HOME BUILDERS HOUSING INDEX SHOWS SOLID THIRD QUARTER GAINS IN BUILDING AND REMODELING IN MICHIGAN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                              Contact: Ross Woodstock

                                                                                    Kolt Communications, Inc

October 30, 2012                                                        517-706-0001/517-410-7636

                                                                                    Ross@Koltpr.com

 

Home Builders Housing Index Shows Solid Third Quarter Gains in Building and Remodeling in Michigan

 

 (Lansing, MI) – A statewide survey of homebuilders and remodelers showed significant improvement in the building industry’s outlook as the Michigan Housing Index (MHI) reached its highest level in its 2 and ½ year history.  The MHI, covering the third quarter of 2012, showed a sharp increase from the second quarter index, and was significantly higher than the same period one year ago. The latest Michigan Housing Index covers the time period of July through September 2012.

“The trend lines have been positive, so it is encouraging to see the outlook for building continues to improve,” said Robert Filka, CEO of the Home Builders Association of Michigan (HBAM), which conducts the monthly survey.  “We’ve got a long way to go before we see anything near normal historical production, but things are definitely headed in the right direction.”

 

 Following is a year-to-year comparison of the MHI Index:

 

                                    September 2012         June 2012       September 2011

Builders Index                                     52                       38                            31

Remodelers Index                    50                       40                            45

 

 

The Michigan Housing Index (MHI) is a quarterly summary of building and remodeling activity compiled by HBAM.  The survey asks builders about the number of homes currently under construction and in the planning stages.  Builders are also asked to evaluate their prospects for future customers.  Totals are calculated in an index that is reported quarterly to provide a tracking mechanism for the industry’s process. The survey breaks down builder/remodeler sentiment into three categories:

• Less than 45  (pessimistic)
• 45-55 (cautious optimism)
• Above 55 (optimism) 

“While it is good to note that Michigan homebuilders and remodelers are cautiously optimistic about the next few months, our overall economy must see more rapid and sustained growth for a complete recovery of our housing industry,” said Filka.

Filka also noted there remains much concern within the homebuilding industry over the possibility that Congress and the President could begin overhauling the federal tax code in 2013, which could threaten some of the most important tools that encourage home ownership, including the ability for consumers to deduct mortgage interest.

“We must protect the mortgage interest deduction,” said Filka. We shouldn’t change the rules on the one tax break that has been most important in creating a stable middle class in America. A strong housing market is not only important to help more Michigan citizens realize the dream of homeownership, but is essential to revitalizing Michigan’s economy. When builders are constructing homes that means jobs and investment, which provide a better quality of life and support for Michigan schools and municipalities.” 

About the MAHB Michigan Housing Index:

 

The Michigan Housing Index combines results of a monthly survey of Michigan builders and remodelers along with a series of economic statistics including single family home permits, crude oil prices, automobile production and unemployment. The HBAM Michigan Housing Index is intended to provide an accurate projection of the future direction of the building and remodeling housing market in Michigan.

About the Michigan Association of Home Builders:

The Home Builders Association of Michigan is a professional trade association comprised of 27 local homebuilder associations around the state and their builder, subcontractor and supplier members.  HBAM works to positively promote the building industry and impact legislative, regulatory and legal issues affecting housing affordability.

 

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Builders Commend White House Focus on Helping Home Owners, Seek Additional Steps to Spur Housing

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 - The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) commends President Obama for offering proposals in last night's State of the Union address to help families stay in their homes and stanch foreclosures, and is urging policymakers to take additional actions to mend the housing market and boost the economy.

"President Obama's refinancing plan offers an opportunity for continued exploration of ways to aid struggling home owners and tackle the foreclosure crisis," said NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev. "We look forward to working with the White House and Congress to tackle this issue and continue to make progress on foreclosures that are hampering the housing market."

In order to create jobs and further stabilize housing and the economy, Nielsen added that the Administration, Congress and federal regulators need to reopen the lines of credit for builders ready to embark upon viable projects in markets where new housing stock is needed and to ease overly restrictive mortgage lending requirements for qualified home buyers.

The NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index shows that scores of metro areas across the nation are beginning to see signs of recovery, but in order to meet this emerging housing demand, builders need access to credit to break ground on sound projects and generate new jobs and sorely needed tax revenues in these communities.

"President Obama was absolutely right when he said that 'there has never been a better time to build,' and the nation's home builders are eager to do their part to contribute to economic growth and job creation," said Nielsen, who noted that housing normally accounts for more than 17 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.

Building 100 single-family homes creates more than 300 full-time jobs and $8.9 million in federal, state and local tax revenues that help fund local schools, police and firefighters in markets across the land.

Sixty percent of voters say that resolving the foreclosure mess is essential to get the economy back on track and there is broad support for government policies that encourage homeownership, according to a new nationwide survey on housing commissioned by NAHB from the Republican and Democratic polling firms of Public Opinion Strategies and Lake Research Partners.

More than seven in 10 voters representing all political parties believe that tax incentives to promote homeownership are reasonable and appropriate and nearly six in 10 voters say the federal government should make it a high priority to restore the nation's housing market.

Even more telling, the majority of voters believe neither party is doing a good job on housing.

"In this election year, voters will be looking closely at President Obama, the GOP presidential contenders and congressional candidates from both political parties to determine how they plan to put housing and the economy back on track," said Nielsen. "How the candidates respond will decide not only their political fate but the economic prospects of most Americans."

HBAGTA e-News January 19, 2012

HBAGTA e-News 

NAHB TO REVEAL NEW VOTER POLL

NAHB TO REVEAL NEW VOTER POLL; PREVIEW ECONOMIC, LEGISLATIVE OUTLOOK FOR HOUSING IN 2012

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The login information and time have been updated from a previous media advisory. Below is the correct login information and details for the webcast.]

WHEN:

Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012

2:00 p.m. ET

WHO:

· Jerry Howard, CEO, National Association of Home Builders

· David Crowe, chief Economist, National Association of Home Builders

· Jim Tobin, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, National Association of Home Builders

· Neil Newhouse, partner and co-founder, Public Opinion Strategies

· Celinda Lake, president, Lake Research Partners

WHAT:

On Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 2:00 p.m., the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) will reveal the results of a new national poll of 1,500 likely voters looking at the value Americans place on homeownership, while discussing what lies ahead for housing in 2012, both economically and politically.

The poll was conducted by Neil Newhouse, partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, a leading Republican polling company, and Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners, one of the Democratic Party's leading strategists.

During the teleconference, the pollsters will analyze the survey results, while NAHB CEO Jerry Howard will discuss its implications on the future of the American Dream. NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe will provide his 2012 economic forecast, while NAHB Senior Vice President for Government Affairs Jim Tobin will discuss how the upcoming elections will shape the policies that affect homeownership and the housing industry.

Members of the media will be given the opportunity to ask questions at the conclusion of the call.

TO PARTICIPATE:

1. Direct your web browser to http://eventcenter.commpartners.com/se/NAHBLogin.

2. Under "Enter a Webinar" in the blue box, enter the meeting number 816024 and click on "Enter."

3. In the "Display Name" box, type in your first and last name and click on "Enter Meeting."

4. The primary means of listening to this webinar is via audio streaming (your computer speakers).

Slides will also be posted following the presentation at:
www.nahb.org/homeownershippoll.

Please contact Liz Thompson at ethompson@nahb.org with any questions.

Statement from NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen on Changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24-- Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev., issued the following statement regarding today's announcement by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to enact a series of changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP):

"It is encouraging that the Obama Administration is beginning to turn its attention to restoring the nation's housing market, which is crucial for the health of our economy.

"Making more borrowers eligible for refinancing their mortgages by enhancing the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) will give a badly needed boost to consumer confidence. Enabling additional home owners to take advantage of today's low mortgage interest rates in cases where their loans are greater than the value of their homes will give some households more money to spend on other things and enable others to at least pay their mortgages off at a faster rate.

"However, for the many families who have fallen behind in their payments because of the weak job market, the changes to HARP will have no benefit. HARP is only open to mortgage borrowers who have remained current with their payments. Clearly, additional policy initiatives are urgently needed to prevent foreclosures and deal with the inventory of foreclosed homes.

"In addition, it is essential to address overly restrictive mortgage lending standards, inappropriate credit limitations on home builders and a broken appraisal system that is contributing to housing price instability. All of these factors are detrimental to the full-scale housing recovery we need to rally consumers and get a disappointing economic recovery moving forward.

"We still have an enormous amount of work to do to repair housing. The HARP changes are a good step, but our leaders in Washington need to quickly focus on a broader range of actions for improving the housing marketplace. It has taken a painfully long time for them to recognize that housing is indispensable to the job creation and growth that have been sorely lacking since the end of the recession. The American people are losing patience and they expect far better economic prospects than those they are finding today, which stem in large part from neglecting housing."

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ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 160,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB is affiliated with 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units projected for this year.