HBA Member Benefit: S.C. Member Rebate Program

As a member of the HBA of Greenville, home builders and remodelers qualify for the S.C. Member Rebate Program.

Introducing the S.C. Member Rebate Program

No one likes to leave money on the table. So, what would you think if you could get a rebate for your loyalty to many of the nation's leading housing industry product suppliers? Now you can!

We are happy to introduce the S.C. Member Rebate Program, aimed at increasing your bottom line. For the minimal effort of informing us about the home construction products you use and when you close on a home or project, you will be putting money back in your pocket. Both Builder & Remodeler companies, no matter how large or small, qualify for the program. When you participate in the program, you can count on receiving checks every quarter.

Please note: Program is only available to current HBASC Members (all HBA of Greenville members are members of HBASC).

Special Offer

If you register for the S.C. Member Rebate Program by July 31, your membership will be made retroactive to January 1, 2011.

Register Now

To start receiving your rebates, simply register online by clicking here!

To read the latest newsletter from the S.C. Member Rebate Program, click here.

Quinn-Satterfield, ProSource, Trehel make Inc. magazine's list of fastest growing private companies in America

Three HBA of Greenville member companies made Inc. magazine's list of fastest growing private companies in America.

Quinn-Satterfield, a Greenville-based home building and remodeling company, came in at 684 on the list. It also came in at 33 on their list of Top 100 Construction Companies. Click here to view Quinn-Satterfield's profile on the Inc. list.

ProSource, based in Greenville, ranked 2,811 on the Inc. list. Click here to view their profile on the Inc. list.

Trehel, based in Clemson, ranked 4,680 on the Inc. list. Click here to view their profile on the Inc. list.

Click here to view the entire Inc. list of fastest growing private companies in America.

Click here to view the Inc. list of Top 100 Construction Companies.

Are 30 somethings abandoning the city for the suburbs

By Michael Dey, Executive Vice President

Home Builders Association of Greenville

The challenge of understanding how demographics impacts the housing market is not in the assessment of what has happened, but in the assessment of what will happen.

A couple of years ago I looked at some of the causes of the current housing market crisis. Clearly easy access to financing, access that was too easy, was a major factor. However, in my opinion, the catalyst was demand, or lack of it.

From 2006 to 2009 the population at prime first-time home buying age was extraordinarily small. That is because that age group was born during the lowest birth-rate years since World War II: 1973-1976.

In my opinion lack of demand from people that had to buy a home was the catalyst that created the chain reaction that brought down the housing industry.

Unfortunately that first-time home buyer demand is still lower than normal and is probably a couple of years away from strengthening. Low demand is compounded with the fact that many people who should have been in the market place in the last couple of years have deferred buying homes because they either don't have a job or are under employed, or they are not confident enough to enter the housing market at this time, or they are having difficulty qualifying for a loan, and perhaps a combination of the three. This one-two punch explains why the housing industry continues to "bounce along the bottom": lack of demand.

Demand is coming, but where?

The question I am often asked when I present this data, and one that I have not been able to answer, is where will the next generation of first-time home buyers want to live? That is a very good question and one that is hard to answer; until now.

The professional planners and smart-growth advocates say future demand will matriculate toward more urban settings. I have generally agreed with that assessment and I have wondered if we don't already have enough suburban housing to meet future demand.

However, analysis of 2010 Census data by demographer Wendell Cox demonstrates the opposite trend. According to Cox's analysis, 1.8 million 25-34 year-olds moved to the suburbs during the last decade. At the same time, 1.3 million25-34 year-olds moved away from urban areas around the country.

There is a lot of speculation about why this has happened, but a member of the HBA staff who falls into that age group gave me the most plausible explanation for this trend: "we can't afford to live in the city."

No matter the explanation, the answer to where first-time home buyers will settle may be answered: where their parents settled when they bought their first home.

Read a report on Wendell Cox's study by Joel Kotkin on the Forbes blog by clicking here.

Audit finds that 27 percent of calls to LLR go unaswered

According to a report by the Legislative Audit Council, the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (LLR) failed to answer 27 percent of the calls it received.

LLR is the umbrella agency under which the S.C. Residential Builders Commission and the S.C. Contractors Licensing Board are managed. Both boards regulate home builders, general contractors, home inspectors, and other trades professionals who work on construction sites. In addition, LLR manages the S.C. Real Estate Licensing Board.

The audit also found that agency staff “spent an average of 36 percent of their time on calls or after call work when 70 percent is a reasonable expectation.” The audit also found that 60 percent of complaints referred to LLR’s Office of Investigations and Enforcement received “no action,” while another 30 percent had “minimal actions such as fines and reprimands.”

Read an article on the audit results at FITSNEWS by clicking here. Read the audit by clicking here. Read an executive summary of the audit by clicking here.

Carolina First Center changes name to TD Convention Center

The Carolina First Center has a new name: the TD Convention Center made its debut this month as the conversion of the Carolina First brand to TD Bank continues throughout the Carolinas. Carolina First had a multi-year naming rights sponsorship of the convention center, which TD Bank assumed with the acquisition of the bank.

The Carolina First Center, now TD Convention Center, is the home of the Southern Home and Garden Shows, produced by the Home Builders Association of Greenville. It is also the location of several of the HBAs membership meetings throughout the year.

“We are pleased to have this relationship with TD Bank that has once again shown its commitment to our community,” said John Castile, Greenville City Manager. “As host to hundreds of events, both consumer and corporate, each year, we feel the TD Convention Center will be a great asset to the bank as they strive to expand their footprint and brand in this region.”

“TD Bank is excited to support this key venue in the state,” said Rob Hoak, Regional President for TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank. “TD Bank remains dedicated to making a meaningful and positive contribution to the communities in which we do business, and we feel having our name on this signature facility is a great way to do so while also sharing our brand.”

The TD Convention Center is one of the region’s largest convention and meeting facilities and has a long history as one of the top meeting places in the Southeast. Though the current building was constructed in 1964, the tradition of industry leaders meeting in Greenville began in 1915. That tradition continues today as the TD Convention Center hosts more than 450 events and 270,000 people from across the state and the nation each year.

Originally the Palmetto Expo Center, the facility was purchased by the City of Greenville in 2001. In 2007, of the facility was renamed the Carolina First Center after Carolina First purchased the naming rights as part of the city’s $22 million renovation of the facility.

The Carolina First Center is managed by SMG, a facilities management company that oversees more than 200 arenas, stadiums and convention centers around the world.

Bruce Yandle: "South Carolina's economy is getting in gear...finally"

Good news on the economy is about as hard to find as an ivory-billed woodpecker. So when there is a sighting, it needs to be shared. Here's the good news. South Carolina's economy has turned some important corners. State GDP growth, a fundamental measure of economic health, has turned positive.

Read Bruce Yandle's monthly report by clicking here.

NAHB: How Government Regulations Affect the Cost of Housing

For the past four years the housing market has faced considerable adversity and still faces significant barriers to recovery. Some of those barriers are government imposed.

Even when the current barriers are overcome, home builders and developers will still be contending with markets in which homes cost more to build and sell because of government regulations.

NAHB Economist Paul Emrath, PhD., recently completed a study of the impact of government regulation on the cost of housing. According to the report, 25 percent of the cost of a new home is the result of government regulation.

Click here to read the report at HousingEconomics.com.