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NEWS
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THANKS FOR MAKING THE BILL CARSON MEMORIAL GOLF OUTING A SUCCESS
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IBA's annual Bill Carson Memorial golf outing was held on August 20th Idle Creek Golf Course in Terre Haute, IN. The event was held to raise funds for NAHB's BUILD-PAC and the advocacy programs of the Indiana Builders Association. Special thanks to golfers and sponsors that help the association at the state and national level protect and promote housing affordability with decision-makers.
Sponsors
Golf Course Sponsor - Idle Creek Golf Course & Jenkins Builders
Major Sponsor & Cart Item Sponsor - Speedway, LLC
Barbecue Sponsor - American Electric of Terre Haute
Lunch Sponsor - Charlie Pechette
Sign Sponsor - CSI Signs
Beverage Cart Sponsors - Big C Lumber, Timberland Lumber & Component Company, Vectren, Weber Concrete Construction, and Zeeland Lumber & Supply
Hole Sponsors - 84 Lumber, AIP Health Insurance Program, Gloria Anderson-Life Director, Big C Lumber, Frost Brown Todd, HBA of Fort Wayne, HBA of Greater Terre Haute, Joe Anderson Builders, Lawrence County HBA & Hoosier Door, MBAH Insurance / Heiny Insurance, NIPSCO, Parker Group, Speedway, Spire Group, Timberland Lumber & Component Company in Indianapolis & Brazil, Vectren, Wharton Insurance and Financial Services, and Wolff Insulation
Door Prize Sponsors - IBA, NAHB BUILD-PAC, Pam's Pit Stop Liquors and Uebelhor & Son Motor Co.
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BUILDERS DISCUSS HOUSING WITH CONGRESSMAN YOUNG
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A group of IBA members and staff met with Congressman Todd Young last Tuesday, August 12th to discuss federal housing-related issues. Some of the issues discussed include housing finance, immigration reform, and tax reform. The group also discussed recent developments to the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) that are beginning to cost builders and developers more money to develop land. The new CWA rule proposed by the EPA expands the definition of "navigable waters" which gives the federal government greater control over waterways that historically have been controlled by the states. As a result, development costs will increase and projects will be delayed because many will now have to comply with onerous federal requirements, such as EPA permitting and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits. The rule has not gone into effect yet and there is a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 5078) that would prevent implementation of the rule. Congressman Young was very receptive to the negative impact the new rule will have on the housing industry and has written several letters to Federal Agencies expressing his opposition to the rule. |
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MORTGAGE RATES
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The average rate for 30-year mortgages fell from 4.29 percent to 4.27 percent in the week ended Aug. 14. The rate for 15-year mortgages fell from 3.40 percent to 3.39 percent. |
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REGULATORY
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GOVERNOR APPOINTS 2 IBA MEMBERS TO COMMISSION
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Indiana Builders Association members Greg Furnish and Jessica Scheurich have been appointed by Governor Pence to the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission. The 11-member 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. The Commission also reviews applications for variances, appeals of state and local orders, and reviews local building ordinances.
Greg is a residential and commercial builder and his company is based in Memphis, Indiana. He is a member of the HBA of Southern Indiana and a past president of Indiana Builders Association. Jessica is the Development Coordinator at Keller Development, Inc. - a Fort Wayne company that develops, builds, and manages multifamily housing in Indiana. She is a member of the HBA of Fort Wayne. Their terms, along with that of James Jordan, Vice President, National Property Manager, Rimkus Consulting Group, expire on August 31, 2018.
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NAHB
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URGENT NEED TO ADVANCE LEGISLATION ENACTING HOUSING FINANCE REFORM
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Many of you have answered the call from NAHB to meet with or contact your representative and senator during the August congressional recess. Thank you! NAHB believes that path to a full housing recovery is through passage of housing finance reform, specifically, S. 1217, the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2014. This legislation preserves the affordable 30-year fixed rate mortgage, inspires more private capital to return to the market, and protects the American taxpayer from future bailouts.
Our allies in the Senate are asking NAHB to create momentum for this housing finance reform legislation. Please contact U.S. Senators Coats and Donnelly and ask them to advance long-overdue housing finance reform legislation and pass S. 1217. See the attached talking points for more information. You can send an email or call (866) 924-NAHB (6242). |
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SEPTEMBER 2 - REGISTER & SECURE YOUR HOTEL ROOM FOR 2015 IBS
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NAHB's 2015 International Builders' Show will be held January 20-22, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Caesar's Palace is the IBA headquarter hotel with rates begin at $190 per night. IBA also requested a block of rooms at the Flamingo with rates beginning at $74 per night. Registration for the show and special discounted rates on hotel accommodations are available on September 2 at www.BuildersShow.com. |
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INCREASING HOME VALUES AFFECT HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN SECOND QUARTER
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Nationwide housing affordability dipped in the second quarter of 2014 as several markets saw a firming of home prices, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI).
In all, 62.6 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of April and the end of June were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $63,900. This is down from the 65.5 percent of homes sold that were affordable to median-income earners in the first quarter. The national median home price increased from $195,000 in the first quarter to $214,000 in the second quarter. Meanwhile, average mortgage interest rates decreased from 4.57 percent to 4.44 percent in the same period.
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa. claimed the title of the nation's most affordable major housing market, as 90.4 percent of all new and existing homes sold in this year's second quarter were affordable to families earning the area's median income of $52,700. Meanwhile, Cumberland, Md.-W.Va. was the most affordable smaller market, with 97.2 percent of homes sold in the second quarter being affordable to those earning the median income of $54,100.
Other major U.S. housing markets at the top of the affordability chart in the second quarter included Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.; and Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pa; in descending order.Meanwhile, smaller markets joining Cumberland at the top of the affordability chart included Kokomo, Ind.; Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Ill.; Battle Creek, Mich.; and Lima, Ohio; in descending order.
For a seventh consecutive quarter, San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif. was the nation's least affordable major housing market. There, just 11.1 percent of homes sold in the second quarter were affordable to families earning the area's median income of $100,400. Other major metros at the bottom of the affordability chart were Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif.; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.; San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.; and New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J.; in descending order. All five least affordable small housing markets were in California. At the very bottom was Santa Cruz-Watsonville, where 16.6 percent of all new and existing homes sold were affordable to families earning the area's median income of $77,900. Other small markets included Napa, Salinas, Santa Rosa-Petaluma, and San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles; in descending order.
Please visit nahb.org/hoi for tables, historic data and details. |
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BUILDER CONFIDENCE RISES TWO POINTS IN AUGUST
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Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose two points to 55 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for August. This third consecutive monthly gain brings the index to its highest level since January.
Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for 30 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as "good," "fair" or "poor." The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as "high to very high," "average" or "low to very low." Scores from each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.
All three HMI components posted gains in August. The indices gauging current sales conditions and expectations for future sales each rose two points to 58 and 65, respectively. The index gauging traffic of prospective buyers increased three points to 42.
Every region saw a gain in its three-month moving average HMI score in August. The Midwest posted a seven-point increase to 55 and the West registered a four-point gain to 56. The Northeast posted a two-point gain to 38 and the South was up one point to 52. |
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COMBINED SINGLE-AND MULTIFAMILY GAINS BOOST HOUSING STARTS IN JULY
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Fueled by strong single- and multifamily growth, nationwide housing starts rose 15.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.093 million units in July, the highest level since November 2013, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Single-family housing starts were up 8.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 656,000 units in July, while multifamily production jumped 28.9 percent to 437,000 units.
Regionally in July, combined single- and multifamily housing production rose in the Northeast, South and West, with respective gains of 44 percent, 29 percent and 18.6 percent. Total production fell by 24.8 percent in the Midwest from an unusually high June level.
Issuance of building permits registered an 8.1 percent increase to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.052 million units in July. Multifamily permits rose 21.5 percent to 412,000 units while single-family permits increased by 0.9 percent to 640,000 units.
The Northeast, South and West registered overall permit gains of 18.8 percent, 9.6 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively, while the Midwest posted a 0.6 percent loss. |
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