Building the Future of the Lowcountry
Property Taxes Vary Widely from State to State
Charleston HBA
New Members Cornerstone Estates Gateway Mortgage Kohler Company EVENTS & EDU Coffee Talk Nov. 3 | 9:00am Beers Millwork 486 Wando Park Blvd. Mt. Pleasant, SC Healthcare 101 Presented by SIC Nov. 4| 9:00am CHBA Office SMC Virtual New Home Bus Tour Sponsored by Dominion Energy Nov. 9 | 9:30am **Must RSVP online to receive link**
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.
IN THE NEWS
November 2021
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.
Ward Mungo President Brett Miller Vice President Wade Green Secretary Jay Piner Treasurer Chris Klick Past President Board Members Ted Terry Chris Brace Jesse Bray Trae Redmond Adam Baslow Jamey Nelson Jamie Doyle Rebecca Holdsworth Robby Arnold Mick Jewell Gus Brabham Doug Hayden For a full list of life board members, visit our website hbacharleston.com
Upcoming Events
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.
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.
Builder/Inspector Meeting Nov. 10 | 8:30am N. Charleston City Hall 2500 City Hall Lane N. Charleston, SC Product Showcase Nov. 11 | 4:30pm Moluf's Supply 530 East Bay Street Charleston, SC 29403 3 Ways a Warranty Program Can Better your Company Presented by Quality Builders Warranty Nov. 17 | 9:00am CHBA Office 1360 Truxtun Avenue N. Charleston, SC Breakfast with the Builder Sponsored by Kinghorn Insurance Dec. 7 | 9:00am CHBA Office For a full list of events from now until the end of the year, visit our website at hbacharleston.com If you have questions, contact Quinton at quinton@charlestonhomebuilders.org
Leadership List
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
Students and individuals embraced the spooky season by participating in Halloween-themed activities designed to spark interest in the skilled trades and prmote a positve perception of careers in construction. Approximately 50 students from five schools in Boone County School District and the Ludlow School district in Kentucky celebrated the industry by building tiny, haunted houses with a unique spooky design. As part of the challenge, teams of two to four students were invited to construct a hanuted house no more than three feet tall and use only materials that already existed in their lab. The creative workshop exercised the students' carpentry, design, communication and teamwork skills. Members of the BIA Northern Kentucky served as judges. The local fire department then demonstrated fire safety by supervising the burning and proper extinguishing of the burning haunted houeses.
Students Embrace Spooky Season During Careers in Construction Month