2012 Priorities

Message from our President –

HBA President Kevin Stucker

Kevin Stucker, Summit Custom Homes

The housing industry has shaped who I am. Though housing has experienced some rough times recently, it’s been gratifying to be a part of the industry for most of my life and I look forward to the future.  As I look toward the upcoming year I start by reflecting back on recent association accomplishments. We have made great strides and improvements through re-tooling and reorganization. We’ve had to stay adept for this economy and I’m pleased to say the HBA is financially stable and we plan to keep it that way.

Something I’d like to focus on is consumer awareness. Consumers need to know we are experts in the housing industry so they turn to the HBA and its members for information and answers. I hope throughout my presidency, we will able to bolster ourselves as being The Voice of the Housing Industry.  It’s a voice we must make heard at City Council meetings, the state capitals, in Washington and to home buyers.

I’m looking forward to continuing to grow the HBA with involved members that make this such a meaningful organization to me.

Kevin Stucker, Summit Custom Homes
Inaugural Address, December 2011

National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 2012 Priorities

At the start of the year, NAHB established the following priorities and continues to focus them as the year has progressed.

1. End the Housing Production Credit Crisis

It is absolutely vital to get credit flowing to the housing sector again. In the current regulatory climate, lenders have basically stopped making acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) loans that are necessary to allow builders to construct new homes. Credit is the lifeblood of housing. Home builders cannot keep their doors open and create jobs in their communities if they cannot get credit to build even pre-sold homes.

2. Resolve the Faulty Appraisal Process

Appraisals remain a major problem for the housing industry. The process has gone seriously wrong because some appraisers are using distressed properties – many of which have been neglected and are in poor physical condition – as comparables in assessing the value of brand new homes without accounting for major differences in condition and quality. Without such adjustments, the two are not comparable. Appraisers don’t typically enter these fixer-up homes; if they did, they would likely recognize the substantial differences between a foreclosure and a new home.

3. Protect the Mortgage Interest Deduction

Americans overwhelmingly oppose any action by Congress to tamper with the mortgage interest deduction, but it could be eliminated or scaled back as federal lawmakers and the Administration are looking at tax increases in light of deficit concerns. This cornerstone of American housing policy has been in place since the inception of the tax code nearly 100 years ago and supports the aspirations of families at all income levels to become home buyers. Nearly 37 million home owners directly benefit from the mortgage interest deduction and 70 percent of the benefit goes to middle-class home owners who make less than $200,000.

4. Maintain Federal Support for Housing Finance System

Some members of Congress are actively pushing to abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and end the federal backstop for housing. Absent a federal role to help reassure mortgage market investors, the 30-year, fixed rate mortgage, the major housing finance tool for most Americans, would become increasingly scarce and much more costly, pricing many creditworthy borrowers out of the marketplace.

5. Preserve Affordable Downpayments and Mortgages

High downpayment and equity rules along with excessive underwriting requirements will not have a meaningful impact on default rates but it will tighten lending rules to the point where millions of creditworthy home buyers won’t be able to qualify for a mortgage. Responsible consumers who maintain good credit and seek safe loan products will be forced into more expensive mortgages under the terms of the proposed rule simply because they do not have 20 percent or more in downpayment or equity.

6. Recognize Housing’s Important Role to the Economy

As policy makers begin debate on housing finance and budget issues that will impact job creation and future growth, they must understand the important role that housing plays in the U.S. economy. Considering the enormity of the total number of jobs attached to housing, a sector that accounts for 15 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, now is hardly the time to step back from the nation’s long-standing commitment to homeownership. Building 100 average single-family homes generates more than 300 jobs and nearly $9 million in taxes and revenue for state, local and federal governments.