Midyear Construction Review

Home sales statistics around the country continue to point to a slow recovery of the economy. History will show that after a sharp dive, it takes time, even years – for the market to turn around.

Is that true today in Northern Nevada? What does the future hold for Nevada’s housing industry?

Yesterday, the Builders Association of Northern Nevada (BANN) hosted the Midyear Construction Review. Mark Krueger, Senior Vice President of Land Division at Grubb & Ellis|NCG, discussed existing conditions and future trends in the residential market, and also provided an update on home sales and recent land purchases in the area. 

“Market conditions remain very challenging but with land prices at 25 year lows, builders and investors are finding opportunities that make sense.”

If you missed Krueger's presentation, you can download it here. 

The Review also featured a presentation from Brian Bonnenfant, Project Manager, Center for Regional Studies at UNR. Bonnenfant addressed Nevada's most recent unemployment figures and pointed to a growing population in Washoe County. To download Bonnenfant's presentation, click here. 

Bob Nielsen, Chairman of NAHB, also addressed the pent-up demand for new homes that will in turn drive the housing market, as well as the actions needed in Congress to create an upward movement in the housing industry. 

Finally, we've included video of the local media coverage from KTVN Channel 2.. 

We will post articles from KRNV News 4, the Reno Gazette Journal and the Northern Nevada Business Weekly as they are made available. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the Builders at 775.329.4611.

BANN helps build a new home for a disabled veteran

Hundreds of volunteers will converge in Wellington Nevada tomorrow as the Builders Association of Northern Nevada (The Builders) and Homes For Our Troops come together to build Marine Sgt. Dylan Gray a new, specially adapted home at no cost to him. Sgt. Gray lost both of his legs in Iraq and is not able to get around his current home to help his wife care for their three small children.

“I’m overwhelmed by the generosity and support of the community, even in such difficult financial times,” said Teri Scharosch, director of operations at The Builders. “A vast majority of the building materials, supplies and hours of labor have been donated by companies right here, in Northern Nevada.”

The three-day “Build Brigade” will begin with a brief ceremony tomorrow at 8:30 am. The group of volunteers hope to take the home from bare foundation to a weather tight home by Sunday.

Jingle Belts

Jingles Belts© by Jane & Al Dvorak, Summit County Builders Association

Dashing to the roof
My tool bag strapped on tight
The wind is really cold
Thru Carhart’s it does slice
The plywood sheet was loose,
Wasn’t nailed down right
An as I put my right foot down
I realized my plight.

Jingle belts, jingle belts
Jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to cling
An icy roof today
Jingle belts, jingle belts
Jingle all the way
Down we slide, scraping hide
Crash, boom, bang, OIE-VEY!

Construction in the snow
Can be such great, great fun
You shiver in the shade
And perspire in the sun
The framing creaks and groans
As the sunshine warms it up
Your coffee turns real, real cold
And freezes in the cup.

Jingle belts, jingle belts
Jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to cling
An icy roof today
Jingle belts, jingle belts
Jingle all the way
Down we slide, scraping hide
Crash, boom, bang, OIE-VEY!

Happy Holidays!

Giving back to the community

It's a wonderful time of the year, the holiday season. People seem more relaxed and think more of others. We seem to be more willing to donate food and gifts or volunteer to give back to the community -- more so than any other time of the year. Why not volunteer all year long?

Here at The Builders Association of Northern Nevada, we're committed to giving back all year long. We have a philanthropic arm, the Builders Association Charity, which supports local families in need. We have a new construction career focused youth mentoring program called C-CORE. And perhaps our largest recent endeavor, we've joined forces with Homes For Our Troops to build a new accessible home for a disabled Nevada Veteran, Sgt. Gray.

Call us at (775) 329-4611 or visit us online to find out how you can contribute to these wonderful projects.

Get involved with The Builders and you'll fulfill two needs at once; you'll be supporting an industry vital to our local economy and you'll be supporting your community through out the year.

Now is the Best Time to Buy a Home

Many potential home buyers are finding it difficult to filter out the media headlines and determine if now is the right time to buy a home. Most industry professionals agree buyers shouldn’t wait until prices and interest rates go up to buy -- now is the best time to buy a home.

Home prices in northern Nevada have dropped dramatically in the past few years and today’s mortgage interest rates are among the lowest in history. They’ve recently dipped again and borrowers can find a 30-year fixed loan for as low as 4.25percent. Rates were as high as 6.75 percent just a few years ago and in the double-digits 20 years ago.

As the economy rebounds the demands for mortgages will rise and so will interest rates. The effect of a rise in interest rates on monthly mortgage payments can be dramatic.

Based on the current median home sales price of $175,000, a 30-year fixed rate mortgage with a 4.25% interest rate has a monthly payment of $933 per month. At six percent the monthly payments increase to $1122 -- an increase of $189 a month. The total payments over the life of the loan increase by a whopping $68,040!

Home buyers that believe home prices will drop further could be making a very costly mistake. If the interest rates increase to six percent again, the home price would have to drop below $147,000 -- more than 16 percent -- to maintain the same monthly payments. House prices have begun to stabilize and bidding has become highly competitive, especially on the lower priced homes. It is highly unlikely that prices will drop that much.

Potential buyers frequently overlook the tax advantages of homeownership when considering if they should purchase a home. Mortgage interest and property taxes are great tax deductions.

While there are many variables to tax advantages, we estimate that a $175,000 mortgage with a 4.25 percent interest rate will generate $1,624 reduction in your tax liability annually.

This is the first time in four or five years that home prices and low interest rates have made northern Nevada an affordable place to live for most families. A family with a median income can afford to buy a median price home.

Low mortgage rates and affordable home prices will not last forever. The longer you wait the more you will have to pay to achieve your dream of homeownership!

Northern Nevada has many highly qualified Realtors, loan officers and builders that can be great help during your home shopping experience. To find more resources, contact the Builders Association of Northern Nevada at (775) 329-4611 or visit www.thebuilders.com.

BANN members begin CANstruction at Meadowood Mall

Allyson Wong and the staff of Builders Association of Northern Nevada member, GuiDenby Inc., were hard at work today carefully creating their structure made of cans and packaged food products for CANstruction. The GuiDenby sculpture is made up of more than 3,000 cans! All of them, along with all of the other food products used for the event, will be donated to the Food Bank of Northern Nevada.

Stop by the Meadowood Mall this Friday or Saturday and cast your vote for GuiDenby or one of the other BANN members taking part in CANstruction! You can vote with $1 and all of the proceeds go directly to the Food Bank of Northern Nevada.

The perfect storm of opportunity for first time homebuyers!

A trifecta of conditions (Low interest rates, reduced prices and first time buyer programs) makes now the perfect time to buy your first home.

The Nevada Housing Division provides mortgages and down payment assistance to for low to moderate-income families. The program currently has $102 million in funding for its first-time homebuyer program and expects its interest rate to stay at 4.5 percent for a while.

The Federal Government has also extended the first time homebuyer tax credit through April, 2010. These factors combined with reduced home prices make now the perfect time for first time homebuyers to invest in a home.

Read the full Reno Gazette Journal story by Jason Hidalgo
Housing division offers low rates for low-income first-time buyers

Tired of Training? There's More Coming!

OK...most of us working in construction in Nevada have obtained our OSHA 30 or OSHA 10 certifications. We're ready to hit the jobsite. Right? Wrong! Many builders and contractors who are doing small remodeling jobs while they wait for our market to stabilize are now faced with a new, pretty unpleasant mandate: Lead Certification!

The short "heads up" is that this is the brand new Lead Renovator, Repair and Painting program (LRRP) that we’re talking about, NOT the prior lead abatement program. It’s a new regulation adopted by EPA, effective in April 2010, which requires that all contractors who perform renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 where children may be present must be certified by the EPA and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination. Failure to follow the rule can result in severe civil penalties and other unpleasantness. And by severe civil penalties, I mean fines of up to $37,500 per day per violation, not to mention exposure to civil liability actions with treble damages. Like I said, unpleasant.

Taken to a penultimate scenario, suppose you're all set to remodel the kitchen of an empty-nester, retired couple who plan to invite their grandchildren over for Christmas next year. They don't have children living in the home, so you're not required to comply with LRRP, right? Wrong again! Notice the "where children may be present" requirement? To remodel this kitchen, you must comply with LRRP.

The best thing a building company can do is to have a LRRP-certified person present within your company. Better yet, have two--you'll need one available in case the other is on vacation or is sick....or leaves to move somewhere where the snow doesn't fall and the cost of living is low.

Visit our website for a training schedule. We'll be adding more lead training classes in April, and will continue to offer them regularly. An OSHA training schedule is also posted. I guess the old saying is true...."if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"

Forecast for 2010 - partly sunny!

More than 250 people attended Forecast 2010 & Beyond Wednesday and discovered that there are some bright spots for this year!

Elliot Eisenberg reminded us that us that we are not the worst market in the country and that national economic indicators show that things should start to improve for 2010. Attendees got a good chuckle at his suggestion that we need to market ourselves better and suggested we change Reno to East Tahoe!

Tim Ruffin wins the quote of the day with “flat is the new up”. Commercial deals are flat, which is better than down!

Mark Krueger reported that more land deals happened at the end of 2009 than in the past 4 years and that the majority of those sales were to local builders.

Ken Amundson busted some myths and let us know that prices are not still falling, and in fact demand for homes under $200,000 may actually be driving prices back up.

The speakers presentations are now available on our website.

Home Builders Unfairly Targeted in Senate Health Care Bill

The Senate is scheduled to hold a series of votes over the next three days on health care reform. Given the time crunch, please call your Senator now!



The bill unfairly singles out the construction industry by only giving construction firms an exemption from the bill's employer mandates if a firm employs less than 5 people. Every other industry is granted an exemption if they have fewer than 50 employees.

CALL TO ACTION


Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senators and urge them vote NO on H.R. 3590, and not unfairly punish the construction industry.


Tell Congress NO on HR 3590!

This narrow provision is an unprecedented assault on the construction industry and unjustly targets an industry trying to keep its doors open during the worst housing downturn since the Great Depression.

BANN Leader Honored with Twenty Under 40 Award

Our Executive Director, Mike Dillon, was selected for a Twenty Under 40 Awards. The award honors local young professionals who have made a positive impact both professionally and in the community. Mike and the other winners will be recognized tomorrow in a reception at the Atlantis, sponsored by Reno Tahoe Young Professionals Network and the Reno Gazette-Journal.

RGJ article

Builders Call For Housing Reform and Economic Recovery

Please watch this video of our members and share it with everyone you know!

Regardless of where you live or what industry you work in, the health if the housing industry affects you. Housing is accounts for 20% of the GDP and is huge source of employment.

President Obama and congress are looking at extending the first time homebuyer tax credit which will help. The National Association of Home builders estimates that extending the tax credit as-is for just one year will create 187,00 jobs. Expanding that credit to all buyers of a primary residence will create nearly 350,000 jobs - in just one year. Please, urge congress to extend and expand the tax credit now.

On the local level, we must tell local governments to stop making it harder for us to do business by increasing fees and the cost of construction. These costs are passed on to the consumer and new homes cannot compete with the foreclosures and short sales. We know they need to generate revenue but we have to find another way.

HOUSING = JOBS!

Your Opportunity To Network Like The Pros!

Networking is vital to business in our ‘new economy’. Many experts have blogged and written white papers - there's all kinds of chatter out there about networking. I believe it all comes down to one thing - people like to do business with people they know. Maybe they don’t need your product or service right now but when they do, they will remember you.

The Builders provides a lot of networking opportunities throughout the year but one stands out in my mind as the best…Table Top Night. It’s on October 7th so it’s really on my mind. There will be several rows of businesses with table top displays to explore, a large number of fellow networkers and you can stay for dinner for just $35 (please rsvp though). You might even win an awesome prize. Last year there were so many prizes it felt like everyone won something! Or you might end up having dinner with a new prospective client.

Did I mention that it’s FREE? Yes it ‘s free! If you want to have a table top display there is a $200 charge for BANN members ($300 for non members) and you’ll want to let Patty know asap because space is filling up fast.

So take this opportunity to expand your network and your business. Stock up on your business cards and practice the techniques that Chuck Sweeney tough us at the SMC networking seminar a few months ago.

What, you missed our Chuck Sweeney seminar? I’m sorry to hear that! Hear a few tips that I learned from Chuck:

1- Listen. It’s not all about you. Don’t just tell them about you and your business, ask about theirs.

2- Go with a reasonable plan. Don’t expect to give out 200 business cards and come back with as many. Aim for 5 or 10, a number your comfortable with. It’s about quality, not quantity.

3- Do something memorable. Follow up with a card the next day letting your new that you appreciated meeting them. Make it personal, reference something that happened or that you talked about.

Table Top Flyer

Contact Patty to reserve a table top display or a spot for dinner (775) 329-4611.

Urge Congress to extend and expand homebuyer tax credit

The housing industry has recently seen a small boost in homes sales due to the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. The credit is set to expire on November 30, 2009, but in order to continue helping America recover from the recession, the housing industry still needs support.

Homebuilders across America are asking Congress to extend the $8,000 tax credit through November 30, 2010, and expand it to include all home purchasers, not just first-time buyers.

If Congress extends the tax credit program, it would spur 383,000 more home sales across the country; including 80,000 housing starts down the road as the increased sales help deplete the current inventory of unsold homes. This stimulus will create nearly 350,000 jobs over the coming year nationally…over 3,800 of those would be right here in northern Nevada.

You can make your voice heard by letting your members of Congress know that housing equals jobs, and to restore America, we must revive housing.

Call your members of Congress today toll-free at 866-924-6242 and tell them to:

- Extend the deadline for the $8,000 tax credit through November 30, 2010
- Make it available to all home buyers

Thank you for your help in letting Congress know that to restore America, we must revive housing.

Knowledge You Need to Stay UP in a DOWN Market

Knowledge is power, according to Doug Smith. But, Knowledge is not power without action. What actions can you take to help you stay up in a down market? Find out at The Builders Mid-Year Construction Analysis Wednesday at John Ascuaga’s Nugget. RSVP required.

Last Chance for Mid-Year Construction Analysis registration

Find out when we can expect the housing market and local economy to improve, how Reno compares to other markets and what's next for housing at our Mid-Year Construction Analysis Wednesday. Register today!

Law firm tries to lure homeowners into construction defect litigation

We have recently learned that a new law firm in town is trying to drum up business by trying to lure homeowners in to filing lawsuits against their builders. This is nothing more than a scheme to create business for themselves - since they are the only ones that benefit from these suits.

Homeowners should first contact their builder with any problems in their home. Trust me, any builder would rather fix your problem than have to go to court or settle on a lawsuit. It will be much less expensive for the builder and the homeowner.

If the builder is no longer in business or can’t help, for whatever reason, the next step would be the State Contractors Board. This board exists to protect the consumer and has a fund for construction defect issues.

An attorney would be the very last resort in settling a construction defect issue. While a homeowner may be lured in by no up front costs to file a lawsuit, it will really cost them in the long run. By suing the builder they will likely decrease not only their own property value, but their entire neighborhood. They will probably end up with a settlement for the amount it would cost to fix the problem. The attorney will then keep roughly 40% of that money. Now, the homeowner has only a little more than half of the money for the repair. When they want to sell their home, they will have to disclose the problem they had with the house, whether is gets repaired or not.

Who wins in this situation? Only the attorney.

Red Flag Fire Warning from Washoe County

As you know, fire season is once again upon us.

National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for July 7, 2009. Red Flag Warning is a fire condition notice meaning there exists the highest risk and most dangerous conditions for fire. The Red Flag Warning is through this evening, but could be extend over the next few days. You can check for Red Flag Warnings online.

For additional information please read the Fire Season Warning Letter.

Over $1.8 million in weatherization projects will begin July 1st

Starting July 1st, more than $1.8 million in funds will be available for the Low Income Weatherization Program in Washoe County. This program will upgrade and retrofit qualified homes to save money and energy. According to the State of Nevada Housing Division, more than 300 homes in Washoe County will receive the improvements saving 270,326 kilowatt hours of electricity and 25,207 therms of natural gas annually.

Hopefully this program, and others like it, will not only help us become a ‘greener’ planet but will create jobs and get our economy back on the road to recovery!

More information on the weatherization is available on the State of Nevada website.

What are your thoughts? We’d love your comments or stories about other programs like these!

NEW - Builders Association of Northern Nevada Remodelers Council

We just wrapped up the second organizational meeting for our Remodelers Council. It's going to be a great group! We’ll be working on ways to promote our Remodelers - licensed, educated professionals that operate under a strict code of ethics. We’ll focus on education, consumer advocacy and promotional opportunities.

NAHB provides a tremendous amount of support both to professionals and to consumers. Check out their website.

If you’re interested in joining the council, please submit this application. Annual Dues are $30, which are forwarded on to NAHB to get you listed in their online Remodelers index and access to their information.

A vote to approve the creation of the Remodelers Council will go to the Board of Directors on Tuesday, June 30th. You're application will help support our cause. We'd like to have as many as possible submitted before then.

If you have any questions or need more information, contact Missy Hinton (775) 329-4611.