Representatives from NAHB and the Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA) met with FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair and her staff Monday to discuss the troubling exam environment facing community banks. They told Bair and other FDIC officials that the excessively tough exam environment is having a significant effect on the ability of community banks to lend and support economic growth. The association continues to hear that examiners are overzealous and unduly overreaching and are, in some cases, second guessing banks and professional independent appraisers.
In some cases, ICBA said, examiners are making community banks downgrade performing commercial real estate loans solely because the value of the collateral has gone down and are demanding write-downs and reclassifications of loans based on forced sales of real estate occuring during illiquid or dysfuctional markets. They recommended better communication between the Washington office and field examiners concerning exam policies and that the FDIC ombudsman process be improved so that bankers could feel more comfortable appealing decisions made by field examiners.
Source: ICBA
The Home Builders Association of Greenville are your neighbors and community leaders providing education and support for building industry professionals. We create jobs, encourage homeownership, and promote responsible growth throughout the upstate of South Carolina.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Thank You, HBA of Greenville Associate Members!
September is Associate Member Appreciation Month, a time for us to recognize the tremendous contributions that our associates make to our local, state and national advocacy efforts, as well as to the overall power and influence of our association. Truth be told, the participation of our associate members is so important to the HBA that Associate Member Appreciation Month should really be celebrated all year round! The HBA Board of Directors wants to personally thank our associate members who are readers of this report for being actively engaged participants in our organization, and for all the assistance they provide on a daily basis to our builder members. The fact of the matter is, we couldn’t do what we do without you. We also strongly encourage all members out there to express your appreciation to an associate member today. Information on the NAHB Associate Members Committee is available on www.NAHB.org.
Also, don't forget that we're celebrating our associate members this Thursday, September 24 at Associate Appreciation Night, 5:30 p.m. at the HBA office. To RSVP, call us at 254-0133 or visit our website, www.hbaofgreenville.com.
Also, don't forget that we're celebrating our associate members this Thursday, September 24 at Associate Appreciation Night, 5:30 p.m. at the HBA office. To RSVP, call us at 254-0133 or visit our website, www.hbaofgreenville.com.
NAHB Resources on Chinese Drywall
Drywall imported from China that was used in home construction in the United States is causing some concern for homeowners and home builders, and has been a hot topic in the media this year.
Home owners have reported foul odors and air conditioning-related problems in homes constructed with some of the drywall imported from China. Additionally, copper components, and certain electrical and plumbing components might have a blackened appearance. It is believed the drywall was imported into the U.S. between 2004 and 2008. Some of this drywall is alleged to contain high levels of sulfur and/or other contaminants, which it is emitting or off-gassing. Governmental agencies are investigating the potential adverse health consequences of exposure to the sulfur gases. Little is known about the proper methods for investigating and remediating the drywall, which has led to concern for many on how to address the issue.
To help builders and other HBA members become knowledgeable about Chinese drywall and to learn about currently existing resources, NAHB has assembled a webpage with information to help builders learn about the issue so that they can answer home owner questions. To view this page, click here.
Home owners have reported foul odors and air conditioning-related problems in homes constructed with some of the drywall imported from China. Additionally, copper components, and certain electrical and plumbing components might have a blackened appearance. It is believed the drywall was imported into the U.S. between 2004 and 2008. Some of this drywall is alleged to contain high levels of sulfur and/or other contaminants, which it is emitting or off-gassing. Governmental agencies are investigating the potential adverse health consequences of exposure to the sulfur gases. Little is known about the proper methods for investigating and remediating the drywall, which has led to concern for many on how to address the issue.
To help builders and other HBA members become knowledgeable about Chinese drywall and to learn about currently existing resources, NAHB has assembled a webpage with information to help builders learn about the issue so that they can answer home owner questions. To view this page, click here.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Housing Price Index Report
The chart below shows details from local markets from the recently released Housing Price Index report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Local markets continue to fare well, and home values have continued to appreciate in Greenville, Spartanburg and Columbia.
Three HBA Members Form New Company
Three Upstate homebuilders and HBA of Greenville members have formed a new company to develop, design and build Ivy Grove, a new community on Grove Road in Greenville.
Thomas Dillard (Dillard-Jones Builders, LLC), Scott Lynch (Hollison Custom Homes, LLC) and Brad Thompson (First Choice Custom Homes) have formed Ivy Builders, LLC to exclusively build a new 41-home neighborhood on property formerly known as Ivy Lawn, the site of the historic Williams-Earle House. For more on this project from GSA Business, click here.
Thomas Dillard (Dillard-Jones Builders, LLC), Scott Lynch (Hollison Custom Homes, LLC) and Brad Thompson (First Choice Custom Homes) have formed Ivy Builders, LLC to exclusively build a new 41-home neighborhood on property formerly known as Ivy Lawn, the site of the historic Williams-Earle House. For more on this project from GSA Business, click here.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Home Buyers Want To Save Energy - But Only At The Right Price, NAHB Survey Shows
Even though prospective home buyers want the benefits of new, more efficient homes, they are unwilling to pay much more for a "green" home, according to a recent member survey from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
"Although we are seeing significant interest in green building, cost effectiveness is clearly a key concern among home buyers," said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder and developer in Tulsa, Okla. "Builders said that among buyers who are willing to pay more for green features, more than half -- 57 percent -- are unlikely to pay more than an additional two percent."
The August survey coincides with news that the NAHB National Green Building Program continues to grow. More than 400 homes, developments and remodeling projects have been certified by the NAHB Research Center, which administers the program and trains and accredits local project verifiers. Of those projects, 43 have been certified to the National Green Building Standard, approved earlier this year by the American National Standards Institute.
Preferences for specific green building techniques are decidedly regional, with builders in the West reporting much more interest in water efficiency than builders in other areas. Interest in homes built with recycled materials is particularly high in the Northeast (the region where the fewest new homes are built) and low in the South (the region with the highest number of housing starts).
Only 11 percent of builders nationwide indicated that their customers ask about environmentally friendly features, according to the survey. "Fortunately, our members are increasingly taking the initiative to educate the home-buying public about the benefits of green construction," Robson said.
Overall, energy efficiency continues to be the primary factor driving the green building movement, squaring with previous NAHB surveys of home builders when asked about buyer preferences. "More and more, our members are able to convince their clients of the benefits of a home built with efficiency and sustainability in mind," Robson said.
"However, when buyers prepare to sign on the dotted line, cost-effectiveness clearly drives their decisions. We need to make sure that our energy policies reflect that reality so that builders have the flexibility to use lot and site design, high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment and other features to achieve the desired results at the right price," he continued.
"Whenever Congress considers how to encourage more energy-efficient construction, it must keep affordability in mind - and look for ways to incentivize these changes not only in new homes, but even more importantly in the nation's much more substantial and inefficient existing housing stock," Robson said.
"Although we are seeing significant interest in green building, cost effectiveness is clearly a key concern among home buyers," said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder and developer in Tulsa, Okla. "Builders said that among buyers who are willing to pay more for green features, more than half -- 57 percent -- are unlikely to pay more than an additional two percent."
The August survey coincides with news that the NAHB National Green Building Program continues to grow. More than 400 homes, developments and remodeling projects have been certified by the NAHB Research Center, which administers the program and trains and accredits local project verifiers. Of those projects, 43 have been certified to the National Green Building Standard, approved earlier this year by the American National Standards Institute.
Preferences for specific green building techniques are decidedly regional, with builders in the West reporting much more interest in water efficiency than builders in other areas. Interest in homes built with recycled materials is particularly high in the Northeast (the region where the fewest new homes are built) and low in the South (the region with the highest number of housing starts).
Only 11 percent of builders nationwide indicated that their customers ask about environmentally friendly features, according to the survey. "Fortunately, our members are increasingly taking the initiative to educate the home-buying public about the benefits of green construction," Robson said.
Overall, energy efficiency continues to be the primary factor driving the green building movement, squaring with previous NAHB surveys of home builders when asked about buyer preferences. "More and more, our members are able to convince their clients of the benefits of a home built with efficiency and sustainability in mind," Robson said.
"However, when buyers prepare to sign on the dotted line, cost-effectiveness clearly drives their decisions. We need to make sure that our energy policies reflect that reality so that builders have the flexibility to use lot and site design, high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment and other features to achieve the desired results at the right price," he continued.
"Whenever Congress considers how to encourage more energy-efficient construction, it must keep affordability in mind - and look for ways to incentivize these changes not only in new homes, but even more importantly in the nation's much more substantial and inefficient existing housing stock," Robson said.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
What Your HBA Has Been Doing For You Lately
To: Members of the Home Builders Association of Greenville
From: Michael Dey, Executive Vice President
I want to share with you some information about a couple of important meetings that have taken place in recent weeks that bear directly on how the Federal government has intervened in the housing industry.
Meeting with Congressman Bob Inglis
At the request of NAHB, several home builders met with Congressman Bob Inglis and his staff about the challenges being faced by home builders in the new economy. Hal Dillard (2004 HBA President and NAHB Congressional Ambassador to Congressman Inglis), President Bruce Pasquarella, President's Appointee Coleman Shouse (2006 HBA President), Legislative Chairman Rick Quinn, and I sat down with Congressman Inglis and Wayne Roper, his chief of staff, here in Greenville to talk with him about the need for the Federal government to take the following actions:
- Extend the $8,000 home buyer tax credit until December 1, 2010, and expand eligibility to all home buyers
- Urge federal banking regulators to improve acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) credit conditions
- Urge federal housing regulators to correct the flawed home appraisal process
- Co-sponsor net operating loss (NOL) relief bills: H.R. 2452 in the House and S. 823 in the Senate
We discussed with the Congressman the challenges our members have been having in tackling their credit relationships with their banks as well as the problems many of our members have had in obtaining credit for bona fide projects. We also were thorough in telling the Congressman that our banking members are equally challenged with the constraints of new regulatory oversight and the problems it has created for them in meeting the credit demands of the home building industry.
Congressman Inglis was very attentive to our needs and concerns, although it should be no secret that he is not a fan of stimulus efforts like the tax credit.
Nonetheless, the Congressman took our concerns very seriously and extended an invitation to me to return to his office the following day for a second meeting.
Meeting with Congressman Inglis and the Head of the Charlotte Office of the Federal Reserve Bank of
I returned to the Congressman's office the next day for a meeting with the Congressman and Matthew Martin, Senior Vice President and Charlotte Regional Executive for the Federal Reserve Bank of
We discussed the challenges that Home Builders have had with the changing credit standards and the impact it has had on the industry and the real estate market, including home prices, as well as the industry's inability to meet housing demand, particularly at lower price points. While I do not think the meeting was fruitful in influencing the actions of the Fed, it was fruitful in educating Congressman Inglis about your challenges and the need to tackle over-burdensome regulatory standards and the need to extend the homeownership tax credit.
While we were meeting with Congressman Inglis, there were other meetings occurring around the state with other members of Congress. The meeting with Congressman Spratt was crucial because of the Congressman's position in the U.S. House of Representatives as Chairman of the Budget Committee, a key place in the House leadership.
Now that Congress is back in session, the efforts have shifted to
Property Tax Relief for Home Builders
Our efforts are not isolated to Congress. In June I wrote to you to tell you about the property tax relief your association successfully secured for you for spec houses that have never been occupied. Attached is a briefing paper on that topic from the S.C. Department of Revenue.
An important deadline is coming up that you may need to act upon. If you retain in inventory a spec or specs that were built in 2007 or 2008, that have NEVER been occupied, you can receive relief from the property taxes on the improvements (the house itself, the lot will still be taxed). But you need to apply for that relief by September 30.
Your association also has planned a Lunch and Learn so you can hear about all of the details from the official charged with granting the relief, Debbie Adkins, Greenville County Tax Assessor. Here are the details:
- Lunch and Learn: Tax Exemption for Home Builders
- Speaker: Debbie Adkins,
- Monday, September 21, 11:30 a.m., Hubbell Lighting
- Please RSVP by emailing info@hbaofgreenville.com
Sometimes in the most challenging of times, you might question the value of your membership. Actions like the ones above go on daily in the good times and the not so good times and they take time, energy, and money. Our Officers, Directors, Councils and Committees keep doing what is necessary to serve and protect this industry and I ask that you think about that as we work through these challenging times together. This is why we also ask you to think of our members first when you are in need of any services or products related to this industry. Members pay their dues which allow us to do what is necessary to watch all of our backs and it is only fair that we give them a chance to earn a living. Please do business with members of the Home Builders Association of Greenville. Find out who your fellow members are by clicking on this link: http://www.hbaofgreenville.com/findamember.jsp
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