November 2021
Top Markets for New Home Permits over the Last Decade
Home building staged a slow, modest recovery during the last decade in the wake of the Great Recession, then saw an uptick last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased building activity can been seen in both the single-family and multifamily sectors, based on data for permits from the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2020, builders applied for 979,360 single- family permits, which is 134% higher than the 2011 level of 418,498. For multifamily construction, 491,781 permits were issued in 2020. This is 139% higher than in 2011. Texas took the top spot, with three out of the five largest single-family markets in the Lone Star state. The graphic to the right shows the top 20 metropolitan statistical areas for single-family permits issued between 2011-2020. For multifamily construction, the New York- Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA metro area topped the list with 377,761 permits from 2011 through 2020. The No. 2 market over the same period was Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX with 217,621 permits, followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach- Anaheim, CA (185,732), Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (162,545), and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (139,659).
Solid Gain for September New Home Sales Fueled by strong demand and buyers’ anticipation of future higher mortgage rates, new home sales posted a solid gain In September. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in September rose 14% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 800,000, from a downwardly revised reading in August, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
More New Homes Receive HERS Rating A home’s Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index Score is calculated by a certified Resi- dential Energy Services Network (RESNET) HERS Rater who pro- vides an energy rating for a home by comparing its features against a defined reference home (a 2006 standard built home). Since the inception of the HERS Index in 1995, there have been more than 3.2 million HERS-rated homes, with more than 230,000 rated this year. 2020 saw a 24% increase in the number of rated homes over 2019, with nearly one in four new homes built receiving a HERS Index Score, according to RESNET. FHFA Announces Measures To Promote Affordability The Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced measures to advance the affordability of homeownership, especially in underserved communities. Over the coming months, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will expand certain eligibility requirements for their RefiNow and Refi Possible refinance programs aimed at assisting low-income borrowers. Second, the Enterprises will be incorporating desktop appraisals into their selling guides for new purchase loans, beginning in early 2022.
NAHB Calls for Action on Supply Chain NAHB is calling on Congress and the Biden admin- istration to help ease building material supply chain bottlenecks by removing trade barriers and seeking solutions to port congestion and persistent delays in truck and rail transportation. Testifying Oct. 20 before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations, NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke told lawmakers that extraordinarily high lumber and building materials prices are serious headwinds for the U.S. housing sector and for housing affordability.
Remodeling Index Remains Strong NAHB released its NAHB/Royal Building Products Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the third quarter, posting a reading of 87. That’s unchanged from the second quarter, but up five points from the third quarter of 2020. The finding is a signal of residential remodelers’ confidence in their markets, for projects of all sizes. An index number above 50 indicates that a higher share of remodelers view conditions as good than poor.
Property Taxes Vary Widely from State to State
Lot Shortage Getting Serious Even as home builders deal with a shortage of skilled labor and building materials supply challenges, in many areas they are also facing a serious lot shortage. In a recent NAHB survey, 76% of builders reported that the overall supply of developed lots in their areas was low to very low. This is a record-high response to this question since NAHB began collecting the information in the 1990s. The previous record was 65% in 2018. Responding to questions in the September 2021 NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) survey, 46% of single-family builders characterized the supply of lots simply as low, and 30% said the supply of lots was very low.
Property taxes vary widely across states both in terms of annual taxes paid as well as effective tax rates. In 2019, the difference between average real estate taxes paid by New Jersey and Alabama home owners was $7,974. New Jersey continued its distinction as having the highest average real estate tax bill per home owner ($8,687) as well as the highest effective tax rate (2.13%). Alabama ($713) and Hawaii (0.31%) were at the other end of the spectrum, with the lowest annual real estate tax bill and average effective tax rate, respectively. The difference in taxes between New Jersey and Alabama grew by $170 between 2017 and 2019. The map above shows the concentration of high average property tax bills in the Northeast. In contrast, southern states (with the exception of Texas) boast some of the lowest RET bills for their resident homeowners.
And Where Are the Workers? Economic growth for 2021 is expected to post the best GDP expansion rate since 1984. But the labor shortage has taken some of the bloom off the economic rose. The Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report for September registered a gain of only 194,000 jobs. Forecasters, including NAHB, were looking for a gain closer to 500,000. Indeed, the number of open, unfilled jobs in the construction sector now totals 344,000. As of September, residential construction workers totaled 3.1 million, broken down as 882,000 builders and 2.2 million residential specialty trade contractors. Over the last 12 months, home builders and remodelers added 136,300 jobs on a net basis.
Friday, November 12, 2021 1st Annual Chili Cook Off If your game enough to step up...bring it on and compete for the Title of GCBA's Best Chili. Limited to 10 chefs. Not quite ready to cook for the crowd come sample, have a drink, network and vote for your favorite chili. Tuesday, December 7, 2021 PWB Member Only Holiday Party Wear your Ugliest Sweater and Bring your best gift for Gift exchange ($25 and under) It is a 5.00 registration fee and a pay our own separate check at dinner This Party is for PWB Members only - Not a Members, sign into your member portal and join. Thursday, January 20, 2022 Installation of Officers & Industry Awards Celebrate as we install our 2022 Officers and Directors and honor members who have made outstanding contributions to our Association
If you are interested in serving on the Board and/or Becoming an Office please contact KT at 561-228-6137 or KT@GCBAFlorida.com
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Leadership List 2021 GCBA Officers and Directors OFFICERS PRESIDENT Fred Pfister, Toll Brothers 1ST VP Rafael Roca, DR Horton 2ND VP Michael Nunziata, 13th Floor Homes ASSOCIATE VP Tony Macaluso, Universal Engineering Sciences VP FINANCE Steve Karp, Melamed & Karp PA IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Jay Huebner, HSQ Group DIRECTORS Steven Dassa, Mattamy Homes Frank Coppola, Coppola Brothers Herb Tremble, Master Contractor and Subcontractor Association of Florida Karl Albertson, DR Horton David Donvito, Minto Peggy West, GRS Community Management Josh Hedden, Hydroshield Ken Lebersfeld, Capitol Lighting Lisbeth Linert, Clive Daniel Home Rick Baxter, Palm Beach Post Mark Richards, Stock Custom Homes Executive Officer: KT Catlin Design: Gregory J. Del Deo
The NAHB/NAR Home Performance Counts: Virtual Green Home Tour Series continues in November from Pebble Beach, Calif., at Villa Bilancia. Healthy home construction is one of the hottest topics in homebuilding today. Bill Hayward and his family experienced firsthand why it is critical. Years ago, they moved into what they thought was their dream home, only to discover the house was making them sick. From that exper- ience, Bill was inspired to help people better design their homes, leading to the creation of the Hayward Healthy Home principles and the Hayward Score. Villa Bilancia is the Hayward’s recently completed dream home. It was built using leading edge building science and healthy living knowledge. Experience high- performance at the highest level while also learning how the efficient and healthy strategies used are scalable to all homes. Another of the guiding principles for this home comes from the Wellness Within Your Walls (WWYW) program. WWYW founder Jillian Pritchard Cooke joins Bill on the tour and the post-tour Q&A. Register for the tour at nahb.org/greentour. These free 45-minute green tours are held the third Thursday of each month and include a live Q&A with building and real estate professionals. Registrants can access the replay for this event and others in the series through NAHB's webinar replay library. The series is a product of Home Performance Counts, a joint educational initiative between NAHB and the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Green Home Tour Looks at Healthy Home in Pebble Beach
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ASSOCIATES Brian Buetel The Buetel Wealth Management Group Ken Friedman Friedman, Feldmesser & Karpeles, CPAs Avery St James Inc Manny Martinez Andrew Wyman Wyman Legal Solutions Sam Yates Yates & Associates AFFILIATES Patty Biron KWD Landscape Architecture Lisa Johnson FPL Energy Services Ersilia Moreno Akel Homes BUILDER Phil Wenzofsky Coral Sun Enterprises, Inc. If you sponsored one of these individuals please let KT or Robin know! We will be having year long contests and recognition for Recruiting & Retention!
GCBA 2021 TOP RECRUITERS HV Tremble - 28 Fred Pfister - 14 KT Catlin - 12 Rafael Roca - 8 Michele Mockenhaupt - 6 Alexander Akel - 3 Mark Anderson - 3 David Kanarek - 2 Deborah Giarratana - 2 Jason Roberts - 2 Lisbeth Linert - 2 Michael Nunziata - 2 Amy Wieland-Carlson - 1 Devin Perry - 1 Eduardo Aleman - 1 Ethan Nelson - 1 Frank Coppola III - 1 Frank Williams - 1 Lisbert Linert - 1 Maddie Williams - 1 Marc Julien Homes - 1 Marcia Wegman - 1 Matthew Blum - 1 Maya Chocron - 1 Melissa Jewell - 1 Peggy West - 1 Rick Baxter - 1 Ron Ellish - 1 Steven Dassa - 1 Suzanne Donohue - 1 Tamra Ksiazek - 1 Teresa Hugo-Tigert - 1 GCBA SPIKE CLUB Members reach the GCBA Spike Club once you recruit 5 or more members in the current year. GCBA Spike Club Members will be recognized at Board Meetings & more!
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mEMBERSHIP NEWS
Contact Us - FHBA Private Insurance Exchange Phone: (800) 282-8626 Fax: (904) 212-2058 Address: FHBA Member Benefits 10739 Deerwood Park Blvd. Suite 200-B Jacksonville, FL 32256
Annual Meeting of the Members
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2022 Leadership List 2022 GCBA Officers and Directors Elected during the Annual Meeting of the Members on 11/4/2021 OFFICERS PRESIDENT Rafael Roca, DR Horton 1ST VP Michael Nunziata 2ND VP Frank Coppola, Coppola Brothers ASSOCIATE VP Tony Macaluso, Universal Engineering Sciences VP FINANCE Steve Karp, Melamed & Karp PA IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Fred Pfister, Toll Brothers DIRECTORS Mark Richards, Stock Custom Homes Herb Tremble, Master Contractors & Subcontractors Assoc. of F. FL. Karl Albertson, DR Horton Mark Welsh, Lennar Jon Long, Ryan Homes Steve Dassa, Mattamy Homes Lisbeth Linert, Clive Daniel Home Ethan Nelson, UMI Stone Peggy West, Capitol Lighting PRO Rick Baxter, Localiq (Palm Beach Post) Mark Anderson, US Bank
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Hammer Sponsor & Members networking
President Elect Rafael Roca and Current President Fred Pfister
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THE 3 MOST CRITICAL MISTAKES CONTRACTORS MAKE WITH THEIR LIEN RIGHTS As a construction attorney, I have seen contractors make critical mistakes that destroy their lien rights. Here are the 3 most common mistakes that you need to avoid: They Don’t Record Their Lien Timely. Florida’s Construction Lien Law is full of rigid time frames that, if not followed, will wipe out your lien rights. Generally, the deadline to file a Florida construction lien is no later than 90 days from the last date you furnished labor or materials to the project. You miss this deadline, and you have no lien rights. Period. End of Story. They Include Amounts in The Lien That Are Not Permitted. The amount you are allowed to lien is the value of the work you performed but have not yet been paid for, plus finance charges. You may not include lost profits, collection costs, attorneys’ fees or the costs of preparing or filing the lien. No extra amounts should be included in your Claim of Lien. Your penalty for an inflated claim of lien is potential invalidation of the lien and liability for recording a fraudulent lien. If they are a subcontractor, they don’t Send a Notice to Owner. Florida requires subcontractors and any contractors not in a direct contractual relationship with the Owner to send a Notice to Owner (NTO) to preserve their lien rights. Generally, the NTO must be provided to the Owner no later than 45 days after first providing labor or materials. A subcontractor’s failure to timely serve a NTO is a complete defense to enforcement of a later filed Claim of Lien. Andy Wyman, Esq. is the founder of Wyman Legal Solutions in Boca Raton, Florida, and holds a Martindale-Hubbell rating of “AV-Preeminent” – the highest such rating for legal ability and ethical standards. An avid golfer, Andy resides in Boca Raton, Florida with his wife and two children. You can learn more about Andy at https://wymanlegalsolutions.com/about-us/. Email Andy at andy@WymanLegalSolutions.com with any thoughts you would like to share concerning this article.
Ready to start shopping? Have questions? Need help? Visit the FHBA Private Insurance Exchange website to: Shop the best pricing on plans from industry-leading carriers, use the live chat tool, schedule an appointment to have a licensed benefits counselor assess your needs, discuss your options, and determine potential savings from ARPA subsidies. NOTE: If you need coverage with an effective date of Jan 1, 2022, you must enroll by Dec 15, 2021.
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Important Message from GCBA Bookkeeper Kathy Bass Florida Businesses Now Required to Report Earnings of Independent Contractors Effective October 1, Florida businesses will be obligated to report services received from independent contractor as a result of a new law signed into effect by Governor Ron DeSantis in June. Specifically, Senate Bill 1532 amends Fla. Stat. § 409.2576 to mandate that any “service recipient” report contractors making $600 or more per calendar year to the Florida Department of Revenue. The bill broadly defines “service recipient” as “a person engaged in a trade or business who pays an individual for services rendered in the course of such trade or business.” Therefore, independent contractors who are paid $600 or more in the calendar year are included. What do Florida employers need to know about this new law?
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Associate Spotlight: Yates & Associates It’s not a matter of if but just a matter of when a media crisis will knock on your door. How the crisis is handled can have a profound impact on your business and yourself. The reality of being the top story in a local newspaper or national newscast can be offset if you are prepared. Yates & Associates has helped clients manage scores of crises in the last thirty plus years. They have ranged from a rail disaster requiring evacuations to radioactive isotope exposure, product contamination, multi-million-dollar construction design flaws and behind the scenes management for celebrity/law enforcement cases. Toss in an internationally spotlighted sled-dog race and you get an idea of the variety. While the scenarios and confidential clients may differ there are certain elements of the crisis that remain the same. Every crisis should be addressed with a plan. Ideally, your business has a plan in place on who will respond to a crisis and how. Who will be the media spokesperson? How will the media be staged if the crisis is discovered? What is your internal communications plan, so information is not inadvertently leaked? How stable is your media spokesperson? Does your response cover all aspects of the media including social media? How do you monitor media coverage during a crisis? Have executives and key personnel received media training? Are you prepared if the crisis is positive news? Yates & Associates, Public Relations & Marketing Contact Sam Yates (772) 528-5185 for more information. www.YatesPRO.com
FHBA Inducts Three to Florida Housing Hall of Fame On Thursday, October 28, the FHBA inducted three new members to the Florida Housing Hall of Fame. The late Representative Mike Davis of Collier County, Edwin Henry of Henry Company Homes in Santa Rosa County and Dave Carter of Carter Engineering in Polk County were each recognized by the FHBA Hall of Fame Board of Governors with a formal dinner celebration. This honor is bestowed upon individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to housing in Florida, the building industry, and the Florida Home Builders Association.
Continuing Education Your Way Little time for classroom CEUs? Need multiple licensure renewals? Have licenses in additional states? No problem. FHBA has partnered with Home Prep to offer online CEU courses to help keep your licenses up to date at your own pace. These online courses include contractor licensing, exam prep, continuing educations, and certifications.
FHBA is Here to Help You Find the Best Coverage Possible When You Become A Member The FHBA Private Health Exchange is a multi-carrier marketplace designed for FHBA members, their staff and dependents. It was designed to help members and their employees find the insurance and benefits they need. Such as health benefits and long-term care. The FHBA Private Insurance Exchange helps you find what coverage is best for you.
Chairman’s Update on the Supply Chain Crisis and the “Great Resignation” In the November Chairman’s Update, NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke provides an overview of two events he recently attended on Capitol Hill, advocating on behalf of NAHB members and residential construction, and offers insight into what the “Great Resignation” of workers in response to COVID-19 means for housing industry.