Important NAHB member resources for 2006
are updated, online, and ready for your use. From our online Sales & Marketing Channel, to the latest housing and economic data, to great member discounts from our affinity partners, and more, see below for some amazing NAHB benefits that can make your membership pay for itself!

Sales and Marketing Channel — NAHB's National Sales and Marketing Council (NSMC) recently launched a new online home sales and reference center to help marketing professionals expand their knowledge and build their skills. Unveiled at the 2006 IBS, it features articles and info from leading professionals on topics ranging from advertising and branding to merchandising, public relations, sales training, builder-broker relations, and more. The channel also includes up-to-the-minute research and survey results. Access is free for our NSMC members, $45 annually for NAHB council members and $110 annually for non-council members. The channel is NOT available to non-NAHB members. Read more about this valuable resource in NBN Online.

Housing Economics Online — NAHB members have access to mounds of free information at this important site, plus the ability to subscribe for more in-depth analysis in special reports. Here you will find everything from PowerPoint presentations used by our top economists at the IBS, to the latest housing market statistics (starts, permits, sales, mortgage rates, and home prices), to subscriber-only housing and economic forecasts. Contact: Karel Leon, x8476.  

2006 Storm Water Permitting Guide — The 2006 edition of "Storm Water Permitting: A Guide for Builders and Developers" is now available at a discount for NAHB members from BuilderBooks.com. This new edition is designed to help you get through the inspection process with confidence at a time when the EPA has made storm water permits an enforcement priority. The guide includes a CD-ROM with state-specific permits, forms and guidance, and is available to you at a discounted cost of $49.95 ($64.95 for non-members). Call 800-223-2665 or click on the first link in this paragraph to order.

Online Business Management Tools — If you haven't checked out this part of NAHB's Web site recently, you're bound to be impressed at what you can find here. From accounting and financial managment tools such as NAHB's Chart of Accounts, to tips on business and strategic planning, to helpful information on computer and information technology, and more, most of what's here is free to NAHB members, and NAHB members only.

NAHB Subject and Staff Contact Directories — Of course, some of the best resources NAHB has to offer our members are our staff experts in all kinds of subjects. Have a question about a land development issue? A codes conundrum? These helpful online resources will help you find out who to contact, and how. No NAHB member should be kept in the dark!

HBA Resources — From important alerts on timely industry issues that may affect your HBA, to essential education tools, helpful communications vehicles, and public relations tools, every EO and HBA should be aware of the data available at this part of the nahb.org Web site.

Contact Congress Letter-Writing Web Site — Take action on the issues affecting your business by signing on to already written letters on specific subjects, or amending those letters to reflect your own views, at our letter-writing Web site. This site will automatically address and send your letters to your specific members of Congress.

Legal Affairs Resources — Find out about the many expert legal services available to you as an NAHB member, including but not limited to our Legal Research Program, our Legal Action Fund and Member Litigation Strategy, and our Legal Ordinance Review Program.  (Please note, you will need to be logged in as a member to the www.nahb.org Web site to view this information.)

State & Local Resources — Here you'll find helpful information on impact fees, ballot issues, emerging legislative issues, how jurisdictions nationwide are approaching infrastructure financing, and other key issues on the state and local front.

Great Member Discounts — NAHB has a number of affinity programs that entitle our members to special discounts on everything from Dell computers, to DHL Delivery Services, Hertz rental cars, and payroll processing services, to name just a few. In fact, a brand new offer from GM that's exclusively for NAHB members gives you $500 off most GM passenger cars, light-duty trucks, vans and SUVs in 2006. This month, all qualified NAHB members should receive GM NAHB Affinity Cards and details on this offer. Be sure to hold on to that affinity card, because you'll need it if you decide to purchase a vehicle and want to take advantage of the discount. Read more about this particular program in NBN Online, or talk to Tiffany Smith (x8273) or Rand Cheadle (x8430).

Educational Events and Seminars — NAHB members get discounted admittance to dozens of educational events that are designed specifically with you in mind. A comprehensive calendar of upcoming events is available online.

The above is by no means intended to be a complete list of NAHB member benefits — rather, it is intended to acquaint, or reacquaint, readers with some of the newly updated resources that are available to you. The more you use such resources, the more your membership pays for itself. But even if you don't use them much, it's easy to forget that your NAHB membership dollar is working for you every day that our lobbyists are fighting for your interests on Capitol Hill, our regulatory specialists are working with policymakers to improve the climate in which your business operates, and our national association is providing resources and expertise to help your local HBA help you.

Keeping the momentum going for ESA reform,
NAHB is doing all we can to facilitate the U.S. Senate's eventual consideration of legislation to modernize the Endangered Species Act. As we've reported to you before, NAHB was successful in pushing for House passage of favorable reform legislation, but the effort faces an uphill battle in the Senate. Anticipating a contentious battle, Senators Lincoln Chafee (R) and Hillary Clinton (D) asked that a special working group be convened by the Keystone Center for Science and Public Policy in Keystone, CO to try to identify specific solutions to questions posed by members of the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee. NAHB was tapped to participate as a representative of the home building community, and we've supplied our insights wherever possible. This past week, we hosted and contributed to a third meeting of the Keystone Group that was aimed at building greater consensus on the difficult and unresolved issues at hand. Contacts: Jason Lynn (x8307) or Christopher Galik (x8663).

Although updating and improving the ESA is a complicated process, NAHB is glad to be at the table representing our members in the discussion, and we continue to work for a law that can achieve its goal of species conservation while avoiding costly regulations that stymie economic development and needlessly challenge the development of necessary housing. [return to top]

Wood framing can enhance disaster resistance,
according to an important one-hour PBS documentary that cites data from the American Forest & Paper Association's American Wood Council (AWC). AWC Executive Director Robert Glowinski, who was interviewed for the program, explains that the flexibility of wood helps structures that are built with it to withstand earthquake forces. Also throughout the program, experts explain how wood can play an important role in helping designers, builders and home owners make their homes more disaster-resistant. The AF&PA, the national trade association of the forest, pulp, paper, paperboard and wood products industry, is a member of the National Council of the Housing Industry — the Supplier 100 of NAHB, and AFPA CEO Aubra Anthony spoke to NAHB's Executive, Budget and Resolutions committees at their joint meeting while in Orlando. The PBS program is available for viewing in two 30-minute segments at www.itvisus.com/programs/homes/watch.asp, or check your local listings.  [return to top]

An important new program to promote careers in home building
was announced by NAHB's workforce development arm, the Home Builders Institute (HBI), during the International Builders' Show in Orlando this month. Called "Make it Happen," this important campaign will showcase the full range of skills underlying the variety of careers in residential construction. HBI plans to use colorful, high-impact tools, including a brochure, a poster, a four-minute video and a new Web site (http://www.buildingcareers.org/) to get its message out. Using these new tools, HBI is reaching out to groups such as Junior Achievement, the PTA and the American School Counselor Association, as well as to local HBAs. Helping  "Make it Happen" get off the ground, NAHB's philanthropic arm, the National Housing Endowment, made an initial $75,000 donation during the last Spring Board of Directors Meeting. Get more on this important new program, or order campaign materials, by contacting Deanna Lewis at HBI (800-795-7955), x8927.

As HBI Chairman Michael Sivage noted in announcing this program to NAHB directors in Orlando, "'Make it Happen' will help share our industry's message of opportunity with thousands of young people, letting them know that no matter what their talents or skills, home building has a place for them." Bottom line for NAHB members — NAHB is helping secure tomorrow's workforce at a time when the number of skilled tradesmen in some professions is in increasingly short supply. [return to top]

Year-end new-home sales numbers
released by the Commerce Department on Jan. 27 indicate that reports of a slowing housing market may be somewhat premature. At least, sales of newly built, single-family homes rose nearly 3% in December, and were up 6.6% for all of 2005 compared to 2004. This means that, as expected, new-home sales broke an annual record in 2005, hitting 1.23 million units. That said, builders and economists alike are anticipating some cooling of home sales in 2006 as the market settles in to a comfortable and still healthy pace. The inventory of new homes for sale at the end of 2005 was 516,000 — a 4.9-month supply at the latest sales pace. (Of this total, 21% of units were not yet started.) See our press release for details of NAHB's analysis. [return to top]

Your last chance to win a $500 Home Depot gift card,
courtesy of NAHB Online Relations, is this Tuesday, Jan. 31. All active NAHB members, HBA staff and Executive Officers are eligible — simply enter your NAHB username on our Web site to enter the contest. Only one entry is allowed per person, and the rules are available online. Contact: Linda Keens, x8134 for details.

Logging on to www.nahb.org and providing your email address does more than enter you to win a prize — it gives you access to thousands of members-only resources to which you are entitled as a member of the National Association of Home Builders. [return to top]

On TV this weekend: 250+ NAHB Student Chapter members!
Once again, the popular television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will feature NAHB affiliates proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that home builders really do care about their communities. If you're among the many readers who check out this report before Monday morning, you may have a chance to catch the show, which airs Sunday, Jan. 29 at 8:00 pm on ABC.

If not, here's the scoop: ABC contacted the Stylecraft home building company, based in College Station, TX, to build a home for a deserving local family. When Stylecraft appealed for volunteers to help with this project, more than 250 Student Chapter volunteers from Texas A&M University showed up to make the grade. Amazingly, the home was completely built in just six days — including the time it took to tear down the previous house!  Congratulations to everyone who chipped in to make this project such a success while improving the life of one deserving family more than anyone could imagine.

NAHB's Student Chapters are another way that we're reaching out to help supply the workforce of tomorrow's home builders. And our representation on such a popular show does everyone in our industry proud while expanding the public's understanding of what home builders are all about. Such publicity can go a long way to improving public relations, breaking down unfair stereotypes of builders in the media, and cultivating goodwill within communities. [return to top]

Upcoming events you won't want to miss:

March 12-14	National Green Building Conference	Albuquerque, N.M.
March 12	National Green Building Awards	Albuquerque, N.M.
April 2-5	2006 NAHB Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Conference and Awards Gala	Scottsdale, Ariz.
April 24-26	Building for Boomers and Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium 2006	Phoenix, Ariz.
April 27	Construction Forecast Conference — Spring 2006	Washington, D.C.
May 10-14	Spring Board of Directors Meeting	Washington, D.C.
June 5-7	2006 NAHB/BALA Design Institute for Builders	Charlotte, N.C.
Aug. 1-6	2006 EOC Seminar	Uncasville, Conn.
Aug. 3	2005 EOC Association Excellence Awards	Uncasville, Conn.
Sept. 13-17	Fall Board of Directors Meeting	Salt Lake City, Utah
Oct. 27-29	2006 Custom Builder Symposium	Las Vegas, Nev.

To view more meetings and events information on the NAHB Web site, click here. [return to top]