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NEWS
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Join Us Monday
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The IBA Board of Directors will convene on Monday, December 9 to vote on a proposed Bylaw Amendment, to present awards and to hold elections of its 2014 leadership. Members are invited to attend any of the meetings held in conjunction with the Board meeting. All meetings will be held at the Indianapolis Marriott North at Keystone at the Crossing, 3645 River Crossing Parkway, Indianapolis, IN 46240. You may view the meeting notice here.
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October Housing Starts Basically Flat Year Over Year; First Ten Months of 2013 Up 19% from 2012
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The U.S. Census Bureau recently released statewide totals for building permits issued in October and shows 1,059 single-family permits were pulled. This number is 1% below the numbers from last October, when 1,069 permits were pulled. The 1,059 permits pulled in October marks the second best October since 2007. For the first ten months of the year, Indiana has pulled 11,124 single-family building permits, a 19% increase from 2012, when 9,344 single-family permits were issued for the first ten months. |
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Governor Requests Federal Aid for Storm-Damaged Howard County
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The devastating tornadoes in Howard County on November 17 resulted in nearly 1,000 damaged homes, and of those, 191 homes with major damage or total destruction. Governor Pence has requested a federal major disaster declaration, which would include grants and low-interest loans for citizens and low-interest loans for businesses in the county. The request indicates that further damage may be identified and reserves the right to request assistance for additional counties. Howard, Daviess, Fountain and Grant counties all have declared states of disaster emergencies. |
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"Best-Performing Cities" List Includes Several Indiana Cities
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Several Hoosier communities made the cut in an annual index of the country's "Best-Performing Cities". The rankings from the Milken Institute, a California-based think tank, consider metrics including job creation and technology. You can view the full study by clicking here.
Large Indiana cities on the list include:
33. Indianapolis-Carmel metro, up from 51 last year
58. Louisville-Jefferson County, Ind., up from 85 last year
104. Fort Wayne, down from 59 last year
113. Cincinnati Metro, down from 89 last year
117. Gary, down from 112 last year
166. Evansville Metro, down from 101 last year
176. South Bend-Mishawaka, down from 153 last year
Small Indiana cities on the list are:
2. Columbus, up from 15 last year
20. Lafayette, up from 37 last year
75. Bloomington, up from 91 last year
103. Anderson, up from 135 last year
104. Elkhart, down from 62 last year
109. Goshen, down from 77 last year
115. Terre Haute, down from 90 last year
122. Muncie, up from 170 last year
136. Michigan City-La Porte, up from 154 last year
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Residential Mortgage Rates Up
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The average rate for 30-year mortgages rose from 4.39 percent to 4.44 percent in the week ended November 27. The rate for 15-year mortgages rose from 3.42 percent to 3.47 percent.
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LEGISLATIVE
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IBA Testifies at Hearing on Land Banks
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At the final meeting of the Commission on State Tax and Financing Policy this past Tuesday was a discussion on whether Indiana should pursue legislation authorizing municipalities throughout the state to establish land banks. The purpose of these quasi-governmental entities is to be a clearinghouse for properties that are located in areas a municipality has targeted for improvement. A large part of land bank’s purpose is to address problems associated with vacant and abandoned properties in areas that have depressed market values. The idea is to aggregate a number of properties and either make improvements to stimulate interest by private investors, or bundle properties together so investors can improve a sufficient number of properties to spark interest in the area by other investors and home buyers. IBA’s Governmental Affairs Director, Tom Havens, testified at the hearing and expressed our support for the overall purpose of land banks – which is to get unproductive property back on the tax rolls and into a productive use. However, there are still several ongoing concerns with prior legislative drafts and current proposals concerning the mechanics by which land banks would acquire and dispose of property. While it is certainly beneficial to take positive strides to address problems with vacant and abandoned property, we do not want to create new local agencies that would compete with private businesses for valuable property. The Commission elected not to make any recommendations on the topic to the legislature; however, a legislative proposal allowing locals to establish land banks is very likely. IBA staff will remain involved in these discussions to make sure that if land banks are permitted, that they have only the authority needed to effectuate their intended purpose and no more.
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State Auditor Resigns
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State Auditor Dwayne Sawyer resigned his post effective December 15 citing “personal and family reasons” in his resignation letter to Governor Pence. Sawyer was appointed in August to replace Tim Berry who left the office to serve as chairman of the Indiana Republican Party.
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Senator Nugent to Retire
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State Senator Johnny Nugent (R-Lawrenceburg) announced he will not seek reelection in SD42 in 2014. Nugent was first elected to the State Senate in 1978 and has served the following counties: Bartholomew, Dearborn, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, Union, Franklin, Switzerland and Fayette. Nugent is a former Majority Floor Leader of the Senate Majority Caucus and served as chair of the Senate Agriculture and Small Business Committee for more than 20 years. He also served as chair of the Roads and Transportation Committee, and was ranking member of the Insurance and Financial Institutions Committee. Other Senators announcing they won’t seek reelection next year are Lindel Hume (D-Princeton), Tom Wyss (R-Fort Wayne) and Allen Paul (R-Richmond).
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REGULATORY
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Code Services Reviews Local Building Ordinances
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The Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission adopts the code of building and fire safety laws that affect all buildings classified as Class 1 or Class 2 structures in the state of Indiana. Code Services provides technical information for code development and administrative services to the Commission including providing preliminary reviews of local building ordinances. Towns, cities, and counties, considering amending their local building ordinances should send a preliminary draft to Mara Snyder, Director of Legal and Code Services. Local building ordinances that conflict with the Commission’s rules are not enforceable. |
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Remind Homeowners on Septics of Maintenance
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If you build homes serviced by a septic system, please encourage those homeowners to check out “SepticSmart”, a program with information on proper septic system care and maintenance launched by the U.S. EPA in 2012. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 25 percent of U.S. households—more than 26 million homes—and almost one-third of new developments are serviced by septic systems. The program encourages homeowners to take steps to maintain their home septic systems, preventing costly repairs, inconvenience and pollution to local waterways, which poses risks to public health and the environment. Regular inspection and pumping of a septic system can save homeowners from costly repairs since the average cost to pump a septic system is $250, while the average cost of replacing a conventional septic system is $5,000 - $10,000. |
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NAHB
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EPA Releases New Lead Guidance for Plumbing Parts
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EPA has issued a final guidance document regarding changes made by the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act for lead-free plumbing fittings and fixtures that take effect on Jan. 4, 2014. The guidance stipulates that all dealers, retailers and installers must not sell non-compliant products after that date even if they are part of existing inventory.
The document includes several implementation guidelines, information on the scope of the act and an FAQ to assist with compliance. The act’s amendments cover two primary areas:
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First, it lowers the maximum allowable lead content of plumbing products such as pipes and fixtures from 8% to 0.25%.
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Second, the act adds exemptions to the lead-free requirements for any pipes, pipe or plumbing fittings, or fixtures that are used in manufacturing, industrial processing, for irrigation purposes and any other uses where the water is not intended for human consumption.
The federal legislation mimics existing California regulations with one major difference; California regulates products intended to provide water consumption. The act, on the other hand, includes service products that are anticipated to be used for human consumption. For example, EPA has reasoned that fire hydrants are anticipated for use for human consumption because they "can be, and are, used in emergency situations to provide drinking water," the guidance said. In addition, there may be state and local requirements that include further limitations. See a detailed summary on NAHB’s website or contact Tabby Waqar at (800) 368-5242 ext. 8327 with questions.
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ICC Rolls Out cdp ACCESS
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The International Code Council (ICC) has released cdpACCESS—the new, cloud-based tool built for ICC’s code development process (cdp). Code development process participants can create code change proposals, invite colleagues to collaborate, make proposals viewable to all and submit proposed code changes to ICC. Eligible voters will be able to vote online on code changes following the hearings.
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New-Home Sales Up Sharply in October
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Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 25.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 444,000 units in October, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The government also reported that new-home sales fell 6.6 percent in September. The release of both the September and October report were delayed by the partial government shutdown in early October.
“The October sales numbers show that there is clearly a demand for new housing and the recovery remains on track,” said Rick Judson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Charlotte, N.C. “However, the recovery continues to be slowed by political uncertainty in Washington and ongoing constraints builders face with regard to tight credit conditions for consumers and the availability of labor, lots and materials.”
“The strong October results return us to the sales levels we saw earlier this year and negate the pause caused by the sudden jump in interest rates,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “We expect sales to continue to rise as pent up demand is released and first-time home buyers creep back into the market.”
All four regions posted double-digit sales gains in October. Sales rose 19.2 percent in the Northeast, 34 percent in the Midwest, 28.2 percent in the South and 15.2 percent in the West. The months’ supply of new homes fell to 4.9 due to the quicker sales pace in October, and the inventory of new homes for sales also edged down to 183,000 units.
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Strong Multifamily Sector Pushes Building Permits Above 1 Million in October
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Issuance of new building permits rose 6.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.034 million units in October due primarily to a double-digit increase on the multifamily side, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. This follows a 5.2 percent increase in permit issuance in September to 974,000 units. Census figures for nationwide housing starts for September and October have been delayed until Dec. 18 as a result of last month’s partial government shutdown.
Multifamily permit issuance rose 15.3 percent to 414,000 units in October while the single-family side posted a 0.8 percent gain to 620,000 units. Regionally, permits issuance in October held steady at 101,000 units in the Northeast and rose 15.4 percent in the West and 9.4 percent in the South. The Midwest posted a 9.6 percent decline. |
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