July 2021
New Home Sales in May Decline as Costs Rise
New home sales fell to the lowest pace in a year, with prices jumping 18% on a year-over-year basis, due to the high costs and uncertain availability of building materials, lots and labor. Sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 5.9% in May to a 769,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data by HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. The May number follows significant downward revisions to the April estimate and previous months’ readings. Inventory remains low at a 5.1-month supply, with 330,000 new single-family homes for sale, 3.8% lower than May 2020. Supply-side challenges remain, with the count of new homes sold that had not started construc- tion up 76% over the last year. The count of new homes sold that are completed and ready to occupy is down 33%. The median sales price was $374,400, up 18% from the $317,100 median sales price posted a year earlier. Entry-level buyers are being most affected by higher prices. One year ago, shares of sales priced below $300,000 accounted for 44% of sales, while this May it has dropped to 26%. Regionally on a year-to-date basis, new home sales rose in all four regions, up 48.7% in the Northeast, 33.5% in the Midwest, 32.3% in the South, and 5.6% in the West. These significant increases are due in part to lower sales volume during the COVID crisis a year ago.
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Calendar of Events July 26 General Membership Dinner/Meeting 6:30 Dawson Brunswich Chamber of Commerce at Mead Lumber August 21 Norfolk HBA Golf Tournament August 27 Central Nebraska HBA Golf Tournament September - October CHBA Membership Drive September 30 - October 1 Area 11 Leadership Conference Omaha, NE October 25 General Membership Dinner/Meeting TBD
IN THIS EDITION CHBA BOARD OF DIRECTORS p.2 CALENDAR OF EVENTS p.2 NEWS ACROSS THE NATION p. 3-5 LEGISLATIVE REPORT p.6 AREA 11 LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE p.7-8 ICC OPEN LETTER p. 9 NORFOLK HBA GOLF OUTING p. 10-11 CENTRAL NE HBA GOLF OUTING p. 12
2021 CHB Board of Directors President Levi Abbott Vice President Jerry Nauenburg Treasurer Hollie Olk Past President Steve Long Director Danny Willets Nebraska State HBA Directors Sectretary Steve Long Directors Levi Abbot Jerry Nauenburg
Biden Replaces FHFA Director President Biden moved quickly to replace Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mark Calabria after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 23 that the FHFA director can be removed at will. Biden named Sandra L. Thompson as Acting Director of FHFA. Thompson has served as deputy director of FHFA’s Division of Housing Mission and Goals since 2013. She is likely to pursue the priorities of the Biden administration, such as improving racial equity and addressing climate-related risks.
NAHB Calls for More Domestic Lumber Appearing at a recent forum conducted by Republican members of the House Natural Resources Committee and GOP members of the House Western Caucus, NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke called on Congress to increase domestic lumber production from federal lands, both as a means to improve housing affordability and address the resilience of our national forests. HUD Announces New Fair Housing Rule The Department of Housing and Urban Development in June published an interim final rule that is a revised version of the Obama-era Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule. The interim final rule will go into effect on July 31, 2021, and HUD will take comments for 30 days after publication. This 2021 version of the rule will not require local govern- ments to report progress in identifying and addressing affordable housing barriers back to HUD as the Obama- era rule did.
Construction Exempt from COVID Rule OSHA in June issued an emergency temporary standard with new enforceable requirements for employers to protect workers from COVID-19. But the new standard, which goes into effect immediately, will apply only to workers in healthcare settings. NAHB, through its partnership in the Construction Ind- ustry Safety Coalition, spent months educating OSHA officials about the nature of residential construction work and potential disease transmission. Those effort were successful, as OSHA recognized that home building activities did not need to be included. However, construction firms should maintain awareness of any state or local COVID-19 requirements and implement the appropriate safety measures.
EPA Plans to Revise Definition of WOTUS The EPA and Department of the Army (the agencies) have announced their intent to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). EPA Admin- istrator Michael Regan said on June 9 that the Navi- gable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) enacted during the Trump administration to define WOTUS “is leading to significant environmental degradation.” NWPR remains in effect, for now. The federal rulemaking process typically takes more than a year to complete.
Ruling Exempts NAHB Members from CDC Eviction Moratorium
Mid-Year Economic Outlook On the latest episode of NAHB’s Housing Developments podcast, CEO Jerry Howard and guest host Senior Vice President of Communications Paul Lopez sit down with Chief Economist Robert Dietz to hear his mid-year economic report. Dietz offers his forecast for the rest of 2021 and advice to NAHB members regarding how to weather the upcoming “perfect storm” of high material prices, including the outlook for lumber supply and prices, as well as increased inflationary pressure, rising interest rates and growing regulatory challenges. To view Dietz’s outlook from the beginning of 2021 and see how his predictions held up in the first six months of the year, click here.
A federal judge has reaffirmed that members of NAHB are exempt from the nationwide eviction moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC), but ruled that the exemption only applied to the plaintiffs in the case (including NAHB members) and not to all landlords nationwide. So, although the judge would not grant relief to all landlords across the country, he did make clear the CDC’s unlawful action does not apply to NAHB members. Since the case was brought in October 2020, the judge’s ruling protects all NAHB members who were members of the assoc- iation dating back to last October. Those who became new members of NAHB after October 2020 are not exempt under the court order. NAHB brought the lawsuit against the CDC challenging the eviction moratorium in the federal district court in Ohio.
FHA Alters Student Loan Formula At NAHB’s urging, the Federal Housing Administration in June updated its student loan monthly payment calculations to help improve access to affordable, single-family FHA-insured mortgage financing for credit- worthy individuals with student loan debt. Previously, FHA presumed a monthly payment of 1% of the outstanding student loan balance, which is almost always larger than the actual payment being made by the potential borrower. NAHB contended that the previous policy disqualified credit- worthy borrowers due to inflated debt-to- income ratios resulting in limited financing options or disqualifying borrowers entirely. The new policy bases the monthly payment on the actual student loan payment, which is usually lower than the presumed pay- ment under the previous formula.
The featured home in the July edition of the Home Performance Counts: Virtual Green Home Tour Series is a showcase of green building and universal design. The concepts of health, efficient energy use and aging in place are now passion points for many buyers. Built with indoor health in mind as well as the flexibility to age gracefully, this month’s featured home blends the latest in modern living designs with contemporary and classic northwest architectural styles. Located in the Urban Downs community of Ridgefield, Washington, the Gladstone has earned 2020 NGBS Green Certified Emerald level certification - the highest available - as well as the Wellness and Universal Design NGBS Green+ badges. Additional certifi- cations include DOE Zero Energy Ready Home and EPA Indoor airPLUS. This edition of the tour, which takes place July 15, will also feature a discussion with Jerud Martin, director of construction and owner of Urban NW Homes in Vancouver, Wash., and Ashley Moala, real estate broker with Cascade Sotheby’s International Realty in Vancouver. These free, 45-minute programs are held the third Thursday of each month and include a live Q&A with building and real estate professionals. Register now for access to the full Virtual Green Home Tour Series. The Virtual Green Home Tour Series is produced by Home Performance Counts, a joint effort of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Registrants can access the replay for this event and others in the series through NAHB's webinar replay library.
July's Virtual Green Home Tour Features Universal Design
Final Legislative Report for the 107th Nebraska Legislature – 1st Session The Nebraska Legislature opened on January 6th, 2021. There were eight new elected members which include three who have served previously due to term limits. Senator Mike Hilgers was elected to serve a two-year term as speaker of the Legislature. The Senate did pass the two-year budget which will hold annual spending growth below 3 percent. The Revenue Committee funded new property tax relief and cut taxes on military retirement, Social Security Income, business inputs and residential water service. This session is touted by Governor Ricketts as “the most, the biggest, the greatest amount of tax relief any legislature has done in a quarter century—and potentially in the history of the state of Nebraska”. Highlights of the budget include $9.7 Billion in total. $100 million in general funds to the Nebraska Capital Construction Fund for a new state prison should one are deemed necessary in the future. $14.9 million for designs for a possible new facility. $15 million to the Prison Overcrowding Contingency Fund and $200,000 to the University of Nebraska to study inmate classification within the state department of Correctional Services. Nebraska State Home Builders Association began the session with approximately 25 bills of interest to our association. The association went on record on the following bills: LB218 – Adopt 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code Standards – A written statement was sent in opposition to this bill due to the state of Nebraska recently adopting the 2018 International Building Code and the 2018 International Residential Code which include chapters on the 2018 International Plumbing Code. The bill was ultimately included in the Urban Affairs omnibus bill which included seven bills and was passed. LB218 adopts the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code as the state’s default code. LB221 – Adopt 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code Standards – This bill was introduced by the Urban Affairs Committee, Justin Wayne. Nebraska State Home Builders Association sent written opposition to this bill due to the fact that the state had recently adopted the 2018 International Building Code (IBC) and the 2018 International Residential Code which include chapters on plumbing for new and existing buildings. This bill would have been in conflict with our current state building code. The bill did not advance. LB161 – Provides for the applicability of state and local construction codes. This bill was eventually amended into the Urban Affairs Omnibus Bill which makes several technical changes to the Building Construction Act. Provisions of 161 were amended into 131. LB9 was signed by the Governor – May 5th, 2021 – Changes annexation requirements and property tax special valuations. LB-44 – Approved by the Governor – March 17th, 2021– Changes requirements for adoption of an affordable housing action plan. LB163 – Urban Affairs – Approved by the Governor – March 31, 2021 – Change and eliminate provisions relating to cities, villages and metropolitan utilities districts – This was basically a cleanup bill. LB423 – Urban Affairs – Approved by the Governor on May 5th, 2021 – This bill provides for the regulation of home inspectors through registration with the Secretary of State’s Office. Beginning on January 1st, 2023, home inspectors will be required to register with the Secretary of State, pay a registration fee and provide a certificate of insurance for general liability insurance of not less than $250,000 for general liability. On the Workforce side, there were several bills that will help in encouraging people to stay in Nebraska and have opportunities that rival other states. The legislature also worked on bills that will attract new businesses and workforce from other states. Retaining our population as well as growing our population is key to new business, growing existing businesses and overall economic success. Because many people are now working from home and plan to continue to do so, housing in our state continues to be more affordable for families. Quality of life is a plus here, Education is a plus. All of these changes point to a great future for our state. Taxes were another area that played a large part in this legislature. LB680 and LB432 are prime examples of moving in the right direction on taxes. There were a number of other bills having to do with the building industry that were monitored and did not advance. Due to COVID 19, I monitored by watching each day and by email and phone. The procedures on the floor were very different this year and it remains to be seen as to how 2022 will go. Respectfully Submitted, Barbara J. Byrd - NSHBA Executive Officer/State of Nebraska Registered Lobbyist
We extend our condolences to all those affected by the recent Surfside, Florida, building collapse. And, we want to extend our deep appreciation to the first responders who were there in the immediate aftermath of the collapse and spent days searching for survivors. Our hearts and our gratitude are with you. Building safety is a tough job. No matter your role – code official, architect, engineer, builder, tradesperson, or manufacturer – your job contributes to safe spaces for us to live and work. The work can be challenging and is often overlooked by the public. We want to take the time to say thank you all for the hard work you do. When devastating incidents occur, our daily work is placed under a microscope. With the recent tragic collapse, the work you do may be under increased scrutiny. Your role as a building safety leader is more crucial than ever at this time as you guide the public, demonstrate integrity, and maintain professional competence. In your role, you ensure that tragedies like the Surfside condominium collapse are an extremely rare event. The job of a building safety professional is hard, and often unnoticed and unappreciated, but it has a powerful impact on the world. Never forget that you are part of a community that is committed to creating safe, affordable, and sustainable buildings and communities. As always, we are here to support you; your fellow building safety professionals are here to support you as well. Even in the toughest of circumstances, we can work together to take lessons learned from tragic incidents like this and prepare for a more resilient future. Greg Wheeler, CBO President ICC Board of Directors Dominic Sims, CBO Chief Executive Officer International Code Council