Starting the new year off right,
more than 105,000 housing professionals gathered in Orlando this month to make the 2006 International Builders' Show the most successful and well-attended annual convention in NAHB's history.

This year's show filled the Orange County Convention Center with a record 967,000 square feet of exhibits showcasing the most innovative products and services created specifically for the residential and light commercial construction industries. While it's impossible to report on everything that happened at the show in a single issue, check out the Jan. 23 edition of Nation's Building News Online for the most comprehensive coverage. Stories below contain a few of the highlights, including election results for NAHB's 2006 Senior Officer team, our newly announced membership total, resolutions passed by the Board of Directors, Rep. Michael Oxley's comments to the Board, special award announcements and the introduction of an exclusive new NAHB membership sponsor. 

Keep in mind, 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.

Your new NAHB Senior Officer team for 2006,
duly elected during the International Builders' Show in Orlando, is already hard at work representing the interests of our members across the country.

2006 NAHB President David Pressly is a small-market builder and developer from Statesville, NC, where he previously served as the city's mayor. He has built single-family, multifamily and commercial projects and is dedicated to communicating the value of NAHB membership for builders and their affiliates nationwide.

First Vice President Brian Catalde is a builder/ developer from Playa del Rey, CA. He has been a driving force in the Southern California home building industry for the past 30 years, where he has developed and built single-family, multifamily and commercial projects.

Vice President/Treasurer Sandy Dunn is a second-generation home builder from Point Pleasant, WV. She owns and operates B.J. Builders, Inc., which specializes in single-family, entry-level homes.

Vice President/Secretary Joe Robson was elected to the NAHB leadership ladder without opposition at the IBS. A self-proclaimed "political animal," Joe is a builder/developer from Broken Arrow, OK.

Immediate Past President Dave Wilson officially completed his presidential tenure during the 2006 IBS, having led the U.S. housing industry during one of its best years on record. He will continue to help direct NAHB activities and priorities as part of the official NAHB Senior Officer team this year.

Executive Vice President/CEO Jerry Howard continues in his position as Chief Executive Officer of NAHB. Formerly NAHB's chief lobbyist, he brings more than 17 years of lobbying and association experience to the job. [return to top]

Breaking news on Mexican cement imports
brought applause from NAHB on Jan. 19. The U.S. Commerce Department announced on that day that it has reached an agreement-in-principle with the Mexican government to settle a 16-year dispute on anti-dumping duties on imports of Mexican cement. Eventually, this agreement should lead to free trade of an essential building material that has been in short supply for builders in more than 30 states. The proposed settlement, which is scheduled to go into effect this spring, calls for the U.S. to reduce duties on imported Mexican cement to $3 per ton from $26 per ton and to permit importation of 3 million metric tons of the material annually, up from approximately 2 million metric tons last year. Most importantly, after three years, the duties and quotas would disappear entirely.

This is great news after NAHB has repeatedly urged the Commerce Department to overturn the costly tariffs and improve the flow of cement to the U.S. in order to alleviate construction delays and housing affordability concerns in this country. NAHB also provided Commerce with specific data on states and other geographic areas that have been most affected by the shortages. The new accord is specifically structured to allow Florida and the Gulf Coast region — which are rebuilding after the recent hurricanes — to significantly increase their shipments of Mexican cement. It also provides the flexibility to allow President Bush to direct an additional 200,000 metric tons of cement to areas hit by natural disasters. More details are in our press release, or contact Jason Lynn, x8307.

Bottom line for NAHB members: Your association had a role in achieving a nearly 90% reduction in tariffs on this essential building material and expanding much-needed supplies for builders in disaster recovery zones and other parts of the country. NAHB's representation of 225,000 members gave us a strong voice that could not be ignored by the Commerce Secretary or other key government policymakers. [return to top]

NAHB's official membership tally is now 225,000
according to 2005 Membership Committee Chair Lynne Pratt, who reported to the Board of Directors in Orlando. Lynne also told the board about a sophisticated, three-part direct mail campaign that is being implemented to help improve every member's understanding of what membership in their local, state and national association means to them. This campaign is comprised of, first, a Question & Answer Card Deck that was sent to all 2005 new members in October and will also be sent to all 2006 new members. Second is the 2006 NAHB Member Benefit Calendar, which was recently sent to every NAHB member.  The final part of the trio is our newly published Member Reference Guide, which will be sent to all 2004, 2005 and 2006 new members — nearly 150,000 people altogether. 

One last but very important item on Lynne's agenda was to welcome NAHB's new exclusive membership sponsor  — the Whirlpool Corporation — which has generously signed on to a three-year agreement. Our sincere thanks goes to Whirlpool for this substantial demonstration of its support for NAHB membership. For more information, contact Emily Fitzsimmons at x8354.

Remember, the greater our membership, the more powerful voice NAHB has to represent you and the national housing industry — and the greater potential there is for marshalling the support of our grassroots membership to accomplish a common goal. [return to top]

Our Board heard from Rep. Michael Oxley (R-OH),
who traveled to Orlando to comment on prospects for reforming oversight of the housing-related government sponsored enterprises (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks). Oxley, who chairs the all-important House Financial Services Committee, said the consensus in Congress is to "solve the GSE problem once and for all." Indeed, his committee overwhelmingly approved the NAHB-supported "Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005" last year. Now Chairman Oxley looks forward to reconciling that bill with much less favorable companion legislation coming out of the Senate. He also plans to advance legislation to reform the National Flood Insurance Program and an FHA  zero downpayment pilot program championed by Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH). Read more on Oxley's comments in the upcoming NBN Online, or contact Michael Strauss at x8252.

NAHB's participation in the ongoing debate over GSE reform is aimed at preserving our nation's world-class housing finance system, which ensures ready access to capital for both home buyers and apartment builders. Such credit is the lifeblood of the housing industry. [return to top]

Home builders' views of post-Katrina recovery efforts
and suggestions for improving the federal government's response were supplied by 2004 NAHB President Bobby Rayburn and custom home builder and active NAHB member Randy Noel at the request of the House Financial Services Committee during special hearings held in Gulfport, MS and New Orleans this month. With more than 50 years of collective experience in home building on and near the Gulf Coast, Bobby and Randy were well prepared to offer their recommendations of things the government can do to speed up the rebuilding process in devastated areas. 

For example, Bobby suggested that FEMA should revisit its application of the "50 Percent Substantial Damage Rule," which requires that any home that suffers a greater than 50% drop in its pre-hurricane value must be rebuilt in accordance with the latest Base Flood Elevation. He also noted that state officials need to initiate a more open dialogue with home builders in order to come up with creative strategies to help local communities. Each builder also made a point of calling attention to the critical shortage of skilled tradesmen to help carry out the massive recovery effort, and the need for more streamlined permitting and reduced regulatory hurdles.

Please read the next edition of Nation's Building News Online for details. [return to top]

Resolutions passed by the Board
during its 2006 IBS meeting are now available for your review online. These establish official NAHB policy on the following topics:

1) Res. #1 — Federal Assistance for Disaster Recovery and Relief

2) Res. #2 — Mortgage Revenue Bond Reform

3) Res. #3 — Converting Unused Private Activity Bond Cap Into LIHTCs

4) Rec. #6 — Disaster Relief: Advance Financing Mechanism for Building Materials

5) Res. #7 — National Flood Insurance Program

Please direct questions about resolutions stemming from the 2006 IBS Board Meeting to Jay Shackford at x8406. [return to top]

The latest housing stats
from NAHB and government sources reveal that builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes is leveling off at a relatively high mark even as an anticipated year-end slowdown in housing starts has been confirmed. The latest news on starts, reported by the U.S. Commerce Department on Jan. 19, indicates that housing production slowed by nearly 9% in December to a 1.93 million-unit seasonally adjusted rate. Yet, even with this expected softening, 2005 had the second-highest number of overall housing starts of any year in history (2.06 million units) and had the all-time highest number of single-family starts (1.71 million). This marks the third consecutive year of record-breaking single-family housing production. As for the December shortfall, "This report is an indication that the market is returning to a healthy and more sustainable pace, and is in line with what our builder surveys have been telling us," said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. Read more about it in our press release.

Meanwhile, the Jan. 18 release of the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) revealed that recent mortgage-rate declines and rising consumer confidence have helped to stabilize the confidence and market expectations of single-family home builders. The HMI held steady at 57 for the second month in a row following a six-month slide from peak levels in mid-2005. For more information, see our press release or the HMI tables online.

NAHB's expert economists are constantly analyzing the current and expected state of the nation's housing market and economy, for purposes of keeping our members informed and educating the national media. Through www.nahb.org and our Economics team, NAHB members have access to assessments of market trends, current forecasts, and in-depth analysis of essential economic data that you can apply to make sound business decisions. [return to top]

A historic partnership agreement
between NAHB and Mexico's construction industry chamber was signed during the 2006 IBS. 2005 NAHB President Dave Wilson and Netzahualcoytle Salvatierra Lopez, president of the Camara Mexicana de la Industria de la Construccion, were the signatories. In essence, this new partnership will allow NAHB and our colleagues from Mexico to work together to create more accessible trade channels and to exchange technology and skills in order to improve the quality, affordability and efficiency of the home building process in both our countries. This agreement is the latest positive offshoot of the landmark Partnership for Prosperity alliance established by U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexico President Vicente Fox in February of 2001. It should enhance cross-border ties and provide greater business and trade opportunities for the housing sector, which in turn will contribute to the economies of both the U.S. and Mexico. Read more about this landmark agreement in our press release, or contact Rita Feinberg, x8415.

This partnership agreement is a classic example of how your NAHB membership can work at an international level to expand trade channels and business opportunities through means that may not otherwise be available to the individual builder or associate. [return to top]

Spotlighting the best and brightest in our industry,
quite a few awards presentations were made during the International Builders' Show. This is not intended to be a complete listing, but is a representative sample of the awards that were handed out in Orlando.

Innovation in Workforce Housing Awards — bestowed by NAHB on five developers who have overcome market and regulatory challenges to build high-quality workforce housing. (Click on the link to view recipients.)

The 2006 Disability Initiative Award — bestowed by NAHB and sponsored by the National Organization on Disability and the National Housing Endowment, this $1,000 cash award went to the HBA of Metropolitan Denver for helping more than 500 disabled individuals through its Home Builders Foundation program. (More details at the link provided.)

2006 Best of Seniors Housing Awards — NAHB's 50+ Housing Council presented 132 gold and silver awards in 58 categories to current and on-the-boards projects from across the United States and as far away as Japan during a special ceremony held at the IBS. (Click on the link for more info.)

2006 Gold, Silver and Regional "Nationals" Awards — bestowed by NAHB's National Sales and Marketing Council during a special gala event at IBS, these prestigious awards were given to the best of more than 1,400 entrants. See our press release for Community of the Year Gold award winners and Individual Achievement Honors, or visit www.thenationals.com for a complete listing of all of this year's recipients.

Builder Achievement Awards for Outstanding Community Service — recognizing the exceptional philanthropic endeavors, community service and charitable projects performed by the housing industry every year, the National Housing Endowment honored eight builders with these special awards for the first time in 2006. (Click on the link for more info.)

The 2005 National Housing Endowment Home Builders Care Community Service Project of the Year Award — The HBA of Central New York earned this substantial honor for its support of a pediatric respite house for children with disabilities. (See the link for more info.)

NAHB awards provide well-earned recognition for our members while helping improve the image of home builders nationwide in the media as well as among consumers, politicians, policymakers and the general public.

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