with the Fall Board of Directors Meeting. View the details online at this link to the NAHB Web site.

• NAHB Fall Board of Directors Meeting – Sept. 13-17

View this page for the schedule of committee meetings and events, including the Multifamily Board of Directors meeting and the Whirlpool reception.

• Multi-Housing World – Chicago – Sept. 19-21

Multi-Housing World will take place at the McCormick Place convention center in Chicago this fall, and offers three full days of educational opportunities, plus special multifamily networking events, and a show floor of products and services. Visit the show’s Web site for more details.

• SAFE Awards Deadline Approaching – Sept. 22

If your company has a great safety program and track record, consider entering the Multifamily Safety Program of the Year category in NAHB’s SAFE awards. Or, if you have a terrific relationship with a stellar OSHA official, nominate that person in the Federal and State Plan OSHA Official of the Year category. For a full list of categories and all the information you’ll need to enter this low-cost, high-importance  awards program, visit the SAFE awards page on NAHB’s Web site.

• Rescheduled NAHB Trade Mission to Mexico – Nov. 12-14
  
  Join NAHB’s Trade Mission and explore the exciting business opportunities in México’s Vallarta/Nayarit high-end residential, resort, and retirement market! Private briefings will be conducted by government and industry experts from FONATUR (México’s Trust for Tourism Development), FIBBA, (Fideicomiso Bahia de Banderas), the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and Stewart Title Guaranty de México. Participants will have one-on-one meetings with builder/developer members of México’s Construction Industry Chamber (CMIC) and visit a variety of projects including residential developments, resorts, a future retirement community, and land available for purchase and development.  Please click here to reference the draft agenda for more details. To register, complete the registration form and e-mail it to mboyce@nahb.com or fax it to the attention of Michael Boyce at 202-266-8120. Please note: The participant fee does not include travel and hotel expenses.

• Sunbelt Builders Show – Grapevine, TX – Nov. 16-18

There will be a new and enthusiastic Multifamily presence at the Sunbelt Builder’s show in Texas this fall, held at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, TX, part of the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex. Register before Oct. 30, and receive a free Expo-only pass for an employee. For more information, visit the show Web site.

• Multifamily Entries Welcomed in NAHB’s Green Building Awards Competition

Multifamily builders, developers and architects can enter NAHB’s National Green Building Awards, which recognize individuals, companies and organizations for helping to move green into the mainstream of the housing industry through their designs and construction practices.

New this year is a green land development award, which honors resource-efficient site design and development practices, including onsite recycling, preservation of trees and innovative storm water retention features. The annual awards will be presented during ceremonies at the association’s National Green Building Conference, which will be held in St. Louis on March 25 to 27.

The awards include a category honoring Multifamily achievement. For project awards, construction must have been started by June 2005 and substantially completed by December 2006. To enter by mail, send a hard copy and a disk of the completed application. For an application form and instructions on how to send logos, project photos and other artwork, click here. Members are invited to submit a completed application package by Dec. 29, 2006. For additional information, e-mail Emily English at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8366.

Resources: Free Online Video Helps Builders Work with Media
When a reporter calls, you don’t have to panic. A free, new video from NAHB provides members and HBAs with pointers on how to talk to reporters when contacted for interviews for stories. The video, “Communicating Effectively with the Media,” and an accompanying tip sheet, can be accessed on the “members only” side of the NAHB Web site by clicking here.

With home building a top issue among local, regional and national news organizations, the quick, seven-minute video summarizes what to do when contacted by a reporter; how to prepare for an interview; how to respond to reporters' questions; how to avoid common mistakes people make when conducting an interview; and more. The video also provides a superb refresher to NAHB’s spokesperson training program.

To access the new NAHB media relations video and tip sheet, visit www.nahb.org/mediaguide on the “members only” side of the NAHB Web site. In addition to the media relations video, NAHB offers its members a host of other public relations resources tools, including a PR Toolkit, Spokesperson training and talking points on relevant issues. All of these resources can be found on the NAHB Web site by clicking here. You can also e-mail Paul Lopez at NAHB Public Relations for help, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8409. [return to top]