Monday Morning Briefing Letter - 01/15/2007 (Plain Text Version)

By David Pressly, NAHB President and
Jerry Howard, NAHB Executive VP and CEO

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NAHB is taking its case to the highest court in the land

in a milestone achievement that marks the first time our federation has been named as a petitioner in a lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The high court has granted our request (and that of the EPA) to review a lower court ruling in NAHB v. Defenders of Wildlife that would add new requirements for states that want to administer Clean Water Act permitting programs. These additional requirements would result in higher costs for home builders that would ultimately have to be passed on to buyers.

At issue is the transfer of authority for Clean Water Act permitting from federal regulators to the state of Arizona. Defenders of Wildlife successfully sued the EPA for not considering the needs of endangered species before allowing this transfer. The case opens the door to adding Endangered Species Act considerations any time the federal government transfers administrative authority to a state – not just for Clean Water Act permits, but for other programs and permits as well.

While NAHB has played an important role in other regulatory cases that have gone to the Supreme Court, we have never before appeared and been named as a primary petitioner. In this endeavor, we are joined by the HBA of Central Arizona and the Southern Arizona HBA. The court will hear oral arguments in April.

NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB's ability and drive to take this case all the way to the Supreme Court is a testament to the legal expertise and resources that our federation brings to bear to protect our members and their clients from the unnecessary expenses and hassles caused by yet another layer of regulatory red tape being added to the home building process. According to a federal economic impact statement, the time delays from endangered species consultations in the case of the pygmy owl ranged from five to 18 months. When combined with the costs of onsite mitigation and project modifications, this amounted to between $1.7 million and $2.7 million in additional costs for a typical development in Arizona. Read more in NBN Online, or contact: Duane Desiderio, x8146.

Resolutions in the pipeline for the next Board meeting

are now summarized in an online memo from Resolutions Committee Chairman Marsha Elliott. A total of six resolutions have so far been submitted for consideration to become official NAHB policy during the Board of Directors' February meeting at the International Builders' Show in Orlando. These include:

1. NAHB's Position on Housing Affordability
    Drafted by the NAHB State Representatives
    Staff Contact: Dave Crowe (x8383)

2. Financial Institutions Regulation
    Drafted by the Financial Institutions and Capital Markets Subcommittee
   of the Housing Finance Committee
    Staff Contact: Chellie Hamecs (x8425)

3. Repeal of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit 10-Year Rule for Existing Properties
    Drafted by the Housing Credit Group
    Staff Contact: Carmel McGuire (x8207)

4. Criteria for Evaluating Green House Gas/Climate Change Proposals
    Drafted by the Environmental Issues Committee
    Staff Contact: Michael Mittelholzer (x8660)

5. Position on Property Insurance Issues
    Drafted by the Property Insurance Task Force
    Staff Contact: Ed Sutton (x8564)

6. Nutrient Reductions to Improve Water Quality
    Drafted by the HBA of Virginia
    Staff Contact: Marolyn Parson (x8157)

NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB's resolutions approval process ensures that any member may submit for review of the full Board of Directors a proposed new policy or policy change. This democratic process is integral to the member-governed leadership structure of NAHB, wherein policy is submitted, discussed, debated and ultimately approved or rejected by the membership in an open forum. It also ensures that your concerns and views help steer the association in the proper direction. For more information on the resolutions process, please contact Jay Shackford (x8406). [return to top]

Get a sneak preview of what's in store at the 2007 IBS

in a special pre-convention edition of Nation's Building News Online. Published on Jan. 8, this issue is a great resource for anyone planning to attend the upcoming International Builders' Show on Feb. 7-10 in Orlando, FL . The sheer volume of products, services, technologies and educational sessions to be offered is truly impressive, and NBN Online aims to make sure you know your options. Special features of this edition include photos and floor plans of The New American Home®* 2007 and The Renewed American Home® 2007, two of the most anticipated tour homes of the year that will make their debut during the show. Other items that make the latest NBN edition a particularly helpful resource for convention-goers include meeting schedules for area caucuses and the Board of Directors, notices of planned award presentations, times and locations for select educational sessions and details on the planned offerings of 42 individual members of the National Council of the Housing Industry - the Supplier 100 of NAHB. Don't miss this one-of-a-kind issue, and don't miss the biggest event of the year for home builders and their affiliates. Register for the show online until Jan. 25, or on site at the Orange County Convention Center starting Sunday, Feb. 4. For more on the NBN special issue, contact: Tim Ahern, x8427.

* Certified by NAHB's voluntary Model Green Home Building Guidelines.

NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB produces the most important building trade show for all aspects of the housing and light commercial construction industries all year -- the International Builders' Show – that not only provides the most comprehensive forum for builder resources under one roof but also attracts worldwide media attention and positive coverage of the building industry. The IBS may be your most valuable member benefit due to all that you come away with in terms of business education, professional contacts and knowledge of the latest products and services geared specifically to your needs. [return to top]

Sharpening your sales & marketing skills

can help you successfully maneuver your business through the changing tide of today's marketplace, according to experts onhand for a special Jan. 9 audio (tele)conference at NAHB. The latest in a series of resources being provided under NAHB's "Back to Basics - Toolkit for a Changing Environment," the conference featured nationally recognized consultants and trainers, including Tom Stephani (MIRM, MCSP, GMB, CAPS), Bill Becker (MIRM, CMP), and S. Robert August (BA, MIM, MIRM, CMP, CSP, Master CSP). Sponsored by NAHB's National Sales and Marketing Council, the event offered helpful advice on identifying and solving key issues regarding cash flow, unsold inventory, cancellations, overstaffing, competition, reduced buyer traffic and older product, among many others. The event drew significant interest, with a total of 546 audience members dialing in from 188 different locations. If you missed it, don't despair – a taped recording is available on our Web site at: http://www.nahb.org/ac1. You can also see the Jan. 16 edition of NBN Online for full coverage of the event, or contact Will Heslop (x8472).

NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB members who dialed in for this audio conference came away with "news they could use" to immediately begin improving their business prospects. The event, along with other resources that are constantly being updated in NAHB's online "Toolkit for a Changing Environment," is part of an overall effort to get our members the resources they need to position themselves for success, and to provide sound advice on basic but essential business practices and strategies. [return to top]

Health care workers are being priced out of homeownership

in the majority of U.S. metropolitan areas nationwide, according to results of a new study called Paycheck to Paycheck: Wages and the Cost of Housing in America from the Center for Housing Policy. The study found that licensed practical nurses (LPNs) would not qualify to purchase the median priced home in 187 out of 202 metros surveyed. Registered nurses (RNs) faced only slightly better odds, with 115 metros out of their affordability range, and physical therapists were next with 104. Nursing aides and home health aides were found to be priced out of homeownership across the board. Overall study results indicated that an annual income of $84,957 was needed to qualify to purchase the median priced U.S. home costing $248,000 as of the third quarter of 2006. But during that period, the median annual salaries of each subset of healthcare workers surveyed fell far short of that amount. Read more on the study, as well as proposals to improve the situation, on the Center for Housing Policy's Web site at www.nhc.org.

NAHB Member Benefit: Such studies add more weight to NAHB's arguments that jurisdictions nationwide need to amend costly and inefficient regulatory mandates that add to the cost of buying a home. They also help further NAHB's attempts to advance the cause of workforce housing so that those who help make a community function -- including police, firefighters, teachers and nurses -- can afford to live in or near the neighborhoods where they work. For more on NAHB's workforce housing initiatives, contact: Blake Smith, x8583. [return to top]

NAHB offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 15

for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Following the federal holiday, we will reopen for business promptly on Tuesday, Jan. 16. [return to top]