Home Building Construction News - July 31, 2006 - 7/31/2006 - Real Estate Home House Condo
Home Building Construction News - July 31, 2006
Asking the Supreme Court to review a key property rights decision, N AHB filed a petition for a writ of certiorari on behalf of several of our members in the case of Torromeo, et al. v. Town of Fremont on July 21. We hope the highest court in the land will grant our request to review a First Circuit decision that placed the property owners in a "Catch 22" position by precluding their federal court takings case from being heard following initial state court litigation denying their federal takings claims. The petition also seeks clarification on the proper standard a court must apply in addressing substantive due process claims where constitutional property rights are at stake. NAHB is currently seeking additional support for our petition in the form of friend-of-the-court (amicus) briefs. Those amicus briefs must be filed by August 24.
Meeting with EPA Deputy Administrator Marcus Peacock this week, NAHB staff had the opportunity to discuss with him our many concerns about storm water compliance and wetlands regulations. We reminded him of EPA Administrator Johnson's recent pledge to work with NAHB on solutions to these issues and on improving communications between NAHB and the EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA). On storm water, we outlined for him the basic problems that our members are facing in the field with regard to EPA inspections and compliance. Peacock responded positively to several of our concerns, agreeing, for example, that NAHB's request that EPA identify "priority compliance requirements" that would give builders a better idea of what inspectors are looking for on a building site seemed logical and was consistent with the kind of approach he favors. Also, in response to NAHB claims that current compliance tools offered by EPA are inadequate, Peacock agreed that his agency should consult with NAHB when designing compliance materials so as to better meet the needs of our members. He even went so far as to direct the OECA staff who were present to seek NAHB input in such materials in the future. The Deputy Administrator further agreed with NAHB on the need for EPA to provide some opportunity for a "right-to-cure" option to developers for infractions that do not result in an environmental impact. As for wetlands issues, Peacock agreed with us that EPA and the Corps must issue regulations clarifying the scope of government jurisdiction. We'll follow up on what was said and report further developments as they happen.
New-home sales fell 3% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.13 million units, according to Commerce Department figures released July 27. New-home sales for the previous month were also revised downward in the latest report. Actual sales of new homes for the year to date are now about 12% lower than they were in the same period in last-year's record-breaking run. Basically, the government's numbers are finally reflecting what builders have been reporting from the field for several months, which is essentially an orderly slowdown in housing activity. In fact, we are now well into the predicted cooling down process — a process that will likely continue as the impact of recent interest-rate gains is fully reflected in home purchases. Only the West posted a gain in new-home sales for June, with an 8.2% jump. Sales fell in the Northeast, Midwest and South by a respective 11.3%, 7.9% and 6%. Meanwhile, the inventory of new homes for sale rose to 566,000 units, which is a 6.1-month supply at the current sales pace. Nearly all of the increase was due to for-sale units that were permitted but not yet started.
A big step toward improving the FHA came with House passage of a strongly NAHB-supported FHA reform bill (H.R. 5121) this week. NAHB pulled out all the stops to ensure a big win by designating this a Key Vote on the House floor, sending a letter to the full House of Representatives and calling every single member of the Republican Study Committee to urge support for the measure and explain the importance of an invigorated FHA. Such efforts helped secure overwhelming approval in the House, by a vote of 415 to 7 — which should help send a strong message to the Senate on the need for reform. Our next focus is on moving companion legislation, S. 3535, in that chamber.
Providing the home builder's perspective on immigration reform, Peachtree Homes Inc. President Hugh Morton, a past president of the Metro South Chapter of the Greater Atlanta HBA and member of the NAHB Board of Directors, was one of several small business owners invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez last week. Given the fact that more than 20% of the residential building workforce is foreign-born, and that our industry already faces a chronic labor shortage, NAHB favors the adoption of sound immigration reform legislation that includes a guest worker provision of the kind that the Bush Administration has proposed. In a press release on the day of the roundtable, NAHB thanked the Secretary for reaching out to the building community and receiving this input.
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this week, NAHB staff had the opportunity to discuss with him our many concerns about storm water compliance and wetlands regulations. We reminded him of EPA Administrator Johnson's recent pledge to work with NAHB on solutions to these issues and on improving communications between NAHB and the EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA). On storm water, we outlined for him the basic problems that our members are facing in the field with regard to EPA inspections and compliance. Peacock responded positively to several of our concerns, agreeing, for example, that NAHB's request that EPA identify "priority compliance requirements" that would give builders a better idea of what inspectors are looking for on a building site seemed logical and was consistent with the kind of approach he favors. Also, in response to NAHB claims that current compliance tools offered by EPA are inadequate, Peacock agreed that his agency should consult with NAHB when designing compliance materials so as to better meet the needs of our members. He even went so far as to direct the OECA staff who were present to seek NAHB input in such materials in the future. The Deputy Administrator further agreed with NAHB on the need for EPA to provide some opportunity for a "right-to-cure" option to developers for infractions that do not result in an environmental impact. As for wetlands issues, Peacock agreed with us that EPA and the Corps must issue regulations clarifying the scope of government jurisdiction. We'll follow up on what was said and report further developments as they happen. 
Peachtree Homes Inc. President Hugh Morton, a past president of the Metro South Chapter of the Greater Atlanta HBA and member of the NAHB Board of Directors, was one of several small business owners invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez last week. Given the fact that more than 20% of the residential building workforce is foreign-born, and that our industry already faces a chronic labor shortage, NAHB favors the adoption of sound immigration reform legislation that includes a guest worker provision of the kind that the Bush Administration has proposed. In a 