| This fall, the National Association of Home Builders is co-sponsoring several virtual town hall events with the presidential candidates. These events are to be conducted as “teleforums” that provide members an opportunity to hear from the candidates and ask them questions via telephone. Together with our co-sponsors, we have invited the following candidates to conduct individual teleforums: President Barack Obama Governor Mitt Romney Governor Rick Perry Congressman Ron Paul Congresswoman Michele Bachmann Speaker Newt Gingrich Businessman Herman Cain Register Your Interest to Be Connected to these Teleforums All NAHB members are invited to participate. Simply fill out the registration form at this link. You will need to provide us with a valid telephone number at which you can be contacted when the event begins. Here’s How it Works Due to last-minute changes in the candidates’ schedules, all teleforum times are approximate. Each teleforum event will last roughly 45 to 60 minutes, and you will receive instructions on how to submit a question to the candidate once you are connected. Please keep in mind that only a limited number of questions can be taken in each teleforum due to time constraints. Also bear in mind that, if you do not wish to participate in a certain teleforum, all you need to do is hang up when the operator calls you. NAHB expects more candidates to soon confirm times in which they can participate in a teleforum event. You will be notified of each subsequently scheduled teleforum as soon as that information is available. NAHB Policy on Presidential Elections Consistent with our policy, NAHB is not endorsing any presidential candidate. We are simply providing a channel through which the candidates can talk with our members, and vice-versa. It is up to each of our members to decide whether he or she will participate in any of the calls that will be taking place. Questions? Contact Nick Gentile at ngentile@nahb.org if you have any questions about this unique opportunity to connect with the 2012 presidential candidates. |
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
NAHB INVITES MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE IN TELEFORUMS SHOWCASING PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
Thursday, October 13, 2011
PRO-HOUSING POLICIES WILL STIMULATE JOB GROWTH
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 - While the nation may have added 103,000 new jobs in September, the employment report showed relative weakness, particularly as it relates to the residential construction sector, which remains far below its job-creation potential in the absence of policies to restore the health of the housing marketplace, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
"We are seeing now what an economic recovery looks like without housing, and the picture is hardly encouraging," said NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev. "We need to address anti-housing impediments to home builders creating jobs in countless communities across the land."
The inventory of new homes for sale is at a record low and there are many areas of the country that are approaching a housing shortage. Tight credit conditions are preventing builders from meeting this emerging demand, putting workers back on the job and helping the economy move forward.
Further exacerbating the situation is today's pervasive anti-housing climate in Washington, said Nielsen.
"Leaders in Washington must stop scaring consumers by talking about eliminating the mortgage interest deduction, ending a federal backstop for housing and calling for a minimum 20 percent downpayment on home loans," said Nielsen. "This is counterproductive and harms consumer confidence, the housing market and the nation's economy."
Housing normally accounts for more than 17 percent of Gross Domestic Product and building 100 single-family homes creates 305 full-time jobs and $8.9 million in taxes and revenue for state, local and federal governments.
"Getting housing back on its feet would be a shot in the arm for consumer confidence, boost job growth and lead to a long-lasting economic recovery," said Nielsen.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Housing is Key to Job Creation, Economic Recovery
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 - Discussions on the need to restore the nation's languishing housing market in order to rouse job creation from anemic levels and boost economic growth has been prominent this week in congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and in newspapers across the country, leaving many wondering when leaders in Washington will take action to address this problem.
"How many more articles need to appear on the front pages of major newspapers and how many officials need to sound the alarm before federal policymakers reverse anti-housing policies that are dampening demand and preventing a housing and economic recovery from taking hold?" asked Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev.
Testifying before the Joint Economic Committee yesterday, Bernanke said: "The housing sector has been a significant driver of recovery from most recessions in the United States since World War II. This time, however, a number of factors -- including the overhang of distressed and foreclosed properties, tight credit conditions for builders and potential home buyers, and the large number of 'underwater' mortgages (on which home owners owe more than their homes are worth) -- have left the rate of new home construction at only about one-third of its average level in recent decades."
With inventories of new homes nearly depleted in many markets, builders should be gearing up to meet demand, create new jobs and help the economy move forward. Unfortunately, production remains stymied because builders in these locations cannot get credit from lending institutions to begin work on new homes.
"National unemployment flatlined in August, more than 1.4 million residential construction jobs have been lost since April 2006 and yet there is demand for housing in markets that are on the mend," said Nielsen. "Home builders have plenty of shovel-ready jobs set to go but they can't keep their doors open and create jobs in their communities if federal regulators continue to shut off the credit spigot."
During the past few months, seven different national surveys conducted by prominent polling organizations including the New York Times/CBS News, the Pew Research Center, the AllState/National Journal Heartland Monitor and Hanley-Wood have looked at homeownership from every possible angle.
"One thing is always crystal clear in all these polls," said Nielsen. "The American people still strongly believe that homeownership provides security, stability and a solid long-term investment. Yet, policymakers are doing their best to put policies in place that reduce the American people's ability to purchase a home. Why? How long do we want to stay in a recession?"
While prudent underwriting and other safeguards are needed to prevent another housing collapse in the future, he said, current proposals to correct shortcomings in the home finance system are far more stringent than necessary and threaten to price many creditworthy borrowers out of the housing market.
Six federal agencies are proposing a national Qualified Residential Mortgage standard that would require a minimum 20 percent downpayment and other stricter qualifications, which would keep homeownership out of reach for most first-time home buyers and middle-class households. NAHB estimates that it would take 12 years for a typical family to save enough money for a 20 percent downpayment on a median-priced single-family home and other research has found it would take even longer.
Meanwhile, some members of Congress are actively pushing to abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and end the federal backstop for housing. A strong federal role is essential to help absorb market risk, ensure a stable and reliable flow of credit for home buyers and to maintain a liquid secondary market. Diminishing or ending government support for housing would make the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, the major housing finance tool for most Americans, increasingly scarce and much more costly.
Further complicating the situation, this week's reduction in the conforming loan limits means that many prospective buyers who are seeking a home loan will now have to pay higher interest rates, fees and downpayments and face more stringent credit standards.
Noting that housing normally accounts for more than 17 percent of the nation's total economic output, Nielsen said policymakers need to take steps to spur housing, create jobs and bolster the economy.
"Home building can be the key engine of job growth that this country needs," he said. "Constructing 100 single-family homes generates more than 300 jobs and $8.9 million in taxes and revenue for state, local and federal governments that helps to fund local school systems and build strong communities."
"How many more articles need to appear on the front pages of major newspapers and how many officials need to sound the alarm before federal policymakers reverse anti-housing policies that are dampening demand and preventing a housing and economic recovery from taking hold?" asked Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev.
Testifying before the Joint Economic Committee yesterday, Bernanke said: "The housing sector has been a significant driver of recovery from most recessions in the United States since World War II. This time, however, a number of factors -- including the overhang of distressed and foreclosed properties, tight credit conditions for builders and potential home buyers, and the large number of 'underwater' mortgages (on which home owners owe more than their homes are worth) -- have left the rate of new home construction at only about one-third of its average level in recent decades."
With inventories of new homes nearly depleted in many markets, builders should be gearing up to meet demand, create new jobs and help the economy move forward. Unfortunately, production remains stymied because builders in these locations cannot get credit from lending institutions to begin work on new homes.
"National unemployment flatlined in August, more than 1.4 million residential construction jobs have been lost since April 2006 and yet there is demand for housing in markets that are on the mend," said Nielsen. "Home builders have plenty of shovel-ready jobs set to go but they can't keep their doors open and create jobs in their communities if federal regulators continue to shut off the credit spigot."
During the past few months, seven different national surveys conducted by prominent polling organizations including the New York Times/CBS News, the Pew Research Center, the AllState/National Journal Heartland Monitor and Hanley-Wood have looked at homeownership from every possible angle.
"One thing is always crystal clear in all these polls," said Nielsen. "The American people still strongly believe that homeownership provides security, stability and a solid long-term investment. Yet, policymakers are doing their best to put policies in place that reduce the American people's ability to purchase a home. Why? How long do we want to stay in a recession?"
While prudent underwriting and other safeguards are needed to prevent another housing collapse in the future, he said, current proposals to correct shortcomings in the home finance system are far more stringent than necessary and threaten to price many creditworthy borrowers out of the housing market.
Six federal agencies are proposing a national Qualified Residential Mortgage standard that would require a minimum 20 percent downpayment and other stricter qualifications, which would keep homeownership out of reach for most first-time home buyers and middle-class households. NAHB estimates that it would take 12 years for a typical family to save enough money for a 20 percent downpayment on a median-priced single-family home and other research has found it would take even longer.
Meanwhile, some members of Congress are actively pushing to abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and end the federal backstop for housing. A strong federal role is essential to help absorb market risk, ensure a stable and reliable flow of credit for home buyers and to maintain a liquid secondary market. Diminishing or ending government support for housing would make the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, the major housing finance tool for most Americans, increasingly scarce and much more costly.
Further complicating the situation, this week's reduction in the conforming loan limits means that many prospective buyers who are seeking a home loan will now have to pay higher interest rates, fees and downpayments and face more stringent credit standards.
Noting that housing normally accounts for more than 17 percent of the nation's total economic output, Nielsen said policymakers need to take steps to spur housing, create jobs and bolster the economy.
"Home building can be the key engine of job growth that this country needs," he said. "Constructing 100 single-family homes generates more than 300 jobs and $8.9 million in taxes and revenue for state, local and federal governments that helps to fund local school systems and build strong communities."
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Builders Urge Caution on National Ocean Policy
WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 - The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today urged Congress to proceed with caution and conduct a cost-benefit analysis before implementing any new regulations or requirements that call for the federal government to develop a National Ocean Policy, which the Administration is now contemplating.
Testifying before the House Natural Resources Committee, NAHB Chairman-elect Barry Rutenberg, a home builder from Gainesville, Fla., said that utilizing environmentally friendly building techniques, NAHB members regularly take steps to improve the long-term conservation and care of the nation's coastal and Great Lakes communities.
"The nation's home builders recognize the need to preserve the health of the marine ecosystem as it is one of the many lifelines upon which we as a nation depend," he said. "However, NAHB is concerned that federal agencies will enact regulations that will only have a minor impact on the environment but impose a significant cost on private landowners and businesses. Such an outcome is unacceptable and completely contrary to this Administration's pledge to make regulations more effective and less burdensome."
A common-sense regulatory structure that continues to allow state and local governments to plan for and determine appropriate uses for their entire communities, including residential development, is important to maintain housing choice for consumers, create jobs in local communities and generate revenues for all levels of government.
NAHB analysis of the broad impact of new construction shows that building 100 average single-family homes generates 305 full-time jobs and increases the property tax base that supports local schools.
As one of the most highly regulated industries, Rutenberg said, home builders already comply with numerous federal, state and local environmental statutes. For example, home builders must abide by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Flood Insurance Program when siting, designing and constructing their homes; meet the mandates of the Clean Water Act for controlling storm water discharges; demonstrate that their activities are consistent with their state's coastal zone management plan; and meet the requirements for their local zoning, critical areas or shoreland protection ordinances.
"Clearly, governments at all levels have already taken significant steps to protect coastal areas," said Rutenberg. "Any potential government policies that will broadly shape the future of our communities must be based on solid research and sound science and data and allow for choices and flexibility in the marketplace."
Since its scope is currently undefined and also references coastal areas, the proposed National Ocean Policy has the potential to link land-based activities to the health of the ocean.
"NAHB has significant concerns about the potential for the federal government to overstep its bounds with regard to land use planning, a practice that allows home buyers and home owners the opportunity to live in a home of their choice in a location of their choice," said Rutenberg.
"Past experience suggests that caution must be taken to ensure that local governments are free to direct their community growth without any federal interference or coercion."
Given the number of existing policies specifically designed to protect the nation's oceans, coastlines and watersheds; efforts already taken at the federal, state and local levels; and the need to preserve the rights of local governments, Rutenberg told lawmakers that NAHB questions the need for an additional layer of regulation that could impede the housing and economic recovery.
Testifying before the House Natural Resources Committee, NAHB Chairman-elect Barry Rutenberg, a home builder from Gainesville, Fla., said that utilizing environmentally friendly building techniques, NAHB members regularly take steps to improve the long-term conservation and care of the nation's coastal and Great Lakes communities.
"The nation's home builders recognize the need to preserve the health of the marine ecosystem as it is one of the many lifelines upon which we as a nation depend," he said. "However, NAHB is concerned that federal agencies will enact regulations that will only have a minor impact on the environment but impose a significant cost on private landowners and businesses. Such an outcome is unacceptable and completely contrary to this Administration's pledge to make regulations more effective and less burdensome."
A common-sense regulatory structure that continues to allow state and local governments to plan for and determine appropriate uses for their entire communities, including residential development, is important to maintain housing choice for consumers, create jobs in local communities and generate revenues for all levels of government.
NAHB analysis of the broad impact of new construction shows that building 100 average single-family homes generates 305 full-time jobs and increases the property tax base that supports local schools.
As one of the most highly regulated industries, Rutenberg said, home builders already comply with numerous federal, state and local environmental statutes. For example, home builders must abide by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Flood Insurance Program when siting, designing and constructing their homes; meet the mandates of the Clean Water Act for controlling storm water discharges; demonstrate that their activities are consistent with their state's coastal zone management plan; and meet the requirements for their local zoning, critical areas or shoreland protection ordinances.
"Clearly, governments at all levels have already taken significant steps to protect coastal areas," said Rutenberg. "Any potential government policies that will broadly shape the future of our communities must be based on solid research and sound science and data and allow for choices and flexibility in the marketplace."
Since its scope is currently undefined and also references coastal areas, the proposed National Ocean Policy has the potential to link land-based activities to the health of the ocean.
"NAHB has significant concerns about the potential for the federal government to overstep its bounds with regard to land use planning, a practice that allows home buyers and home owners the opportunity to live in a home of their choice in a location of their choice," said Rutenberg.
"Past experience suggests that caution must be taken to ensure that local governments are free to direct their community growth without any federal interference or coercion."
Given the number of existing policies specifically designed to protect the nation's oceans, coastlines and watersheds; efforts already taken at the federal, state and local levels; and the need to preserve the rights of local governments, Rutenberg told lawmakers that NAHB questions the need for an additional layer of regulation that could impede the housing and economic recovery.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Fall Landscaping Tips to Prepare for Winter
There is no better time to take stock of your lawn and landscaping needs than during the shorter days and crisp temperatures that herald the beginning of fall. Not only can it help you have a great-looking lawn next spring, but it can save you money on your utility bills during the winter.
Assess Your Lawn
Fall is a great time for new grass seed to take root, especially in cooler climates. Even with meticulous care, lawns can thin out and lose color due to excessive thatch buildup, hard or compacted soils, or periods of high temperature, high humidity, or drought. Compacted soils slowly reduce the amount of oxygen contained in the soil, delaying the penetration of water and nutrients and impeding the lawn growth.
Aerating and over-seeding is an effective treatment to control thatch, reduce compaction, fill in bare spots and revitalize growth. It also reduces water runoff, increases the lawn’s drought tolerance and improves its overall health.
Lawn aeration allows air, moisture and fertilizer to penetrate down to the root zone. It involves removing small soil plugs or cores typically 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter from the lawn. Lawns composed of cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass are best aerified in the fall, when there is less heat stress and danger of invasion by weedy annuals. On the other hand, warm-season grasses are best aerified in late spring and summer, when they are actively growing.
Consider also reseeding your lawn in areas where the grass has gotten sparse. First, rake leaves and debris off your lawn so the seeds can penetrate the soil. Then fertilize your lawn one last time with a high nitrogen fertilizer to encourage root growth. Make sure you get a lawn fertilizer that is labeled “winterizing.”
Energy-Saving Planting
Fall is also the best season for planting trees, shrubs and perennials. Plants planted in the fall benefit from cooler air temperatures, not to mention soil temperatures still warm enough to support good root growth. After a winter of dormancy, fall-planted trees and shrubs practically shoot out of the soil the following spring.
Plant deciduous trees that lose their leaves during the winter in front of windows that receive significant amounts of sunlight. This helps block solar heat in the summer and lets it in during the winter when you need it most, which could help reduce your heating and air conditioning costs.
A six-foot to eight-foot deciduous tree will begin shading your windows the first year and your roof, depending on the species, within five-10 years. In regions with year-round sun and no significant winter, planting evergreen trees or shrubs limits sunlight entering your home and serves as a windbreak.
Winter sunlight is a welcome heat source, but the wind that can accompany it can reduce its positive effects. A natural windbreak will reduce or redirect wind speed. Evergreen trees and shrubs planted on the side of your house that receives winds will help reduce the wind effect. Teaming evergreen trees and an earth berm, a natural or man-made wall, will direct wind over your house. Additionally, in snowy climates windbreaks will help keep snow away from your home’s foundation.
Contact The Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area at 231.946.2305 or go to www.nahb.org for more information on lawn maintenance and home care.
Homeownership Tax Change Would Harm Seniors
By Marc Burkholder
President
Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area, Inc.
For many Americans, getting married, buying a home, having children and providing them with an education, then being able to retire comfortably without financial worries is the embodiment of their American Dream.
Homeownership has long been the foundation of a family’s ability to achieve their American Dream. For more than a century, Americans have counted on their investment in their homes to be able to pay for their children’s education and to enable them to live where and how they want to after they retire.
But those expectations are in jeopardy for the nation’s 75 million home owners. Policymakers seeking to reduce the federal deficit are considering eliminating or reducing the mortgage interest deduction. Changes to the deduction would not only harm home owners who currently rely on it to manage their household expenses, it would also hurt millions of seniors who no longer claim the deduction but still depend on its existence to secure their future.
According to most economists, eliminating or scaling back the mortgage interest deduction would trigger a drop in home values. This would cause more home owners to be saddled with mortgages that are larger than their property’s value, which would lead to even more foreclosures and place even more downward pressure on home prices.
Seniors looking to use the proceeds from the sale of their home to relocate to a different part of the country, to move into a retirement community, to help defray health care costs or to fund other long-term obligations would find they have a much smaller retirement nest egg than they’d planned on. They may be forced to keep working for many more years, or to postpone or cancel moving to a new home because they can’t afford or are unable to sell their current home.
Changing the rules now by eliminating or curtailing the deduction would be unfair. It would take money out of the pockets of those home buyers who counted on the deduction being there when they needed it, and it would penalize millions of baby boomers nearing retirement and seniors who own their homes outright.
Seniors have played by the rules and made sacrifices to get where they are, and they don’t deserve to have the rug pulled out from under them. Learn more about the threat to the mortgage interest tax deduction and find out how you can take action to protect it at www.SaveMyMortgageInterestDeduction.com, or contact the Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area, Inc. by calling 231.946.2305
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
GREEN BUILDING 101
Blower Door Testing
Some of you may have heard of a blower door test but most have not and few have ever seen one done. My goal with today’s column is to explain what a blower door test is, why it’s important to home owners, how a test is performed and what the test results mean.
What is a blower door test?
A blower door is a large powerful variable speed fan that is installed in an adjustable fabric frame designed to be installed in a residential door opening. The fan sucks air out of the house, essentially depressurizing it. The door is equipped with a gauge (manometer) that displays the difference in air pressure between outside the home and inside the home (50 pascals of air pressure differential is typical for testing, equal to a 20 mile per hour wind blowing on all sides of the home) and the cubic feet per minute of air being exhausted from the home (CFM/50).
Why is a blower door test important?
Air flow through a building can have a powerful impact on comfort, indoor air quality and utility bills. Blower doors provide a way to quantify air flow and the resulting heat loss, along with a way to pin point specific leaks. There use in retrofit work allows both instantaneous feedback and quantitative inspections. Uncontrolled air loss from a home can have a significant impact. Typically air leakage can account for as much as 25% or more of a home’s heat loss, i.e. higher energy bills. Nearly all government and utility founded energy saving programs require a blower door test.
How is a blower door test performed?
The blower door is installed in an exterior door opening that allows the greatest air flow from the rest of the house. All other doors and windows are closed and locked. All interior doors are opened so air flows easily thought the house. If the basement and/or crawl space is within the thermal envelope (directly or indirectly heated) all openings to those spaces need to be opened. All intentional openings are to be left in their normal operating condition (bath fans, range hoods, furnace/boiler chimneys, dryer, etc. All fires must be out in fire places and wood stoves and all fireplace openings are sealed to prevent scattering of ashes throughout the home (I learned this the hard way). All combustion appliances are adjusted so they don’t turn on during the test. The blower door fan is turned on and adjusted to 50 pascals of pressure differential between indoors and outdoors and the cubic feet of air per minute (CFM/50) exhausted from the home is recorded.
What does the blower door result mean?
When the blower door test is completed we take the data from the gages together with the homes information (volume, floor area, surface area, number of bedrooms, number of occupants, wind shielding and weather conditions at the time of the test) and enter all this data into a computer program which provides us with a Building Air Tightness Test Report.
Below are listed three of the reports with a description of what they represent and what the number would be for a tight house, a moderately leaking house and a very leaky house. Keep in mind that the leakiness numbers listed should only be used as a guide and may very greatly depending on many specifics of the house being tested.
CFM/50: The flow, in cubic feet per minute with a 50 Pascals of pressure difference between inside and outside the house.
Tight houses tend to be less than 1,200 CFM/50
Moderately leaky houses 1,500-2,500 CFM/50
Quite leaky houses over 3,000 CFM/50
ACH/50: The air changes per hour at 50 Pascals of pressure difference between inside and outside the house. Air changes per hour, a description of leakage as compared to house air volume. The number of times each hour an amount of air equal to the volume of the house leaks out. Used for both blower door measurements and estimates of Air Changes Per Hour @ Natural (ACH/N).
Tight houses ten to be less than 5-6 ACH/50
Moderately leaky houses – less than 10-15 ACH/50
Quite leaky houses – over 20 ACH/50
ELA: Effective leakage area. The area in square inches of a hole which, with 4 Pascals pressure difference, leaks the same amount as the house. In other words if all the air leaks in a house were put in one place the hole would be the size of the ELA.
Tight houses tend to be less than 144 sq. in. ELA (12”X12” hole)
Moderately leaky houses have less than 324 sq. in. (18”X18” hole)
Quite leaky houses are over 576 sq. in. (24”X24” hole)
Max Strickland has been involved in the construction industry for 44 years. He is currently a principal with Strickland Ewing & Associates providing Building Performance Consulting, Green Building Green Building
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