NAHB Fall Construction Forecast Webinar

Below is a message and invitation from David Crow, NAHB Chief Economist. Please join us this Wednesday for thoughtful analysis and insight at what’s ahead for the housing industry.

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As the housing market has continued to struggle towards recovery, we’re starting to see bright spots. NAHB/First American’s new Improving Market Index (IMI) tracks metropolitan areas where economic recovery is underway. At the Fall Construction Forecast Webinar, I, along with Joel Prakken and Robert Denk, will take a look at regional markets and address questions like:

·  Are house prices back in line with incomes?

·  Is multifamily rental production the bright light at the end of the tunnel?

·  How will mortgage rates react to debt reduction plans?

·  Have tighter underwriting requirements increased the cancellation rates for new home sales?

·  Is acquisition, development and construction credit more accessible?

·  Are there markets that are improving? Where?

I’m looking forward to the opportunity to discuss these issues and take your questions. Join us on Wednesday, October 26 at 2:00 PM ET for two hours of thoughtful analysis and a look at what’s ahead for housing. Register now at www.nahb.org/CFW.

Nevada Department of Transportation Developing 50 Year Plan

Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is working on a series of transportation workshops to develop the 50 year plan. The workshops are titled “Connecting Nevada: Planning Our Transportation Future”.

First meeting:

• November 16, 2011 –1pm - 3:30pm
• NDOT Offices
• 310 Galletti Way
•  Sparks, Nevada

The Connecting Nevada Plan (formerly the 50-Year Transportation Plan) is a comprehensive statewide

multi-modal planning effort with the goal of improving communication and coordination among partner agencies, geographic areas, and planning efforts. The intent of the Connecting Nevada Plan is to develop an umbrella framework that coordinates and integrates the results of the multitude of planning efforts into a unified, consistent vision.

Through this Plan, the individual goals of various studies, focus areas, and state, regional, and local plans can be synchronized into a concise set of larger, multi-modal transportation goals. Furthermore, the Connecting Nevada Plan provides a broad structure for previous ideas to be reconsidered under changed conditions. The intent is not to replace existing plans, studies, or processes but to enhance their effect across the transportation planning spectrum.

The concept originated from the Nevada Statewide Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (STTAC) as a means to identify and preserve priority right-of-way corridors for transportation. During the Connecting Nevada Plan process, the participating stakeholders recognized the opportunities associated with a coordinated planning structure and process across transportation disciplines and modes, as well as, the ability to better identify priority right-of-way corridors as originally intended. The Connecting Nevada Plan is mid-way through a two-part, multi-agency development process. The Connecting Nevada Interim Report documents the progress the twenty two participating agencies made to date and illustrates the plan moving forward.

For more information please visit the NDOT website or call NDOT directly at 702-880-8452.

How to Get Involved in the Green Building Program

By: Jess Traver, P.E., and Director of Government Affairs

In 2007, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC) partnered to establish a much-needed and nationally-recognizable standard definition of green building.

The resulting ICC 700 National Green Building Standard™ is the first and only residential green building rating system to undergo the full consensus process and receive approval from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The Standard defines green building for single and multifamily homes, residential remodeling projects, and site development projects while still allowing for the flexibility required for regionally-appropriate best green practices.

How can builders get involved in green building?    

For builders who want to become more involved in the Green Building program, we recommend taking Green Professional classes.  The Certified Green Professional designation recognizes builders, remodelers and other industry professionals who incorporate green building principles into homes.  Class work leading to the designation provides a solid background in green building methods, as well as the tools to reach consumers.

Certification is provided by the NAHB. Copies of the Standard, a companion commentary, and other publications related to the Standard can be purchased online. A free Green Scoring Tool compatible with the standard is available on the certification side of the NAHB Green website.

For residential buildings, four threshold levels - Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Emerald - allow builders to quantify and qualify green building at all levels. At the Emerald level, the highest rating for a residential green building, a building must incorporate energy savings of 60% or more.

To comply with the Standard, a builder or remodeler must incorporate a minimum number of features in the following areas:

• ·         Lot and site development
• ·         Energy, water, and resource efficiency
• ·         Indoor environmental quality
• ·         Home owner education

In order to attain a higher level of green certification by the NAHB Research Center, a home must accrue successively higher levels of minimum points in every category – the highest level of certification is dictated by the lowest category score level.

In my next blog, I’ll share with you detailed tables that highlight the point values required in each area for green buildings.

Have you participated in Green Professional classes? What did you think?

IRS and Department of Labor are Cracking Down!

Heads up! 

The IRS and the US Department of Labor are embarking on an enforcement effort to crackdown on “misclassification of employees”. 

This practice (too common in the construction industry) consists of the use of “1099 – Independent Contractor” status to pay workers when they do not meet the test for that status.  The rules for determining who is an employee vs. who is an independent contractor can be vague – but just because you want to pay your work crew without paying employment taxes or going to the hassle of withholding/paying their share is not one of the tests. 

Visit the IRS Website to read information about classification of employees.

To decrease the pain of making the transition the IRS has announced a program that offers substantial reduction in penalties IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY BEING AUDITED.