Monday Morning Briefing Letter - 02/26/2007 (Plain Text Version)

By Brian Catalde, NAHB President and
Jerry Howard, NAHB Executive VP and CEO

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Bolstering consumer confidence in the housing market

is the object of a newly launched $3 million "Buy Now" Advertising Assistance Program for HBAs that was approved by the NAHB Board of Directors during the IBS.

This groundbreaking grant program is NAHB's way of reaching out to help our HBAs and members who are struggling to reassure and encourage home buyers in markets where home sales and production have dropped significantly over the past year. The program will provide grants to qualifying HBAs in three distinct categories:

HBAs conducting ad campaigns in the top 10 media markets can receive assistance equaling up to one-third of the total cost of their campaign, with a maximum NAHB contribution of $75,000.
HBAs with more than 250 members operating in areas outside of the top 10 major media markets will qualify for matching grants up to a maximum of $40,000 and be required to pay for at least half the cost of the campaign.
HBAs with 250 or fewer members would qualify for grants of up to $5,000.

Qualifying ad campaigns must deliver a "buy now" message, be placed in 2007 and be conducted in markets that have experienced a major decline in home sales and housing production. While a total of $3 million was approved by the NAHB Board for this grant program, NAHB will evaluate the program's effectiveness after the first $1 million in grants is put to work by local associations. Assuming the effort is determined to be successful at that time, the remaining $2 million will then be made available in the form of grants to qualifying HBAs. Learn more about the Buy Now Ad Assistance program from Niki Clark at x8061.

NAHB Member Benefit: The "Buy Now" assistance campaign for HBAs is a prime example of how your NAHB membership dues dollars are being put to work for you. NAHB routinely devotes resources and expertise to support our local HBAs and their members, and this most recent program is one of the largest such efforts yet. The idea is to help home buyers see the positives of today's housing market and drive more business to your door using tried and true advertising techniques and messages tailored to each specific market. Also, please see NAHB's Web site for a variety of "It's a Great Time to Buy" materials that you can use right now -- from press releases to sample op-eds, ads and public relations tips. All of these helpful resources are available free of charge to NAHB members.

Improving the English proficiency of Spanish speaking workers

on home building sites is the object of a new self-paced learning program called Sed de Saber™ – Construction Edition that was rolled out by NAHB's Home Builders Institute (HBI) during the International Builders' Show in Orlando. Sponsored by Lowe's, the program was custom-created by HBI to address job site challenges presented by the communication barrier. Sed de Saber uses a seven-book, fully interactive curriculum to teach Spanish-speaking workers a functional level of English language conversation and comprehension skills. All told, the program teaches sentence structure, 500 vocabulary words and 340 phrases that will help your employees follow driving directions, refer to specific tools and equipment and handle scheduling and various job-site scenarios using English. The system retails for $395 for NAHB members and $495 for non-members, with additional skills assessment packages available for purchase at $75 each. To order your kits, contact Ashley Mills at 202-266-8926 or visit www.seddesaberconstruction.com.

NAHB Member Benefit: Empowering workers to learn English can improve work site safety, communication and quality of workmanship, as well as boost employee loyalty, recruitment and morale. Through these efforts, NAHB's workforce development arm is helping improve the supply of good workers for the home building industry at a time when skilled labor is at a premium, thereby helping our members get the job done. Also, as a special benefit, NAHB members can order the Sed de Saber - Construction Edition kits at a significantly discounted price. [return to top]

A concerning development regarding Canadian lumber imports

could have negative repercussions for housing affordability and American consumers, NAHB warned on Feb. 22. That development is an apparent attempt by the U.S. government to put new presure on Canada's government for it to consider even more onerous concessions that would further harm its lumber industry. Only last fall, our two nations concluded a seven-year deal that imposes a hefty export tax of 15% on Canadian lumber imports at current prices. But last week, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab cast doubt on the viability of that long-term treaty due to the "actions of provincial governments." A published report said that the U.S. government is apparently alleging that Canada is subsidizing its lumber industry through lower utility rates. "If it is true that the U.S. is willing to go out on a limb to say that lower utility rates in Ontario pose an unfair advantage to Canadian lumber producers, then the Canadian government ought to reasonably conclude that the U.S. is not committed to honoring this agreement and is looking for any excuse to re-open the accord to achieve even more favorable terms for domestic lumber producers," said NAHB EVP/CEO Jerry Howard in a press release containing NAHB's reaction. Such a development would almost surely bode poorly for the Canadian industry and American consumers, he said. Read the release for more, or contact Michael Strauss (x8252).

NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB continues to battle against unfair taxes and fees on lumber imports, which significantly increase the cost of American housing. Our advocacy efforts are aimed at ensuring that an adequate supply of this critical building material is available at an affordable price to you. [return to top]

NAHB has filed an opening brief in our Supreme Court case

that has to do with the transfer of Clean Water Act permitting authority from federal regulators to the state of Arizona. As we reported previously, NAHB is about to argue its first-ever case as a primary petitioner before the Supreme Court this April. The case, NAHB v. Defenders of Wildlife, puts NAHB on the same side as the EPA in a battle where an environmental advocacy group is charging that the government agency failed to consider the needs of endangered species before handing over authority for storm water permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to the state. NAHB is joined in the case by the EPA as well as the HBA of Central Arizona and the Southern Arizona HBA. Read more in our press release, or contact Duane Desiderio at x8146.

NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB is fighting this extended court battle on behalf of our members, since the previous court ruling would cost builders both time and money while harming housing affordability for consumers. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the time delays from consultations of the kind that our opponents would require have in a previous case ranged from five to 18 months – which, when added to the cost of onsite mitigation and project modifications, raised the cost of a typical development by $1.7 million to $2.7 million. [return to top]

Builders worked down their inventories of unsold homes in January

as total housing starts declined 14.3% for the month, according to a report released by the U.S. Commerce Department Feb. 16. The pace of construction slowed to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.41 million units for the month. Single-family starts fell 11.2% to an annual rate of 1.11 million units, sesaonally adjusted, while multifamily starts decreased 24% to a rate of 300,000 units. According to NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders, "Home sales apparently stabilized late last year, but the overhang of unsold housing inventory is still quite heavy. Builders have been cutting back on starts of new units to bring supply and demand back into balance." Seiders added that NAHB expects housing starts to bottom out in this year's first quarter before starting on a gradual recovery path. Meanwhile, permit issuance was also down for the month – by 2.8% to a rate of 1.57 million units overall – including a 4% decline in single-family permits and a 0.4% decline in multifamily permits. Read NAHB's press release or the actual government report for more, or contact Paul Lopez (x8409) for help dealing with media inquiries.

NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB conducts regular and extensive media outreach when government housing figures are released each month to educate reporters about the historical context in which numbers should be viewed, discourage sensationalized accounts and ensure that home builders' views are represented. NAHB also assists our members in dealing with media inquiries regarding the latest government data. [return to top]

Housing affordability improved slightly in 2006's final quarter,

according to results of the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), released Feb. 22. On a nationwide basis, 41.6% of all new and existing homes that were sold in the last three months of 2006 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $59,600. This was marginally better than the 40.4% of homes that were affordable to median-income earners in the third quarter and mostly due to more favorable mortgage rates near the end of the year. The nation's most affordable major housing market – for a sixth consecutive quarter – was Indianapolis, where 89% of all homes sold in the fourth quarter were affordable to families earning that area's median household income of $65,100. The least affordable market was also no surprise; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. was at the bottom of the affordability chart for a ninth consecutive quarter. Read more in our press release or see the HOI tables online at www.nahb.org/hoi. Contact Gopal Ahluwalia (x8480) for information on how the HOI is calculated, or for help dealing with media inquiries, contact Paul Lopez (x8409).

NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB's quarterly Housing Opportunity Index is a practical gauge of housing affordability that provides valuable perspective to builders and home buyers alike. Prior to the time that the HOI is released, NAHB contacts most HBA Executive Officers in an effort to help prepare them for the media attention that may be generated by the numbers being released in their market. This is one more way that NAHB works in tandem with its over 800 affiliated HBAs to get the right information about housing market conditions out to the local and national media. [return to top]

Awards news from the International Builders' Show:

1. Newly launched AARP & NAHB Livable Communities Award

2. Workforce Housing Awards

3. National Housing Endowment Builder Achievement Award
for Outstanding Community Service

4. National Housing Endowment Home Builders Care Community Service
Project of the Year Award

5. 2007 Gold Award Winners in New Home Sales & Marketing

6. 2007 Pillars of the Industry Award Finalists

7. Inaugural IRM Fellows Inducted

8. Institute of Residential Marketing (IRM) "Friend of the Institute" Award

NAHB Member Benefit: NAHB is drawing attention to the "best of the best" of the building industry through its various award categories. Many of these awards are considered the highest possible honor for communities, property managers, marketing pros and others within their field. Spotlighting the most attractive and well-run projects nationwide also helps refute negative stereotypes and provides models for future development across the industry. For more information, see the next edition of NBN Online. [return to top]

National Designation Month runs through March 15,

with the aim of promoting ongoing education in the housing industry, recognizing the achievements of NAHB members and educating the public about the value of selecting builders who hold a professional designation from NAHB. HBAs can find helpful resources for promoting National Designation Month at www.nahb.org/NDMTools. This is where to find sample newsletter articles, press releases, flyers, logos and more. Also, for more information on how to provide designations programs at your HBA, visit www.NAHB.org/designations. Contact: Niki Clark, x8061.

NAHB Member Benefit: With more than a dozen professional designations from which to choose, you can improve existing skills, advance your career and get the recognition you deserve for being a highly qualified specialist in a given area. [return to top]