Member Advantage Expanded to Include 2-10

2-10 HBW and your HBA's Member Advantage program have aligned to provide members exclusive discounts on specific 2-10 HBW products; Builder Backed Service Program, Front Line Warranty Services and the New Construction Home Warranty Service Agreement. All three products can be purchased as a bundle, or the Builder Backed Service Program and Front Line Warranty Services are available together, or the New Construction Home Warranty Service Agreement may be purchased separately.

The Builder Backed Service Program utilizes the National Association of Home Builders Residential Construction Performance Guidelines, and provides a platform for quick resolution of warranty coverage concerns via 2-10 HBW’s experienced and knowledgeable warranty administration team. Front Line Warranty Services makes 2-10 HBW the first point of contact for home owners and the New Construction Home Warranty Service Agreement protects home owners against major systems and appliances repairs, including parts and labor, once the manufacturer’s warranties expire.

A recent co-sponsored survey by 2-10 HBW and NAHB indicated that 90% of consumers are more likely to buy a home from a builder who offers a warranty.

Visit http://www.2-10.com/nahb or call 855-280-1328 to find out more.

Radon Training Offered for Builders, Inspectors

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is offering training for building professionals and inspectors in nearby Asheville, NC.

The training session, two four-hour classes titled "HD Requirements for Multifamily Testing" and "Vapor Intrusion," are being offered on Monday, March 9.  Each class is $50.  Classes will be held at the Mountain Area Health Education Center, 121 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, NC.

The classes are part of a larger conference on Radon that runs from March 9-11, at the same location.

To register and for more information, visit NCRadon.org.

Greenville County is the only county in South Carolina that enforces the Radon portion of the Building Code, the result of the high incidence of radon in the soils in the county.

Members: Save Money on Flowers for Your Valentine

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! Show someone how much they are appreciated this weekend with flowers or other gifts from FTD — and get 20 percent off if you are an HBA member. Order online at ftd.com/nahb or call 800-SEND-FTD.

To learn more about money-saving programs for members, click here.

Top 10 Reasons 2015 will Be a Growth Year for Housing

During his briefing to our membership last week, NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe cited his top 10 list that points to a more robust year for housing in 2015.  Below is Dr. Crowe's top 10 list for 2015:

• Economic growth has improved and was near 4% in the last half of 2014.
• Employment gains are more solid and consistent, averaging more than 250,000 per month in 2014.
• Consumer confidence is growing and back to pre-recession levels.
• Significant pent up demand is building: More than 7 million existing home sales have been postponed or lost since the housing downturn.
• Home owners’ equity is rising and up in the past three years.
• Household balance sheets are returning to normal.
• Household income is rising and up over the past three years.
• Mortgage availability is improving: administration and FHFA have taken steps.
• Mortgage rates are near historic lows: Some are below 4%.
• Inventory of available homes is increasing: New homes are up 45%, existing homes are up 16%.

The signs show that the housing recovery should move to higher ground in 2015.  Dr. Crowe expects single-family starts to increase 24% to 803,000, up from a preliminary 647,000 in 2014. Multifamily construction will level off at 365,000 up slightly from a preliminary 357,000 in 2014. Real remodeling expenditures will return to a positive year with an expected 3% rise in 2015.

Welcome New Members!

On behalf of the Membership Committee and Chair, Gus Rubio of Gabriel Builders, The HBA of Greenville would like to welcome our newest members.

WELCOME!

Affiliate members:

               Lowe's of Greer, Chris Angel

               Lowe's of Simpsonville,Rhonda Atkins

               Sexton Griffith Custom Builders, Chris Bagwell

               Lowe's of NW Greenville, Jason Baril

               Conservus Realty, LLC, Kathy Beckham

               Arbor Engineering, Inc., Caroline Bowles

               Allen Tate Realtors, Robby Brady

               The Collins Group, Kenny Collins

               Lowe's of Simpsonville, Monica Davis

               South State Bank, Karen Dey

               Guaranteed Supply, Jerry Dockery

               Fountain Inn Natural Gas, Ross Fletcher

               Allen Tate Realtors, Cathy Griffin

               The Collins Group, Elise Herron

               Lowe's of Easley, Lee Holcombe

               Fountain Inn Natural Gas, Kenny Jarrett

               Reliant Roofing and Restoration, LLC, Bill McDavid

               Daystar Construction, Olin McSherry

               Arthur Rutenberg Homes, Nichole Moore

               Allen Tate Realtors, Karl Morrissey

               Lowe's of Greer, Lance Pittman

              Allen Tate Realtors, Cynthia Serra

              Allen Tate Realtors, David Snyder

              Harrison Plaza Lighting dba Harrison Lighting, Mark Strange

              Lowe's of Simpsonville, Kevin Stredney

              Adams Homes, Nick Tsakanikas

              Ryan Homes, Amanda Vogan

              Lowe's of Easley, Don Wallace

              Lowe's of NW Greenville, Joel Warren

              Lowe's of Greenville, Lynn Wilson

 Associate Members:

          American Sand Products, Jehan Azad

          Reliant Roofing and Restoration, LLC,Walker Baldwin

          Lowe's of Greenville, Bryan Fischer

          Elliott Frazier Law Firm, LLC, Angela Frazier

          Guaranteed Supply, Jeff Horne

          RSVP Greenville, Greg Kilgore

          ReWiGo Ministries, Nick Kulick

          TD Bank, Ron McCoy

          Academy Mortgage Corporation, Cindy Mintz

          Lake Forest Flooring, Gregg Moore

          Mack Pest Eliminators, Tyler Moore

          Conservus Realty, LLC, Debra Owensby

          Greenville Tractor Company, Pat Poole

          Authorized Service Inc, Jerry Robbins 

          The Collins Group, Nathan Schaupp

          Signature LLC Pools & Patios, Craig Sikkelee

         Arbor Engineering, Inc., David Van De Water

         NextGen Technologies, Inc., Rusty Webb

Builder Members:

Truman Builders, Phil Gillespie

Daystar Construction, Lynn Wiley

Southern Home and Garden Show- March 6-8th! Booth space still available.

The Spring Southern Home and Garden Show is right around the corner, March 6-8th. Don't miss out on your opportunity to interact with your customer face to face and grow your business.
This show is going to be one of the biggest and promises diversity, make sure that you have your booth reserved as their are only about 10 booth spaces left.
Please contact the HBA office for more information at 864-254-0133.

The Ground Hog may have predicted 6 more weeks of winter but at Tuesday's annual Housing Market Forecast Luncheon predictions were more favorable.

Your HBA, SMC of the Upstate, Greater Greenville Association of Realtors (GGAR), and Upstate Mortgage Lenders Association (affiliate of MBAC) held The Housing Market Forecast Luncheon at TD Convention Center on Tuesday, February 3rd featuring Dr. David Crowe, Chief Economist for NAHB. Dr Crowe brought some very valuable information catering to our unique and growing area. Including this: Crowe predicted that single-family housing starts in the Greenville metro area would grow 17 percent this year, to 3,392. Crowe also mentioned that while Greenville's housing market still isn't back to normal following the Great Recession, it should get there over the next two years.

Dr. David Crowe is Chief Economist and Senior Vice President at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Dr. Crowe is responsible for NAHB's forecast of housing and economic trends, survey research and analysis of the home building industry and consumer preferences as well as micro economic analysis of government policies that affect housing. For more information on Dr. David Crowe click here.

Thank you to all that participated in this event. We would also like to thank our Presenting Sponsor The Greenville News and our table top sponsors:
All About Flooring
Clark's Termite and Pest Control
GBS Building Supply
Homestead at Hartness
Palmetto Exterminators
PestBan
The SMC of the Upstate. 

Also, a special thank you goes out to our Volunteers:

Anita Lebold- BankLine Mortgage Corp.

Beth Smith- Berkshire Hathaway Home Services

Bill Kane- Ryan Homes

Brittany Bailey - Ryan Homes

Deana Long- GBS Building Supply

Gary Cohen- Allen Tate Realtors

Haro Setian- The Haro Group of Keller Williams

Isabell Fleshman- Berkshire Hathaway Home Services

James Anderson- Park Sterling Bank

Kathy Weeks- Allen Tate Realtors

Nichole Moore- Arthur Rutenberg Homes

 We look forward to another great Housing Market Forecast Luncheon in 2016!