| January 29, 2007 |
By David Pressly
NAHB President and
Jerry Howard
NAHB Executive VP and CEO |
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NAHB received a good word from the Treasury Secretary
this week that should be music to the ears of the nation's home builders.
 NAHB President David Pressly was joined by NAHB President-Elect Brian Catalde and CEO/EVP Jerry Howard when he met with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson along with other representatives of the real estate sector on Jan. 24. The purpose of the gathering was to update Paulson on the state of the nation's housing market with regard to the national economy, with other topics ranging from oversight reform efforts for the housing government sponsored enterprises to tax policy and banking regulations. By far the most encouraging outcome of the meeting was the one word response that Paulson gave to a question about whether the Bush Administration planned to pursue any "significant" tax reform efforts this year (which could affect the mortgage interest deduction or other housing-related tax preferences that are so vital to our industry). The answer was a definite "no." We hope this means that the tax simplification recommendations made by a presidential tax panel last winter are essentially off the table, at least for the time being. That would be very good news for NAHB, which has worked diligently to make sure the panel's recommendations never see the light of day.
NAHB Member Benefit: The Secretary's answer this week follows more than a year of substantial efforts by NAHB to ensure that the president's tax panel recommendations from November 2005 would not be implemented. Those recommendations included a dangerous plan that would have substantially weakened the mortgage interest deduction and eliminated other housing incentives in the federal tax code. Unquestionably NAHB's efforts in this regard have helped safeguard the best interests of our members and their customers nationwide.
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Doing the rounds on Capitol Hill,
NAHB President-Elect
 Brian Catalde this week initiated a whirlwind tour in which NAHB lobbyists plan to visit each of the 535 House and Senate offices on Capitol Hill as we lay the groundwork for our legislative agenda in the weeks ahead. Each lawmaker is being presented with a brochure that explains the housing mission of NAHB; provides an overview of the important economic role that housing plays at the local, state and national levels; and outlines policy concerns that are important to members of the housing community. Equally important, Brian held one-on-one meetings with key committee chairs and other members of the congressional leadership, during which he stressed NAHB priorities regarding oversight reform for the housing government sponsored enterprises and comprehensive immigration reform, among others.
Brian personally met with Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Select Revenue, as well as Rep. Jim McCrery (R-LA), Ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, to discuss NAHB tax priorities in the new Congress. He also met with Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Charles Schumer (D-NY), National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Ensign (R-NV) and National Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) to discuss how NAHB can help elect pro-housing candidates to Congress. Finally, Brian discussed the House legislative agenda with House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and House Chief Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA).
Complementing our Hill visits and the "Welcome to Congress" brochure, NAHB also ran full-page ads in the Jan. 20 and Jan. 27 editions of National Journal (pictured above) with a welcome message and our promise to work with Congress to "keep the dream of homeownership and affordable rental housing alive." For more information, see the next edition of NBN Online or contact Jim Tobin, x8258.
NAHB Member Benefit: Representing 235,000 members who employ millions of workers nationwide, NAHB is a credible and respected presence on Capitol Hill. Because we are officially a nonpartisan association that supports housing-friendly candidates on both sides of the aisle, we are well positioned to work with the new Congress to advance housing opportunity and builder issues going forward. When it comes right down to it, NAHB is your primary advocate and watchdog in Washington.
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A new process for appointing FHLBank public interest directors
 is now in effect and may be of interest to certain NAHB members. Those wanting to apply for the position at any of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks can go online to view the new rule that was just approved by the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) on Jan. 18. That rule makes each FHLBank board responsible for conducting a preliminary assessment of candidates in its district and forwarding the most qualified candidates to the FHFB for its consideration. Applicants are required to complete and submit new eligibility forms (available on the www.fhfb.gov Web site), but the rule also allows them to attach a resume providing additional information on business, professional or educational achievements that may not be solicited by the form.
Those who are interested in becoming a candidate for one of the 57 seats that are currently vacant on the 12 boards should submit their forms and resumes to the appropriate district board as soon as possible, as the bank boards must submit their list of candidates to the FHFB by March 31. As part of this process, the boards are allowed to include twice as many candidates as there are directorships to fill. Read more in NBN Online, or contact Donna Ely at x8529.
NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB is committed to keeping our members informed about opportunities to become more involved in establishing and evaluating the housing-related policies that effect all of our businesses. Morevover, with regard to the FHLBank directorships, as an interested party and respected institution within the housing industry, NAHB is enabled to make recommendations to the boards of the Federal Home Loan Banks on behalf of our well-qualified members.
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A 4.8% jump in new-home sales this December
was the latest good news for home builders when reported by the U.S. Census Department on Jan. 26. The report is in line with NAHB's most recent builder surveys, which show that traffic of prospective buyers is up and consumers are responding favorably to price adjustments and widespread sales incentives. The year-end numbers revealed that for all of 2006, new-home sales were down just over 17% from the all-time high achieved in 2005, which was the sharpest decline since 1990. Even so, the 2006 sales level of 1.06 million units was on par with the solid sales numbers registered in 2003, which preceded the unsustainable housing boom of 2004 and 2005. According to NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders, "The stabilization of home sales and housing demand that we are now seeing is the first step required to put the housing market back on track. The second step is to whittle down the inventory overhang, which builders have been doing since July, and the final step will be to bring housing starts back up to sustainable levels." Read more in NAHB's press release or see the government's report online.
NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB's expert analysis helps you understand the implications of housing figures that are regularly released by the federal government, and provides context and valuable insights for media reports on the current state of the housing industry. NAHB does extensive outreach to print, radio and TV media outlets when such numbers are announced, thereby ensuring that the views of the home building industry are well represented and helping discourage unobjective reporting on the state of the housing market. Contact Paul Lopez (x8409) for help dealing with media inquires regarding the latest government figures.
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Take a test drive of NAHB's online House Price Estimator
 and tell your clients about this great new tool! It's a helpful means of determining exactly what makes some properties more expensive than others, allowing you to plug in a variety of home and location characteristics to find out how various factors affect home values. Created by NAHB's housing economics department, the House Price Estimator uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Housing Survey.
Not surprisingly, the model shows that waterfront locations have the most significant positive effect on home values in every census region and in every type of setting. For example, being on the waterfront raises the value of a standard home in a Midwest suburb by 43%, or $92,000, and the value of a standard home in the nonmetropolitan South by 44%, or $75,000. In the central city of a large California metro area, being near water costs you even more – a 41% premium amounting to $243,000. Meanwhile, the single characteristic with the largest negative effect on home value is the presence of abandoned buildings within one-half block or roughly 300 feet of a home. Read more about it in our press release, or try it out for yourself at: http://www.nahb.org/estimator. Contact: Paul Emrath, x8449.
NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB Economics produces tools like this one, as well as surveys, expert analysis and other products, to help expand the public's understanding of the value of homeownership while assisting our members in their daily business operations.
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A new NAHB study of remodeling market trends
sheds valuable light on the direction of this thriving industry. The survey, which was conducted over the first three quarters of 2006 using data from our monthly Remodeling Market Index, is summarized in a special report in HousingEconomics.com this week. Interestingly, one thing the survey found is that rising energy prices last year apparently had little impact on demand for jobs related to improving residential energy efficiency. Meanwhile, the most common jobs that remodelers tackled throughout the year were kitchen renovations, with 75% of respondents indicating they had been hired for that purpose. The next most popular jobs included bathroom remodels (67%) followed by room additions (57%), whole-house remodeling (44%), window and door replacements (40%) and bathroom additions (32%). The survey also reveals that many Americans apparently have little understanding of the concept of "aging in place," where homes are modified with grab bars, low-threshold entrances, roll-in showers, and other elements to allow owners to remain in them longer. Only 8% of remodelers said they thought "most" consumers know about aging in place, while 70% said "some" consumers are familiar with the idea. Read more about this important survey in NBN Online, or contact Gopal Ahluwalia (x8480) for more information.
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 remodeling industry nationwide. This credibility with the media ensures that accurate data is transmitted to potential clients and the public at large to help them make informed decisions about their home renovation plans.
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Could YOU be the builder of an HGTV Dream Home?
 If you've ever wondered what it might be like to be the designer/builder of a house that helps set trends in home building for years to come and generates massive public interest on both TV and the Internet – well, now's your chance. HGTV is looking for the right expert for the job of creating the grand prize for its HGTV Dream Home Giveaway in 2009. Just stop by the HGTVPro.com booth in the lobby of Hall B at the International Builders' Show this Feb. 7-10 in Orlando or visit HGTVPro online. According to HGTV President Judy Girard, this is "a chance for a top-notch builder/developer team to showcase its best work to a dedicated HGTV audience nationwide." The contest drew nearly 54 million entries in 2006 and can be expected to remain a major attention-getter. NBN Online has details.
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Look for the next Monday Morning Briefing on February 19.
Due to ongoing preparations for the International Builders' Show and NAHB Board of Directors meetings, the Monday Morning Briefing Letter will not publish during the next two weeks. We'll be back after The Big Show with lots of highlights and news from both events, so keep an eye out for this report in your e-mail on February 19!
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