NAHB

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- After four consecutive months hovering at the same low level, builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved by a single point in March, rising to 17 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the highest level the HMI has reached since May 2010, when the survey period corresponded with the final days of the federal home buyer tax credit program.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today voiced strong support for congressional efforts to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for an additional five years to provide ongoing flood insurance protection for property owners and ensure the nation's real estate markets operate smoothly and without delay.Testifying before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, NAHB First Vice Chairman Barry Rutenberg, a home builder from Gainesville, Fla., said that the home building industry depends upon the NFIP to remain available, affordable and financially sound.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Two quarterly indices produced by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) indicate a return to healthy market conditions for both new and existing apartment and condominium buildings.The Multifamily Production Index (MPI), which tracks developer sentiment about new construction on a scale of 1 to 100, is at 40.8 –up more than 5 full points since the previous quarter and the highest number since the fourth quarter of 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) will host a media teleconference on March 16 to unveil its new technical guidance document providing Chinese Drywall testing and remediation guidelines. This new resource addresses techniques for determining whether problematic drywall is present in a home and if so, how to remediate the issue. The guidelines are a result of extensive research, testing and analysis conducted by Marsh Risk Consulting and Building Health Sciences, Inc., under the direction of the NAHB Chinese Drywall taskforce. During the teleconference, Barry Rutenberg, first chairman of NAHB, Katherine Cahill, global product risk practice leader at Marsh Risk Consulting and Dr. Barbara Manis, chief medical officer at Building Health Sciences Inc. will walk listeners through the details of new guidelines

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- An improving job market should help boost home sales and housing production later this year, but the ongoing problems that builders are facing in acquiring construction credit threatens to significantly slow the fragile housing recovery, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) told Congress today.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- At $9.4 billion, Los Angeles County, Calif. leads the country for counties spending the most money on remodeling, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).Rounding out the top 5 list is Cook County in Illinois, Orange and San Diego counties in California, and Maricopa County in Arizona

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Peter Polhemus, president and CEO of Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders in Chatham, Mass, has been named the Custom Home Builder of the Year by the National Association of Home Builders."We are honored to be the first company in New England and also the first truly integrated architectural and building firm to receive this prestigious award," Polhemus said.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A recent study by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shows that while consumer hesitation on home buying is waning, the recent housing downturn has changed what Americans are looking for in their next home.The survey research on consumer preferences, which is presented annually at the NAHB International Builders’ Show, suggests that the severity of the recession has left an indelible mark on prospective home buyers, who have shifted their perspective on the housing they want and need.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 3, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) urges members of the House of Representatives to show their support for homeownership and the mortgage interest deduction by co-sponsoring H. Res. 25."This resolution acknowledges the importance of homeownership to individual households, the economy and the nation," said NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev. The resolution also states that the mortgage interest deduction "may well be the most important component of housing-related tax policy in America today" and should not be further restricted, he said

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Multifamily home owners and developers, property managers, architects, interior designers and multifamily industry professionals are invited to enter the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 2011 Pillars of the Industry Awards competition.The Pillars Awards highlight excellence in apartment and condominium design and development, innovative financing strategies, and superior property management and marketing. Since its inception in 1990, the Pillars Awards program has earned its reputation as the most prestigious awards program of its kind

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of newly built, single-family homes declined 12.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted, annual rate of 284,000 units in January, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Commerce Department. The decline largely offsets a big gain in sales activity that was recorded in the previous month due partly to an expiring tax break in California."While poor weather conditions likely played a part in keeping potential buyers on the sidelines this January, we do expect consumer demand to improve somewhat along with job-market gains heading into the spring buying season," noted Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nationwide housing affordability during the fourth quarter of 2010 rose to its highest level in the 20 years since it has been measured, according to National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) data released today.The HOI indicated that 73.9 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2010 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400. The record-setting index for the fourth quarter surpassed the previous high of 72.5 percent set during the first quarter of 2009 and marked the eighth consecutive quarter that the index has been above 70 percent. Until 2009, the HOI rarely topped 65 percent and never reached 70 percent.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 16, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nationwide housing starts rose 14.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 596,000 units in January, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department today. The gain was entirely due to a 77.7 percent increase in the multifamily sector, where significant month-to-month swings in activity are not unusual and where new building has been below expectations for the past several months. Meanwhile, single-family housing starts remained virtually flat for the month, with a 1.0 percent decline.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes remained unchanged at 16 for a fourth consecutive month in February, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. "While builders are starting to see more interest among potential home buyers, we are also dealing with a multitude of challenges, including competition from foreclosure properties and inaccurate appraisals of new homes, which are limiting our ability to sell," said NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev. "On top of that, an extremely tight lending environment continues to make it almost impossible to obtain credit for viable new and existing projects, and most do not see that situation improving anytime soon."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Most home buyers who claimed the federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for buying their first home in 2008 are required to start repaying the credit in 15 annual installments, beginning with their 2010 tax returns. The credit—some form of which was offered for qualified home purchases in 2008, 2009 and 2010—has different repayment rules depending on when and under what circumstances the home was purchased. As tax season approaches, this may cause confusion among home buyers who received the tax credit.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Joanne Theunissen, CGP, has been elected 2011 Chair of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) National Sales and Marketing Council. The announcement was made Jan. 11 at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. Theunissen is owner/designer for Howling Hammer Builders, Inc. in Mount Pleasant, Mich., and is also an active member of the HBA of Central Michigan and the Michigan Association of Home Builders.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Existing research on development patterns and transportation provides no causal link between residential land use and greenhouse gas emissions and leaves tremendous uncertainty as to the interplay of these factors, according to a new publication from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The publication, “Climate Change, Density and Development,” provides a fact-based overview of the state of research on the relationship between development, density, transit and the production of greenhouse gases.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Thomas Vetter, MIRM, Master CSP, CMP, CSP, has been elected 2011 Chair of the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Institute of Residential Marketing, the education branch of the National Sales and Marketing Council (NSMC). The announcement was made Jan. 11 at the NAHB International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Home builder sentiment for the mature-market sector retreated in the last quarter of 2010 when compared to the same period a year earlier. The National Association of Home Builders' 55+ Housing Market Index for single-family homes dropped three points to 14 from a year ago following annual declines in the second and third quarters of 2010."The normal course of purchasing a new home in anticipation of or upon entering retirement has been interrupted by the fall in Baby Boomers' house values and reduction in their home equity," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) called on Congress today to repeal all new expanded 1099 reporting requirements imposed in recent laws that will harm job creation and place a major paperwork and cost burden on the nation's small businesses.Testifying on behalf of NAHB before the House Small Business Committee, Mike Kegley, a builder from Union, Ky., and president of the Home Builders Association of Kentucky, told lawmakers that the collection of W-9 forms, monitoring payments over the course of a year, and additional staff time will cost individual small businesses thousands of dollars per year