Jun 12 2020
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Builders to Push for Key Housing Priorities During 2020 Virtual Legislative Conference

By Industry News

Members looking to deliver the industry’s key priorities to Congress can make a difference by participating in the 2020 Legislative Conference on June 22-24 without traveling to Washington, D.C.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s conference will be completely virtual. Because NAHB members will not be visiting Capitol Hill, the virtual meetings with your federal lawmakers will actually create greater opportunities for increased participation, as hosting meetings online allow more members to attend this critical grassroots conference and get involved with advocacy efforts.

During these virtual meetings with lawmakers, members are encouraged to ask their representatives and senators to move forward on several key issues, including:

  • Promoting policies and job training programs that will help ensure an ample supply of well-trained workers to build the nation’s homes;
  • Strengthening the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC);
  • Reducing regulations that harm small businesses;
  • Preventing federal intrusion into the energy codes development process;
  • Revising small business lending programs during the COVID-19 crisis to make those loans available to more home builders; and
  • Providing rental assistance to struggling families during the coronavirus-caused economic downturn.

Tips to Prepare

In a recent Third Tuesday Town Hall, staff from NAHB’s Government Affairs and Membership teams spoke about the changes in the conference this year and how to use these changes to involve even more members. It’s an important opportunity for members to become more engaged and to help strengthen their local HBA.

A goal of these virtual meetings is to keep them at the same level as if they were held in-person. Here are some tips to prepare:

  • Dress the part — meetings on Capitol Hill usually require business attire.
  • It is very easy to speak over others on a virtual call, so make sure you are waiting for the appropriate time to comment.
  • Follow your local guidelines for social distancing and stay-at-home orders.

Please visit nahb.org/legcon, which includes the following resources to help you prepare for your virtual meetings:

For more information, contact Lauren Goodwin at 800-368-5242 x8639.

Jun 11 2020
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Building Materials Prices Move Higher in May

By Housing

Prices paid for goods used in residential construction increased 0.6% in May (not seasonally adjusted) according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. May marks only the fourth monthly increase in the past 12 months in the price index for residential construction inputs.

The index has declined 4.8% year-to-date (YTD), nearly four times the magnitude of the prior record for a May YTD decrease (-1.3% in 2009).  Prices paid for goods used in residential construction have fallen between January and May just three times since 2000.

Prices paid for gypsum products climbed 1.5% in May after decreasing 1.3% in April (seasonally adjusted). The price index for gypsum products has declined 0.5% over the past 12 months and is 8.3% lower than its most recent peak reached in March 2018.

Even after the monthly increase, gypsum product prices have declined 3.0% YTD.  Prices fell slightly more—3.2%–over the same period in 2019.

The 3.1% increase in softwood lumber prices is in stark contrast to the 10.8% decline in April and is the third monthly increase over the past four months.  Prices paid for softwood lumber are 2.7% below January 2020 levels but are 3.2% higher than they were in May 2019.

Nationally, prices paid for ready-mix concrete (RMC) were unchanged in May (seasonally adjusted) after decreasing 0.4% in April.

Prices in the Northeast advanced 0.3% in May, were unchanged in the South, and fell 0.5% and 1.5% in the Midwest and West regions, respectively (not seasonally adjusted).

Other changes in indexes relevant to home building and infrastructure are shown below.

Jun 11 2020
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Declines for Initial and Continuing Jobless Claims

By Housing

Weekly initial jobless claims continued to decline in the week ending June 6 and continuing claims, which lags initial jobless claims by one week, declined to 20.9 million in the week ending May 30. The data indicate that workers are returning to work, albeit slowly, as coronavirus restrictions are gradually eased.

The U.S. Department of Labor released the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report for the week ending June 6. In the week ending June 6, the number of initial jobless claims declined by 355,000 to a seasonally adjusted level of 1,542,000, compared to the revised previous week’s claims of 1,897,000. It marks the tenth straight week of declines in initial claims since the week ending March 28 when it hit a record peak of 6.9 million. The four-week moving average decreased to 2,002,000, from a revised average of 2,288,250 in the previous week. This week’s new claims brought the twelve-week total to 44.2 million.

Meanwhile, the number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment, known as continuing claims, declined slightly by 339,000 to a seasonally adjusted level of 20,929,000 in the week ending May 30. Now it was about 4 million less than the highest point of 24.9 million in the week ending May 9, indicating more unemployed workers are being rehired as businesses reopen. The four-week moving average was 21,987,500, a decrease of 404,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 14.4% for the week ending May 30. The previous week’s rate was revised down by 0.2 percentage point from 14.8% to 14.6%.

The U.S. Department of Labor also released the advanced number of actual initial claims under state programs without seasonal adjustments. The unadjusted number of advanced initial claims totaled 1,537,122 in the week ending June 6, a decrease of 82,886 from the previous week.

The chart below presents the top 10 states ranked by the number of advanced initial claims for the week ending June 6. Like the previous week, California, Georgia and Florida still reported the most advanced initial claims. California led the way with 258,060 initial claims, followed by Georgia with 134,711 initial claims and Florida with 110,520 initial claims. South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming had the least advanced initial claims across all the states.

Compared to the previous week, California (+29,426), Massachusetts (+17,102) and New York (+12,422) reported the largest increases in advanced initial claims for the week ending June 6. Texas (-16,941), Georgia (-14,452), and Michigan (-10,786) had the largest decreases in advanced initial claims.

Jun 10 2020
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Home Purchasing Climbs for Eighth Straight Week

By Housing

The latest round of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Application Survey showed an increase in its benchmark Market Composite Index for the week ending on June 5 by 9.3% from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Refinancing activity, which had been showing week-to-week declines since the second week of April, showed a sharp turnaround this week and posted an 11.4% gain compared to the previous week’s activity. Home purchasing continued its climb, posting gains for the eighth straight week, increasing from the previous week by 5.3%.

This week’s purchasing activity marked the highest level since January. Meanwhile, MBA’s 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate inched up one basis point from the record low reached last week of 3.37%. This suggests a cautionary stance among many lenders as the economy prepares for a relatively more V-shaped recovery from the COVID-19-induced slump.

As shown in the above figure, the declines in refinancing and purchasing activities’ year-over-year gains from the previous week, while nonetheless positive, are indicative of the uncertainty that the housing market faces as many businesses reopen across the nation.

Jun 08 2020
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2 Key Strategies to Reduce Home Wildfire Risk

By Uncategorized

All areas of the United States are vulnerable to one or more natural hazards — storms, earthquakes, floods, wildfires — but tend to be at higher risk for one or two. Understanding which hazards are a higher risk in your location is the first step to being prepared; no one ever wants to be out of his or her home because of a natural disaster, especially during this current public health crisis.

Summer is approaching, which is peak wildfire season for some. In addition, some areas of the country are currently experiencing drought conditions, which will increase the risk of wildfire.

There are two main types of strategies builders, remodelers and home owners can employ to minimize potential impact from wildfires:

  • Maintaining a defensible space around the home to keep a fire, and
  • Selecting building envelope materials and using construction techniques that can make it harder for the home to catch fire.

Defensible space encompasses three zones around the home. The goal of this strategy is to reduce the chance that embers will “jump” to a home and limit the opportunity for a fire to ignite close to the home. Strategically spacing vegetation and maintaining it regularly lessens the chance of exposure to direct flames.

Graphic by disastersafety.org

  • Zone 1: 0-5 feet from the building (and under the deck)
    Goal: Create a noncombustible zone by using hardscapes and not planting vegetation directly next to the home
  • Zone 2: 5-30 feet from the building or to the property line
    Goal: Locate and maintain vegetation to keep fire from climbing up and reaching the home
  • Zone 3: 30-100 feet from the building or to the property line
    Goal: Strategically locate vegetation to slow down and reduce the energy of the fire.

Building envelope construction strategies and the material choices for the envelope can help to minimize fire risk from flying embers and flames. Examples of both include:

  • Using noncombustible roofing and gutter materials
  • Covering walls with fire-resistant materials such as brick, stone or stucco
  • Screening attic and underfloor vents to keep embers out but still allow airflow
  • Boxing in open eaves to create a soffited eave
  • Installing dual- or multi-pane tempered windows with screens
  • Encasing stilts so there is no opening below the floor, balcony or deck
  • Sealing the garage door with weather stripping to help reduce ember entry

Check out disastersafety.org for additional information on building and maintenance to reduce risk from wildfire. The International Code Council also publishes the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, which communities desiring to address wildfire risks on a jurisdiction-wide scale can adopt.

For more information about NAHB’s sustainable and green building programs, contact Program Manager Michelle Diller. And to stay current on the high-performance residential building sector, follow NAHB’s Sustainability and Green Building team on Twitter.

Jun 05 2020
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Businesses with PPP Loans Now Eligible for Payroll Tax Deferral

By Industry News

President Trump has signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, which makes a number of positive changes to the Payroll Protection Program (PPP). Among these changes, business owners who take out a PPP loan and have that loan forgiven are now eligible to delay their payroll tax payments.

Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, businesses are eligible to delay certain employer-paid payroll tax benefits.  However, the CARES Act blocked businesses who have their PPP loan forgiven from availing themselves of this delay. With this prohibition now lifted, all businesses — regardless of PPP status — may take advantage of the payroll tax delay.

For payroll taxes due from March 27 through the end of 2020, employers and self-employed individuals may defer payment of the employer share of Social Security taxes they are responsible for paying. This allows employers and those who are self-employed to save temporarily on the employer’s 6.2% Social Security tax on wages. Employees must continue to submit their portion of the Social Security tax.

Businesses should view this as an interest-free loan, as these delayed taxes must be repaid. Half of the deferred amount is due by Dec. 31, 2021. The balance is due by Dec. 31, 2022.

NAHB is providing this information for general information only. This information does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, or professional consulting of any kind nor should it be construed as such.