July 2022
May New Home Sales up in Advance of Fed’s June Rate Hike
After posting four consecutive monthly declines on rising mortgage rates and worsening affordability conditions, new home sales posted a solid gain in May as some buyers rushed into the market in advance of the Federal Reserve’s June interest rate hike. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in May increased 10.7% to a 696,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from an upwardly revised reading in April, according to newly released data by HUD and the Census Bureau. New home sales are down 10.6% in 2022 on a year-to-date basis. Though new home sales registered a solid increase in May, we expect sales to decline in June following the Fed’s action to significantly raise interest rates in an effort to ease inflation. While sales were up in May, the 696,000 annual pace was 5.9% lower than a year ago. Existing home inventory remains tight and this supports demand for new construction. New single-family home inventory remained elevated at a 7.7 months’ supply, up 42.6% over last year, with 444,000 available for sale. However, only 8.3% of new home inventory is completed and ready to occupy. The remaining have not started construction (25.9%) or are currently under construction. Regionally, on a year-to-date basis, new home sales fell in all four regions, down 3.8% in the Northeast, 21.7% in the Midwest, 12.3% in the South and 2.2% in the West.
Biden Signs Ocean Shipping Reform Act President Biden in June signed into law the Ocean Shipping Reform Act. The measure is designed to move ships into and out of ports faster and to ad- dress barriers to trade and challenges associated with moving goods to their final destination. “This legislation will help ease building material supply chain bottlenecks that are raising the cost of housing and allow builders to increase production of badly needed affordable housing,” said Jerry Konter, NAHB chairman and a home builder and developer from Savannah, Ga.
Plan to Apply for an NAHB Industry Award Each year, NAHB recognizes the best of the best in our industry. Our prestigious awards celebrate, honor and recognize excellence. As an award winner, the spotlight shines on your business with year-long promotion. So, gather your photos and the descriptions of your stellar projects. Shout out your biggest accomplishments and get the recognition you deserve. NAHB’s award applications open July 11. Find the award program that’s right for your business and enter. Thousands Attend Second Housing Showcase Visitors came to the National Mall in droves June 10-12 to check out the latest housing innovations and learn more about how they can help address the housing afford- ability crisis. Building on the first Showcase event in 2019, the 2022 Innovative Housing Showcase fea- tured more than a dozen exhibitors of innovative building technologies — including full-size prototype homes — that address affordability and resiliency and emphasize energy efficiency and sustainability. Exhibitors counted a total of 18,000 visits at the displays. NAHB and the Department of Housing and Urban Development co-hosted the event.
NAHB Members Trek to Capitol Hill More than 600 builders, remodelers and associate members visited Capitol Hill on June 15 for NAHB's 2022 Legislative Conference to spotlight the growing housing affordability crisis that threatens to derail the economy. In more than 200 individual meetings, NAHB members urged their lawmakers to support policies that will ease building material supply bottlenecks and increase the production of quality, affordable housing.
Know the Signs of Heat Stroke It’s the peak of the summer, and that means workers may face high heat conditions. During this dangerous time, the most serious heat illness is heat stroke. Symptoms include: Confusion, slurred speech, disorientation, inability to think clearly, collapsing, unconsciousness or potential seizures, and no sweating. If a worker is experiencing heat stroke, cool them down immediately and call 911. Tips to keep workers safe on the jobsite can be found in the NAHB's Heat Stress Safety Toolkit.
What Does the Fed's Rate Hike Mean for Housing?
Regs Are 40% of Multifamily Costs A recent study by NAHB and the National Multifamily Housing Council found that regulation imposed by all levels of government account for an average of 40.6% of multifamily development costs. Excessive regulations and conflicting requirements can cause delays, increase costs and make it difficult to build new housing that working families can afford. To help builders expand multifamily housing production, NAHB is calling on local, state and federal officials to roll back costly impact fees, inefficient zoning rules, and density and growth restrictions that derail efficient land use and drive up housing costs.
At the conclusion of its June meeting, the Federal Reserve surpassed prior expectations and raised the federal funds target rate by 75 basis points. It was the largest increase for the funds rate since 1994 and a clear response to elevated inflation data from May. Mortgage interest rates are closing in on 6% and will continue to climb as further tightening is expected throughout the year. Given signs of slowing economic activity, including six straight months of declines for home builder sentiment, a clear risk is that by falling behind the curve, the Fed will overshoot on tightening and bring on a recession. There continues to be a housing deficit in the United States. The nation’s aging housing stock will further support demand for remodeling activity. And as mortgage interest rates rise, the demand for rental multifamily and single-family housing will remain solid.
Home Buyers Spend More NAHB analysis of Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that in the first year after closing on a home sale, buyers of new homes spend four times as much as non- moving owners and twice as much as buyers of existing homes. Top Expenditures Alterations and repairs: New home buyers - $11,930 Buyers of existing homes - $5,761 Non-moving owners - $2,966 Furnishings: New home buyers - $5,122 Buyers of existing homes - $2,665 Non-moving owners - $904
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
August 3-4 SEBC Orlando August 25 Hard Hat Happy Hour September 21 GCBA Board Meeting September 29 PRISM October 12 GCBA Annual Meeting & Election of Officers October 24-27 NAHB Fall Boards November 18 2nd Annual Chili Cook Off December 13 9 Wine & Dine & Hard Hat Happy Hour
Calendar of Events Check GCBA's Monday eMail for current Location & Registration Information. Masks are recommended if vaccinated for all indoor events.
2022 GCBA Officers and Directors OFFICERS PRESIDENT Rafael Roca, DR Horton 1ST VP Michael Nunziata, 13th Floor Homes 2ND VP Frank Coppola, Coppola Brothers LLC 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 FL. Karl Albertson, DR Horton Mark Welsh, Lennar Jon Long, Ryan Homes Steve Dassa, Mattamy Homes Ethan Nelson, UMI Stone Peggy West, Capitol Lighting PRO Rick Baxter, Localiq (Palm Beach Post) Mark Anderson, US Bank Executive Officer: KT Catlin Design: Gregory J. Del Deo
More than 108,000 Americans died last year from accidental drug overdoses. For people struggling with a substance use dis- order, one of the biggest barriers to getting the treatment and support they need is the stigma associated with addiction. Many people who could benefit from treatment and other resources do not utilize them because of the shame and blame associated with addiction. NAHB continues to work with SAFE Project, a national nonprofit bringing a unified and collaborative approach to the fight to end the addiction fatality epidemic. Join NAHB in combating the negative public perception and supporting others in speaking up about their own disorders by signing the No Shame Pledge — SAFE Project's national movement to combat stigma. There's no shame in getting help for addiction and mental health. The No Shame Pledge I understand that addiction is a disease, and I pledge to eliminate the stigma for individuals, family members, and friends experiencing it. I commit to learning more about the disease of addiction and to changing the conversation surrounding it. I support those facing these challenges and want to provide them with a shame-free environment to overcome them. I will learn more about factors that contribute to addictive behavior — such as mental health challenges and trauma — and encourage individuals to seek the help and treatment needed to address them. For individuals in recovery, I pledge to support them in their recovery journey by providing supports, not barriers, as they continue their path of leading a self-directed, safe, productive, and successful life.
Take the ‘No Shame Pledge’ to End Stigma Around Addiction
Welcome to our Newest Members!
BUILDERS Fabio Campanaro Atelier Fabio Campanaro Adam Dwyer Meritage Homes ASSOCIATES Clint Cobia Koala Insulation of the Palm Beaches David Burstein Atlantic Pacific Insurance 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!
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
GCBA 2022 TOP RECRUITERS Michele Mockenhaupt – 9 KT Catlin – 8 Rafael Roca – 8 S. Robert August –2 Ray Puzitiello – 1 Beth Cohen – 1 Kate Nordstrom – 1 Jay Huebner – 1 Herb Tremble – 1 Jamil Mikati – 1 Kathy Macaluso – 1 Michael Brown – 1 Peggy West – 1 Gary Brown – 1 Tom Corona – 1 Michael Nunziata – 1 Ron Yuter – 1 Andrea Flores – 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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404 Permitting Review Policy Update A message from FHBA Second Vice President Everett Morrow: Recently several environmental consultants reached out to me regarding a new policy by EPA regarding the review of 404 individual permits. Under the 404 delegation, EPA reviews all individual permits before they are issued by FDEP. EPA has taken the position that, on individual permits, all impacted wetlands must be mitigated regardless of whether the wetlands are exempt from mitigation. Rusty Payton and I spoke with FEDP Deputy Director John Truitt on June 15 and Deputy Secretary Truitt confirmed EPA had drawn a line in the sand on this issue and FDEP had no recourse. EPA has filed objections to 15 individual permits so far and 14 of the objections were resolved by mitigating all wetland impacts on site and the remaining objection was closed as the permit was for a mining project and the application was withdrawn. At the NAHB Spring meeting in Washington, DC Rusty and I met with several NAHB staff members who work exclusively with WOTUS. Currently EPA is on course to have a new WOTUS rule in place prior to the Sackett case being heard by the US Supreme Court on October 3, 2022. It is anticipated that the US Supreme Court will rule such that the WOTUS rule (current or proposed) will have to be revised after the Court ruling is issued in February or March of 2023. We are continuing to work with NAHB staff to monitor the new rule proposed by EPA and will keep you posted as there are new developments. Please do not hesitate to contact me by email at eem@lesc.com with any questions.
FHBA Government Affairs Update The FHBA advocacy team has been hard at work evaluating new candidates and meeting with builders around the state. In Tallahassee, FHBA staff attended candidate interviews hosted by the Florida Chamber Political Institute (FCPI) on June 21-22. FCPI interviews hundreds of candidates, in an effort to identify pro-business and pro-jobs candidates seeking office in upcoming elections. One component of our strategy is to ensure a business climate that is good for home builders in our state. Meanwhile, FHBA CEO and Chief Lobbyist Rusty Payton paid a visit to several HBA’s to deliver a complete wrap up from Florida’s 2022 Legislative Session. This recap of new laws that may affect builders was presented at the Northeast Florida Builders Association, Volusia Building Industry Association, Gold Coast Builders Association, and Greater Orlando Builders Association. If your local has not hosted one of these sessions, or if you missed it, you can catch the session during one of the 30+ continuing education hours offered at SEBC next month.
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Registration is open for the 2022 Southeast Building Conference (SEBC)! Come see why SEBC is the best investment you can make in your business this year! Learn from renowned speakers and fulfill your continuing education requirements See products in use at the Live Demo Stage Meet with more than 300 of the top building suppliers and manufacturers in the trade Take advantage of plenty of free networking opportunities All in sunny, Kissimmee, FL at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center, August 3-4, 2022. SEBC attendees will enjoy the discounted rate of just $189 per night at the spectacular Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center. This property offers fantastic dining and entertainment options, luxurious accommodation and is situated close to Walt Disney World and other theme parks. Don't wait, rooms are filling fast!
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