Top 10 Recent NAHB Actions on Behalf of Our Members

Being a member of the Home Builders Association has never been more important. As a member, you get tons of benefits effect your pocket. In addition to local and state benefits, the NAHB also provides services and benefits that help you in the end. The following report is a “Top 10” list that highlights the most important NAHB actions benefiting you – our member – from the past month.

1. More than 500 home builders visited Capitol Hill as part of NAHB’s Spring Legislative Conference on March 24 to drive home the message that housing is the key to our nation's economic future.

Our 2009 March Executive Board and Legislative Conference week was truly productive, with a strong contingent of NAHB members participating in Hill visits that included hundreds of meetings with individual legislators and their staffs. The Legislative Conference was particularly well-timed as Congress gets down to the job of repairing the nation's struggling banking and housing finance sectors. A number of great resources were created to help NAHB members lobby our key issues on Capitol Hill, including the following (all of which are available to logged-in NAHB members on our Web site):

• 2009 Legislative Conference Booklet and General Talking Points
• Housing’s Critical Role in the Economy background information
• Addressing the AD&C Crisis background and recommendations Preserving the Mortgage Interest Deduction background and recommendations
• Housing Finance System Reform background and recommendations
• Reinstating the Down Payment Assistance Program background/recommendations
• Green Building/Promotion of the National Green Building Standard background/recs
• Card Check background and recommendations
• AD&C Lending Crisis Video Briefing Protecting Housing Tax Incentives Video Briefing

Contact: Molly Murray (800-368-5242, x8282) for more information.

2. NAHB has established an important State and Local Support Program to help struggling HBAs survive the worst of the housing downturn.

Recognizing the value of the Affiliate Services department’s consulting programs and the pressures currently facing HBAs, NAHB’s Executive Board recently approved a 50% fee reduction on all of the group’s services. This action will allow every association in the NAHB federation to take advantage of Affiliate Services’ highly rated programs such as strategic planning, membership recruitment and leadership training at discounted rates. The goal of this program is to allow HBAs to participate in valuable cutting-edge programs at rates that will help them meet current challenges and thrive in the future. Contact: Jared Mathis, 800-368-5242 x8169 or visit www.nahb.org/nahbsupportservices.

NAHB has also established a one-time $500,000 financial aid program for HBAs that have been identified as struggling. Details and information outlining the program are available at www.nahb.org/hbasupport. The grant initiative will fund vital programs and services related to membership recruitment and/or retention efforts or other core revenue generating member programs. HBAs eligible to apply for grant funds may seek up to $25,000 in financial support. To determine your HBA’s eligibility, go to www.nahb.org/hbasupport or contact Rusty Deiss at 800-368-5242 x8231.

3. In recent testimony before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, NAHB Chairman Joe Robson conveyed home builders' deep concerns that ongoing financial-market dislocations will increase the depth and length of the housing downturn.

Coordinated regulatory efforts among federal and state agencies are necessary to ensure prudent lending practices and effective consumer protections while facilitating efficient operation of the residential mortgage markets, Joe said. He noted that while NAHB supports efforts to ensure that mortgage lending occurs in a safe and sound manner and that abuses in lending practices are properly addressed, "It is imperative that any steps taken in this effort do not unnecessarily disrupt the mortgage lending process or consumer financing options, or increase the costs or reduce the availability of mortgage credit." On behalf of NAHB, Joe urged Congress to implement a clear national framework for mortgage origination standards to replace the current patchwork of state and local laws, which often lead to unnecessary restrictions on mortgage credit. "Specifically," he said, "Congress should establish a federal pre-emption statute creating essential uniformity in mortgage market standards."

Joe also told Congress about single-family appraisal problems that are an area of concern for builders and are contributing to the current housing and credit crisis. "Appraisers have often used sales of homes in foreclosure or other distressed property sales as comparables for appraisals of new homes without making the appropriate value adjustments," he said. Read more about Joe's congressional testimony in our press release or in the March 16 edition of NBN Online.

4. Your one-stop resource for stimulus and tax credit information is NAHB's newly created Web page at www.nahb.org/2009stimulus.

That’s where you'll find links to everything you need to know about the $787 billion economic stimulus package that was signed into law in February – including details on the law's lesser-known tax provisions that can help your business. This is also the place to find out how to promote the $8,000 tax credit to home buyers, and access numerous materials designed to help HBAs and individual home builders. All the promotional resources to help you market the credit to consumers feature NAHB’s consumer Web site www.FederalHousingTaxCredit.com (see item below). That site’s explanation of the tax credit eligibility requirements, comprehensive Q&As, and links to homeownership resources are helping potential home buyers understand the advantages of buying a home today. For more information on resources to help you understand and promote the tax credit, contact Gwyn Donohue, 800-368-5242, x8447.

5. Spanish speakers can find out about the new home buyer tax credit now that the Spanish version of our increasingly popular and recently updated Web site at www.FederalHousingTaxCredit.com is up and running.

Launched on March 9, the new version can be accessed via a link on the original landing page. This latest advancement should open the door to even more first-time home buyers finding out about the new and improved, $8,000 tax credit. Nearly a million visitors have checked out the Federal Housing Tax Credit Web site so far. Contact: Jay Shackford, 800-368-5242, x8406.

6. Nearly 1,000 NAHB members and HBAs dialed in for our free teleconference on how to market and use the newly enhanced, $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit.

There's no telling exactly how many people were listening in on group calls on March 16, but what we do know is that this was easily one of NAHB's most successful teleconferences on record. Marketing experts on the call said that many builders may be underestimating the mileage they can derive from the credit, and that most smaller builders are missing out on a good opportunity to market the credit to prospective buyers. Many big builders have placed major banners heralding the tax credit on their Web sites, while at least two (Lennar and Centex) have added flash productions that allow visitors to click through to information explaining the credit and the availability of attractive mortgage interest rates. Because educating consumers about the credit is key to improving home sales, NAHB has created a detailed list of frequently asked questions that association members can deploy to provide information to the home-buying public at: www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/. NAHB members can also bolster their business with a range of promotional materials posted at: www.nahb.org/2009stimulus. Complete coverage of the teleconference appeared in the March 16 edition of NBN Online. To hear a full replay of the event, please visit: www.nahb.org/teleconference. Contact: Blake Smith, 800-368-5242, x8583.

7. Putting Facebook and YouTube to work for home builders, NAHB is utilizing popular social networking technology to educate first-time home buyers – especially newly-married couples and recent college grads in their 20s and 30s – about the new tax credit and why now is a great time to buy a home.

Such sites are fast becoming the most popular way for people around the world to connect with each other and share information – so why not utilize them for a good cause? Accordingly, you'll find that a page promoting the first-time buyer tax credit has been created on Facebook, which currently has 175 million active users. Here, people can "become a fan" of the page and access the latest information and resources on the credit, including a consumer-focused Q&A video and TV public service announcement. Visitors can also link directly to NAHB's Federal Housing Tax Credit Web site, which provides even more information. We've also set up our own channel on YouTube, which is the Internet hot spot to share original videos with more than 200 million unique users each month. NAHB is encouraging our friends and family members to join the Facebook group and visit the NAHB YouTube channel to help get more consumers off the fence and into their first home. Contact: Brooke Fishel, 800-368-5242, x8061.

8. Resources to help you respond to inquiries on Chinese drywall are now available to NAHB members.

As recently detailed in NBN Online, some drywall imported from China during the residential construction boom is alleged to contain high levels of sulfur and/or other contaminants. Owners of homes with the material have complained of unpleasant smells and a blackening appearance of air conditioning coils, copper components and certain electrical and plumbing components. While the problem was first reported in southwest Florida, concerns about it have spread to other markets where the product may have been sold. Such media outlets as CNN, ABC's Good Morning America, The NBC Nightly News and The CBS Evening News have recently aired segments on it. NAHB has developed several resources to help inform our members about this issue, including general and media talking points. These resources are specifically for the use of NAHB members, and are not for distribution to external parties. To access them, go to the www.nahb.org Web site — make sure you are logged in as an NAHB member — and type "Chinese drywall" into the searchbox at the top right of the screen. Contact David Jaffe, 800-368-5242, x8317.

9. NAHB's updated "Opportunity Knocks for Home Buyers" brochure for consumers provides real examples of typical tax savings through the first five years of homeownership, explains the power of leveraging, and provides other compelling and accurate information to those who may be considering whether to purchase a home.

HBAs and members are encouraged to print this resource and distribute it in sales offices, at home shows, and anywhere you have a consumer audience. Download the brochure PDF at: www.nahb.org/opportunitybrochure. For more information on resources to help you understand and promote the tax credit, contact Gwyn Donohue at 800-368-5242, x8447.

10. In introducing the "Green Approved" product seal, the NAHB Research Center has continued the positive momentum of our federation's green building efforts.

The seal allows manufacturers to provide third-party evidence that their green products meet the criteria for recognition in homes certified to the National Green Building Standard. "Green Approved" product manufacturers will receive a certificate from the NAHB Research Center identifying the specific sections of the standard under which points for their products are available. These reports – available from a link on the new standard scoring tool at nahbgreen.org– are designed to facilitate the selection and specification of products as well as the approval of possible points by Research Center-accredited verifiers. Manufacturers of Green Approved products will be allowed to post links to their Web sites on the NAHBGreen Web site. They will also be able to affix the "Green Approved" mark on promotional literature, company Web sites and similar materials. Products will be shown on a "first-approved, first listed" basis on the manufacturers' page in the Green Scoring Tool for an annual fee based on the number of applications listed for a product. Get more information on how the program works here, or contact Lynda Marchman at the Research Center, at 800-638-8556, x6237.