New THIS Month MEMBERS ASSOCIATES Conserva Irrigation of Charleston Grayco Hardware & Home Jimmy Dunn - State Farm Insurance Vanir Installed Sales EVENTS Builder/Inspector Mtg. June 17th | 8:30AM N. Chs. Coliseum SMC: Unleash Your Superpowers June 23rd | 8:30AM ZOOM Virtual Event Paul Stein Leukemia Golf Tournament June 30th | 9:00AM Patriot's Point
J U N E 2020
Charleston HBA
IN THE NEWS
NAHB Members Respond to Community Needs During Crisis
Building the Future of the Lowcountry
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, NAHB members are meeting needs in their communities. Below are just a few of the many examples of members making a difference in this time of crisis. Cleaning for First Responders Southwest Montana Building Industry Association member Buffalo Restoration utilized its skills as a damage restoration and disinfectant company to aid area police and fire departments. The company volunteered to disinfect dozens of vehicles for the Bozeman police and fire department and Gallatin County sheriff, dentention center, and search and rescue. (continued).... (
(continued from page 1).... Financial Support 84 Lumber, based in western Pennsylvania, and its sister company Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, donated $500,000 to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Its donation was combined with funds raised through a challenge by a local television station for a total donation of more than $1 million, enough for more than 5 million meals. Wisconsin Food drive Racine-Kenosha Builders Association (RKBA) and Wisconsin Builders Association member Bear Homes LLC organized two “Fill the Truck” donation drives at a local grocery store. The drives brought in over 2,500 pounds of food and paper products for Shalom Center, a Kenosha-based shelter, food pantry, and soup kitchen.
Golf Tournament
Tuesday, June 30th Patriots Point,9:00AM
Sponsored by 84 Lumber Register at hbacharleston.com
SAVE TODAY Ology Hand Sanitizer
We continue to encourage our members to have a safe and healthy worksite. Save today with Ology Brewing Company, a supplier for hand sanitizer who is also an active member of the Alabama HBA. They will ship the sanitizer directly to the member in one gallon increments. Use the code: HBASC and recieve 10% off! Check out their website: shop.ologybrewing.com/
The owner of The Post and Courier and more than seven other media brands in the state of South Carolina, is proud to present a matching grant program for marketing and advertising. They want to support small businesses in our state by advertising during this difficult time caused by COVID-19. They will match up to $1 million in complimentary advertising space to eligible small businesses. Apply at: postandcourieradvertising.com/sc-small-business-marketing-grant/ Grant applications must be submitted by June 30,2020.
Complimentary Ad Space: How Your Business Can Apply
Guidance on PPP Loan Forgiveness
The Small Business Admin- istration, in consultation with the Treasury Department, has released the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application and detailed instructions. The form and instructions inform borrowers how to apply for forgiveness of their PPP loans, consistent with the CARES Act. SBA
will also soon issue regulations and guidance to further assist borrowers as they complete their applications, and to inform lenders about their responsibilities.
Survey Finds 22% of Builders Cut Home Prices in April
Roughly 22% of builders cut home prices in April 2020 in order to bolster sales or limit cancellations, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) survey. As a historical comparison, the 22% of builders reducing home prices in April 2020 is less than half the share who cut prices during the worst months of the last housing recession: 52% in May 2007 and 49% in March 2008. Builders who did reduce home prices in April 2020 cut them by an average of 5%. That discount is smaller than the average
price cuts in both May 2007 (7%) and March 2008 (8%). Only 12% of builders think price discounts are “very effective” in bolstering sales/ limiting cancellations. A majority of builders — 58% — believe they are “somewhat effective,” and 17% report they are “not at all effective.” The remaining 13% are not sure about the effectiveness of price reductions. Regionally, builders in the South (26%) and Midwest (23%) were most likely to have reduced prices, compared with much smaller shares in the West (13%) and Northeast (12%).
Job Losses Surged in March
The number of job losses in the construction sector more than tripled between February and March as the economy was hammered by the public health response to COVID-19. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data reveals there were 618,000 layoffs in the construction sector in March, a striking increase over the 202,000 total in February and a 245% jump over the 179,000 count in March 2019. The March data showed that the layoff rate
in the construction industry surged to 8.1% in March from a 2.6% level in February. This was the highest rate recorded in the history of the JOLTS data, which began at the end of 2001.
Oklahoma Adopts Affordability Law
The cities’ proposed changes would make housing more expensive, harming many low- and moderate-income households. The Oklahoma Home Builders Association (OkHBA) led a coalition of organizations in pushing for the legislative remedy.
In a victory for home builders and housing affordability, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) has signed into law legislation to limit cities and counties from requiring purely aesthetic building design that would needlessly raise the cost of housing. The measure is a response to residential design changes proposed by several cities that would prohibit exterior finishes such as vinyl, wood and aluminum siding that are otherwise permitted under all editions of the International Residential Code.
Leadership List
Chrs Klick President Ward Mungo Vice President Brett Miller Treasurer Adam Copenhaver Secretary Lane Baker Past President Board Members Ted Terry Chris Brace Jesse Bray Jay Piner Wade Green Jamey Nelson Tricia Haggerty Jamie Doyle Robby Arnold Mick Jewel Tom Lauderdale Gus Brabham For a full list of life board members, visit our website hbacharleston.com
BUILDER/INSPECTOR MEETING N. Charleston Coliseum June 17th, 8:30AM SMC: UNLEASH YOUR SUPERPOWERS ZOOM Virtual Event June 23rd, 8:30AM UNDERSTANDING TODAY'S HOME TECHNOLOGY ZOOM Virtual Class June 24th, 9AM PAUL STEIN LEUKEMIA GOLF TOURNAMENT Patriots Point June 30th, 9AM MEMBERSHIP 101 CHBA Office July 7th, 9AM HEALTHCARE 101 CHBA Office July 9th, 9AM BUILDER/INSPECTOR MEETING Location: TBD July 15th, 8:30AM *** If you have any questions, contact Ashley at ashley@charlestonhomebuilders.org
Upcoming Events
OSHA is considering a new standard on tree care operations that could add additional requirements to workers when dealing with trees, including those on construction sites. OSHA states that fatality and injury rates for tree
OSHA Considering Tree Care Standard
trimmers are extraordinarily high and that there is no existing OSHA standard for Tree Care Operations.
President Trump Signs USMCA Trade Pact In a positive development for the housing industry, President Trump on Jan. 29 signed the U.S.-Mexico- Canada Agreement (USMCA). The U.S. residential construction and remodeling industries rely on tens of billions of dollars in building materials sourced from Mexico and Canada each year. By modernizing and strengthening free trade with our largest trade partners, the USMCA will boost U.S. economic growth and help keep the price of homes and home improvements low.
New App Offers Accessibility Guidance NAHB unveiled the "Pocket Guide to the Fair Housing Act," a free app to help home builders, contractors and designers meet the accessibility requirements of the act, during the Builders' Show in Las Vegas. “HUD welcomes the efforts of this important housing industry partner in working to meet the needs of persons with disabilities,” HUD Secretary Ben Carson told NAHB's Leadership Council.
EPA Announces Water Rule at IBS EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced a final “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule during the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas. “The Navigable Waters Protection Rule is a big win for states, municipalities, builders and developers, landowners and the American public,” Wheeler said in remarks to NAHB’s Leadership Council. “It will make it easier to understand where the Clean Water Act applies and, as importantly, where it does not.” The EPA administrator noted the new water rule is good for the economy and the environment.
NAHB Unveils All-New Website To better serve the needs of its members, industry partners and other key stakeholders, NAHB recently unveiled an all-new nahb.org website. The site not only features a much more modern look, but also greatly improved search performance, enhanced content functionality and improved navigation for a better user experience. DOL Announces Joint Employer Rule In a win for NAHB, the Labor Department in January announced a final rule to provide a clearer method for determining joint employer status. The rule will provide clarity and certainty regarding employers' responsibility to pay federal minimum wage and overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a week. The new rule will take effect March 16. It includes a set of joint employment examples to further assist in clarifying joint employer status.