Monday Morning Briefing Letter - 06/25/2007 (Plain Text Version)

By Brian Catalde, NAHB President and
Jerry Howard, NAHB Executive VP and CEO

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A key amendment to the immigration bill

has been offered by Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA), Max Baucus (D-MT) and Barack Obama (D-IL) and is critical to putting this important legislation back on track.

NAHB and other industry groups claimed a major victory when a seriously flawed version of the immigration reform bill was derailed in the Senate immediately following our Legislative Conference and Spring Board of Directors Meeting. However, two days after President Bush made a rare visit to Capitol Hill to make a special push for the bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced a deal late on June 14 to bring the legislation back to the Senate floor prior to that chamber's July 4 recess. The newly offered amendment, to which the Bush Administration has already noted its opposition, is one of a limited list the Senate may consider adding to the reform bill under the Reid-McConnell deal.

Unfortunately, as the immigration bill currently stands, it would punish small business owners by holding them accountable for the hiring decisions made by their subcontractors. This, in effect, would require home builders and other U.S. employers who rely on subs to join a national posse charged with verifying the legal status of millions of workers they never hired in the first place and may not have even met. The bipartisan amendment offered by Sens. Grassley, Baucus and Obama would bring greater fairness to the legislation by improving the bill's employer provisions to allow small business owners to play a constructive role in enforcing the new laws. "By ensuring that the responsibility for verifying a worker's immigration status is placed where it really belongs – with the employer who hires and pays them – the amendment offers a sensible solution to the enforcement issue," NAHB said in a statement supporting its introduction. "It also makes it possible for employers to act in good faith and to follow the new rules for determining whether a person is in the country legally." Finally, the Grassley/Baucus/Obama amendment would simplify the new federal verification system by giving employers the option of calling a national data base to determine a person's legal status at the time they are being hired. Contact Jenna Hamilton (x8407) for more information.

NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB continues to encourage our members to contact their senators in support of meaningful, comprehensive immigration reform. To do your part, visit our letter-writing campaign site online, click the "Take Action" button under "Hot Topic" and fill out a short registration form. You'll then be directed to a letter that you can modify and send under your name.

Builder confidence slipped again in June

amid continuing concerns about the subprime mortgage market as well as newfound concerns about rising prime mortgage rates. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rested at 28 this month, the lowest level in its current cycle and the lowest point since February 1991. According to NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders, "It's clear that the crisis in the subprime sector has prompted tighter lending standards in much of the mortgage market, and interest rates on prime-quality home mortgages have moved up considerably during the past month along with long-term Treasury rates." He said that home sales will most likely erode somewhat further in the months ahead and that improvements in housing starts probably will not be recorded until early next year. The resulting expectation is that housing will exert a drag on economic growth during the balance of 2007. Read our press release on the HMI or see the HMI tables online. Contacts: Gopal Ahluwalia (x8480) or Ashok Chaluvadi (x8482).

NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB's economic surveys and analysis help our members achieve a better understanding of current market trends and where they are headed, while our media outreach in this regard helps to firmly establish NAHB as the credible source of information on the housing industry nationwide. This credibility with the media ensures that accurate data on the housing market is transmitted to potential home buyers and the public at large, thereby discounting sensationalized accounts of market conditions that may affect your client's decision to purchase a new home. [return to top]

Housing starts fell 2.1% in May

to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.47 million units as the correction in the housing market continued, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department on June 19. This was down just over 24% since the same time last year. Clearly, builders are cutting back on new production as they work down their inventories in the face of slack home buyer demand. And clearly, the downswing in new housing production is still underway – although the rate of decline has slowed since last year. At this point, NAHB expects starts and permits to stabilize late this year before embarking on a systematic recovery process in 2008. Single-family starts fell 3.4% in May to a 1.17 million-unit rate, while multifamily starts rose 3.1% to a 304,000-unit rate. Meanwhile, total building permits increased 3% in May to a 1.5 million-unit pace due to a spike in multifamily permitting. Even so, total permits were down nearly 22% from the same time last year. Single-family permit issuance fell 1.8% in the month while multifamily permit issuance rose 16.5%. Read more in our press release or see the government's report for yourself online. [return to top]

Could YOU be a voting member of the International Codes Council?

NAHB is seeking more candidates for membership in the ICC who understand the home building industry and the importance of making sure that building code proposals are both practical and cost-effective. Candidates must be members of local building councils or commissions, or work as a plan reviewer or building inspector, even part time. You should also know that governmental member voting representatives can be staffers in planning and zoning departments, labor and workforce groups, state and local committees (such as a state housing finance committee) or similar volunteer governmental body – in short, anyone engaged in administering, formulating or enforcing laws and regulations related to public health, safety and welfare. NAHB members who meet the critieria are encouraged to contact ICC members in their jurisdictions to see if they can be designated as a voting representative for that member. For more info, please contact Steve Orlowski at x8303.

NAHB Member Benefit: There is no question that NAHB's efforts to educate building code officials and encourage eligible NAHB members to become voting members of the ICC played a significant role in our recently successful campaign to maintain fire sprinklers as optional, rather than mandated, equipment under the International Residential Code for all one- and two-family homes and townhouses. Looking ahead to the next code development cycle, when we are sure to face the same challenge, NAHB is strongly encouraging more of our eligible members to consider becoming a voting ICC member. [return to top]

Time to start thinking about the 2008 IBS!

It's never too early to make your plans to attend the next International Builders' Show, especially given the tremendous popularity of this world-class event in each of the last several yars. Scheduled for Wed., Feb. 13 - Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, the 2008 show promises to be the best one yet. Online registration for the show and housing is now available at www.BuildersShow.com. The headquarters hotel will once again be the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. Helping gin up interest and excitement, HGTV will present highlights of the 2007 show at 9:00 p.m. on June 24, with repeats planned throughout the summer. Contact: Meg Meyer, x8194.

NAHB Member Benefit: The builders' show is one of NAHB's biggest member benefits. It gives you access to the best networking forum, the most cutting-edge products, and incredible education seminars aimed at building your business — all at a discounted rate for NAHB members. Many members regard the IBS as hands-down the most important event to attend each year. [return to top]

Nearly $2 million in "Buy Now" ad assistance has now been awarded

to 110 HBAs nationwide as part of NAHB's very successful matching grant program designed to help turn the tide in markets that have suffered the most in the housing downturn. With a total of $3 million of assistance approved by the Board of Directors, that leaves just about $1 million worth of assistance still available, and NAHB is encouraging HBAs that have not yet received or been approved to receive grant money to apply now to the NAHB "Buy Now" Advertising Assistance Program. To be eligible for this assistance, your HBA's ads must deliver a "buy now" message, be placed in 2007 and run in markets that have experienced a major decline in home sales and housing production. Learn more about this great program on our Web site, or contact Niki Clark at x8061. You can also view a list of the HBAs that have received or been approved for grants, as well as their grant level categories, here.

NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB is receiving many reports from HBAs who have used this new program with great results, and the "Buy Now" assistance campaign is a prime example of how your NAHB membership dues dollars are being put to work for you. The idea is to help home buyers see the positives of today's housing market and drive more business to your door using tried and true advertising techniques and messages tailored to each specific market. Also, please see NAHB's Web site for a variety of "It's a Great Time to Buy" information that may come in handy. [return to top]

10 million stories have been read in NBN Online

since our association's official news publication went to a completely online format in March of 2003. This historic milestone was reached on May 30. No doubt about it, Nation's Building News Online has come a long way since it was initiated with about 80,000 subscribers and only 20,000 verified e-mail addresses of NAHB members. In the first month of its production, NBN Online tallied just over 23,000 visitors who read about 53,000 stories altogether. We now have 180,000 e-mail subscribers, 150,000 of whom are NAHB members or the employees of those members, and it's a more active readership than ever before. People are reading more stories, more often, and word of mouth continues to expand our base as new readers click on the pages of NBN every month. Another major milestone reached by NBN last month occurred when the 4 millionth visitor was registered on May 8. Thanks to all of NBN's faithful readers, this publication is a major success story for our association and its ability to communicate important messages to a broad spectrum of the home building and general public. Contact: Elliott Finkelstein, x8055.

NAHB Member Benefit: NBN Online is a major member benefit. It is the only publication regularly sent to every member of NAHB with an e-mail address on record, is completely free of charge, and provides total coverage of home building events, trends and priorities every week. [return to top]

HBAs can order bulk copies of NAHB's green building guidelines

to help promote ongoing green building programs or prepare for upcoming efforts – but act fast! NAHB's Model Green Home Building Guidelines were created specifically to help associations launch voluntary green home building certification programs. As part of the budget allocation for NAHB's new National Green Building Program that is now under development, the NAHB Board of Directors authorized a reprint of the guidelines book, including residential green building educational information and a checklist for certifying homes. These guideline books are packaged in boxes of 22 and can be mailed directly from the printer to associations for delivery in early July – provided that mailing information is sent to NAHB by June 26. The guidelines will be available after that date to both associations and members. Smaller orders will be processed beginning in July. To order your copies, e-mail Courtney Elliott with the following information:

HBA name
Contact name
Number of books requested (22 books/box)
Mailing address

For more information, contact Calli Schmidt at x8132. [return to top]

The Monday Morning Briefing will not appear on July 2

and NAHB offices will be closed on the following Wednesday for the July 4 federal holiday.

We'll be back with all the NAHB leadership news on July 9, so check your e-mail! [return to top]