Uncategorized

Increasing Housing Supply Critical for Fed’s Fight on Inflation With shelter inflation accounting for a staggering 90% of the overall inflation rate last month, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is calling on policymakers at all levels of government to take actions that will help boost the nation’s housing supply in order to ease…

Construction Job Openings Rise, But Long-Run Trend is Declining The count of open, unfilled jobs for the overall economy moved lower in May, falling to 9.8 million. While ongoing tight labor market conditions have likely confirmed one to two more Fed rate hikes through the start of the Fall, the JOLTS survey is another data…

Congress Completes Busy Week on Housing Appropriations The Senate Appropriations Committee today approved its Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies fiscal year 2024 funding bill, and the measure includes $70.06 billion for HUD. Of particular note, the Senate bill includes $1.5 billion to sustain robust funding for the HOME Investment Partnership Program, the…

New HBI Report Shines Spotlight on Labor Shortages The lack of skilled construction labor is a key limiting factor to expanding home construction and improving housing inventory and affordability. The latest Construction Labor Market Report from the Home Builders Institute (HBI), provides an outlook for residential construction employment and includes state-level employment data. Key findings in the report include:…

NAHB Opposes Move by House GOP Appropriators to Eliminate Job Corps In a move strongly opposed by NAHB, House Republican appropriators are proposing to eliminate the Department of Labor’s Job Corps program as part of a 30% reduction to the agency’s fiscal year 2024 budget. In a letter to House Republican and Democratic appropriations leaders,…

NAHB Tells Congress How Excessive Regulations and Codes Harm Housing Affordability The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today told Congress that burdensome government regulations and mandates which support environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies impede the housing industry’s ability to increase the production of quality, affordable housing. Testifying on this topic at a House…

New NAHB Resource Manual Provides State-by-State Insights on Inclusionary Zoning NAHB’s latest resource on inclusionary zoning is now available. Prepared by Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP, “Policy, Practical, and Legal Challenges to Inclusionary Zoning: A Resource Manual for NAHB Members” provides a list of policy, practical and legal strategies that NAHB members may adopt when…

Is Cannabis in Your Walls? As the search for sustainable home building materials expands, some are looking at a head-turning option: cannabis. The use of industrial hemp, the name for cannabis that contains less than 0.3% THC (the psychoactive compound in marijuana), in construction is expanding around the world: Residential and commercial buildings constructed with…

Building Camp Introduces Middle School Girls to the Trades The Baldwin County Home Builders Association (BCHBA) recently completed its first Baldwin Girls Build Camp to introduce local girls to opportunities in the home building industry. The concept for the Baldwin Girls Build Camp stemmed from the chartering of a Professional Women in Building (PWB) chapter at BCHBA…

NAHB Urges for Immediate Guidance on WOTUS NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey issued a letter this week to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) requesting them to finalize a revised regulatory definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) that clarifies the limits of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (CWA)…