| August 3, 2009 |
By Joe Robson
NAHB Chairman and
Jerry Howard
NAHB President and CEO |
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Online registration for the 2010 IBS opens this Monday,
and there's no time like the present (August 3, that is) to sign up, secure your housing and start making your travel arrangements to attend the most important industry trade show of the year.
 The 2010 International Builders' Show happens Jan. 19-22 in Las Vegas. With great new registration options and incredibly good advance rates on rooms within NAHB's hotel block, this year's big event will be more affordable for attendees than it has been in years. Check out the following deals:
- Hotel rooms less than $200 per night — register and request housing by Aug. 31
Rooms at all the Las Vegas hotels in the NAHB convention hotel block are available for under $200 a night once registration and housing open on Aug. 3. These rates are only guaranteed to attendees who register for IBS during August. Room deposits for registrations made in August will not be charged until December.
- Free exhibit passes for NAHB members — register by Dec. 11
NAHB members will be able to walk the show floor for free all four days of the show, if they register by Dec. 11. The exhibits will feature the industry’s leading suppliers displaying their latest innovations. Show exhibitors will also be available to discuss attendees’ specific challenges.
- First-time member attendee registration — reduced
Members who plan to attend IBS for the first time are eligible for the first-time attendee registration rate of $100, which enables them to attend any of more than 175 educational seminars and tour the exhibit floor all four days.
- One- and two-day education passes
New at IBS, attendees can purchase one- or two-day passes for IBS education seminars. Passes will be available for education sessions held from Tuesday through Thursday, Jan. 20-22. All seminars on Friday, Jan. 23, are free. To take advantage of these passes, attendees must choose the day(s) they will purchase when registering for the show.
For more information and to register, visit the IBS Web site at www.BuildersShow.com.
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A big boost in new-home sales this June
provided the latest evidence that the nation's housing market may finally be in the process of turning the corner. According to U.S. Commerce Department figures released July 27, sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 11% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 units. This marked a third consecutive month of improved sales activity. The gain was reflected in three out of four regions – the Northeast, Midwest and West – all of which posted double-digit increases. Yet the South, which is the nation's largest housing market, posted a 5.3% decline for the month. Meanwhile, the inventory of unsold new homes declined for a 26th consecutive month to just 281,000 units, or an 8.8-month supply at the current sales pace. In NAHB's press release reacting to the numbers, Chairman Joe Robson called attention to the fact that continued job losses remain a serious problem for the nation's economy and housing market, noting that housing can be a significant generator of good jobs and that Congress must make it a priority for this to happen.
The solid new-home sales numbers for June were followed the next day by a surprisingly positive report via the often-cited Case-Shiller Index of home prices, which recorded its first gain in three years for sales that occured this May. Read NAHB's home sales press release or contact Paul Lopez (x8409) for help with media inquiries.
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FHA-insured energy-efficient mortgages
 were the subject of a recent, welcome decision by that agency that was announced in Mortgagee Letter 2009-18. That letter reported that the FHA is raising the limits for financing improvements to the energy efficiency of a home. Whereas such add-ons were previously capped at $8,000, the new maximum amount of the portion of an energy-efficient mortgage allowed for energy improvements is now the lesser of 5% of:
-the value of the property;
-115% of the median area price of a single-family dwelling; or
-150% of the Freddie Mac conforming loan limit, or $625,500
With these changes, the maximum increase in an FHA-insured mortgage for energy improvements could be as much as $31,275 in high-cost areas. Additional improvements to the FHA's Energy-Efficient Mortgage program are also in the works, as the latest changes encompass only part of what was authorized by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act. More guidance on the FHA's energy-efficient mortgage program is available in Mortgagee Letter 2005-21. Read more in NBN Online, or contact Bill Renner, x8597.
On a related note, the Denver Homeownership Center of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is conducting a webinar to explain how the FHA Energy-Efficient Mortgage Program works. This event will happen on August 5, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Mountain Daylight Savings time. Described as a training course, it is intended to provide home builders and remodelers, home counselors, lenders and other real estate professionals with additional knowledge on how to use this potentially very useful but little known product. Registrants will receive an e-mail confirmation prior to the webinar with a Web link, a toll-free dial-in number and instructions for participating in the training. Registration is required, and registrants must have Internet access.To register, click here.
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What do Florida, Illinois and Massachusetts have in common?
 Each of those states have recently implemented programs to help monetize the $8,000 tax credit and enable first-time home buyers to use it for downpayment and closing costs. In doing so, they join with 13 other states that have already established such programs, including: Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. In Florida, the Homebuyers Opportunity Program is being administered through 67 county agencies and 53 Community Development Block Grant entitlement cities. Eligible applicants can receive up to $8,000 in loan assistance, which is expected to be paid back by the borrower upon receipt of their first-time home buyer tax credit refund. In Illinois, the Home Start program provides an interest-free loan of up to 3.5% of the purchase price of the home, maxing out at $6,000. That loan is restricted to Home Start 30-year mortgages and the borrower must contribute 1% of the purchase price to the transaction. And in Massachusetts, the MassHousing program will loan first-time buyers up to 10% of the price of their home, or $8,000 – whichever is less. More on each of these programs is provided in the July 27 edition of NBN Online. Also, the National Council of State Housing Agencies has established an information clearinghouse on tax credit monetization programs for consumers and other state agencies, which is available here. Contact: Brooke Fishel, x8061 or Rob Dietz, x8285.
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Explore emerging opportunities in land development
 in a free members-only NAHB Webinar on Aug. 17 at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Hosted by the NAHB Land Development Committee, this special educational event is called "Repositioning Development Agreements and Project Financing to Address New Market Realities." It will include an overview of the current status of the development landscape, financing issues, how large-scale developments are faring and new home design trends. In addition, expert panelists will discuss such topics as lot banking, fire sale land purchases, competing with foreclosures and renegotiating existing development agreements. Register for this upcoming opportunity online here. Contact: Jennifer Jones, x8469.
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HBAs can save money while recruiting members
 thanks to a newly sweetened arrangement that NAHB has made with the Oliver Group recruitment specialists. This company has built a great reputation over the years for helping our locals run very successful local membership drives, and now for a limited time their services are available at a substantially reduced rate. Here's how it works: Schedule a Direct Drive Training and Recruitment Drive to occur no later than Nov. 30 of this year, and the Oliver Group will reduce its standard training fee to $497, regardless of your association size. Beyond that, NAHB will pay $250 of your training fee. This is a potential savings of up to $1700 off of the consultant's regular fees. NAHB will also cover the Oliver Group's travel costs for your Direct Drive Training when five or more associations (or 50% of the local associations in a state) collaborate to schedule the training jointly. And NAHB will provide a $1,000 meeting allowance for those group training sessions. If you've already held a Direct Drive in the past year, don't worry. As part of this special offer, if you've participated in a drive with the Oliver Group since Aug. 1, 2008, you may be eligible for a rain check to take advantage of these great savings at a later date.
Finally, NAHB is also pleased to announce a new Retention Rebate Program. For associations that participate in a Direct Drive as part of this latest promotion, we will rebate the entire $35 recruitment fee paid to the Oliver Group for every member recruited as part of your Direct Drive if they are retained after the first year.
Want to know more? Dial in to a special conference call that NAHB is arranging for Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 4:00 p.m. eastern time. Participants should dial 1-800-860-2442 and ask for the NAHB Fall Membership Incentives call. You will be asked to provide your name and company, and then joined to the call. For details on the special promotion, contact Rusty Deiss at 800-368-5242, x8231. To discuss scheduling a session with the Oliver Group for your association, contact Rob Oliver at 509-888-2226. Happy recruiting!
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