HBA of Greenville CEO Michael Dey Receives National Award

The National Association of Home Builders honored Home Builders Association of Greenville CEO Michael Dey with its inaugural Local Executive Officer of the Year Award during the Meeting of the Members at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando.

“Association executive officers are often the unsung heroes of the National Association of Home Builders Federation. They do yeoman’s work to serve our members and advance the needs of the housing industry,” said National Association of Home Builders CEO Jerry Howard during the award presentation.

The award recognizes the dedication, loyalty and commitment of Executive Officers who stand out for consistently promoting the value of membership and working tirelessly on behalf of their members and the Federation during the past year.

This award is unique, as the National Association of Home Builders’ staff senior management team nominated the candidates and the Senior Officers selected the winners.

Each winner received a $1,000 check, and contributions to the National Housing Endowment/Executive Officers Council Student Scholarship Fund will be made in each of their names.

Installation as 2017 Executive Officers Council Chair
Michael was also installed as the 2017 Executive Officers Council Chair at a separate meeting at the International Builders' Show. In this role, Michael will lead the executive officers of local and state Home Builders Associations as Chair to their council. The leadership and innovative thinking proven at his role in Greenville has prepared him well for this position.

NAHB Chair Details Legal Challenge to OSHA Rule

National Association of Home Builders has joined several other industry groups to file a challenge against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Department of Labor regarding OSHA’s final Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses rule, which National Association of Home Builders Chairman Ed Brady called “unlawful and arbitrary” in a press statement issued Thursday.

“We have vigorously opposed this rule from the start, and cannot allow this type of regulatory overreach to occur,” Brady said.

“There are significant concerns associated with Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s requirement of employers to submit detailed injury and illness logs to the agency for public posting. Not only does Occupational Safety and Health Administration not have the authority to do this, it also exposes a business to significant reputational harm, all without demonstrating any evidence that it would effectively reduce workplace injuries and illnesses,” he said.

“We also have serious concerns about the anti-retaliation portion of the rule, which would allow Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors to cite an employer without needing a complaint from a worker. This is a clear overreach of authority, as it goes against Congress’s carefully constructed mechanism to address retaliation that is specifically set forth in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration statute.

“Occupational Safety and Health Administration has not justified any of the rule’s requirements with any real benefits analysis and has relied entirely on anecdotal information. This is entirely insufficient and cannot be allowed to stand and potentially serve as a precedent for other agency rules. Workplace safety is of the utmost concern of our members, however this rule is unlawful and does not serve its intended purpose of improving workplace safety. The rule needs to be vacated and set aside in its entirety,” Brady said.

Welcome 2017 Board of Directors

Your Home Builders Association of Greenville is proud to welcome our 2017 Board of Directors as they officially took office on January 1, 2017.

President

Bob Barreto, GBS Building Supply

President Elect

James Speer, APB, Carson Speer Builders

Vice President

Matt Shouse, APB, LS Homes

Associate Vice-President

Alan Wilson, Clark's Termite and Pest Control

Secretary-Treasurer

Bill Kane, APB, Ryan Homes

Immediate Past President

Joe Hoover, APB, Hoover Custom Construction

Directors

Jarrett Smith, APB, Smith and Webb

Renata Caldwell, Progress Lighting

Holly May, Blackstream, LLC

James Anderson, Park Sterling Bank

Ben Moseley, The Heirloom Companies

Matt Ruth, APB, Mobius Construction

Thomas Dillard, APB, Dillard-Jones Builders

BIA of Central SC Seeks Judges for REGAL Awards

The Sales & Marketing Council of the BIA of Central SC is looking for judges to assist us in identifying their 2016 REGAL (Real Estate’s Greatest Achievers & Leaders) Winners! Judging will take place strictly online again this year and will be held January 24 – January 29. Online judging is easy because you have 6 days to complete the process and will allow you to work at your own pace from your own computer.

There will be a few video conferencing calls for Individual Award Winners but those will be scheduled accordingly – every judge will NOT participate in every online conference call.

Categories that you would be Judging include: Best Website, Best Mobile Website, Best Special Promotion, Best Use of Social Media, and more.

Deadline to sign-up as a judge will be January 18. Judging opportunities are limited. Should you have any interest or know someone who may be interested, please let me know as soon as possible and I will send you additional info about the process and an online password link.

Your support and expertise would be greatly appreciated! Please contact Heather McDonald at the BIA of Central SC at (803) 256-6238 or heather@columbiabuilders.com if you are interested in participating.

U.S. House Price Index - October 2016

From the Federal Housing Finance Agency:

The Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index reported a 0.4 percent increase in U.S. house prices in October from the previous month. From October 2015 to October 2016, house prices were up 6.1 percent. For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from September 2016 to October 2016 ranged from -0.6 percent in the East South Central division to +1.2 percent in the Mountain division. The 12-month changes were all positive, ranging from +3.6 percent in the Middle Atlantic division to +8.3 percent in the Mountain division.​

Monthly index values and appreciation rate estimates for recent periods are provided in the table and graphs in the attachment.

Lot Leads - Get the Dirt on Available Lots

Your HBA has been alerted to a lot for sale in Greenville. See below for details:
Location: 6.42 Acres Woodland Drive Greenville, SC 29617, just 3 miles from Downtown Greenville, in area of homes off Poinsett Hwy between Cherrydale Point shopping center and Furman University.
Directions: From downtown Greenville, take Poinsett Highway 2.8 miles past Cherrydale Point shopping center. Take left onto Woodland Drive. Entrance to property is between two white houses on the right approximately 0.4 miles
Lot Details: Suitable for single family or rezone for multi-family development. Pre-approved preliminary subdivision plan available for consideration or develop as desired. County has pre-approved access drive, road location and cluster development. Currently zoned R10 but adjacent to RM20. Ample city water with access to new 6" main. Sewer main easement on property with pre-approved capacity. Property is wooded with very tall hardwood for timber. 
Contact: Tax Map Number 0438000101001. Priced to sell quickly at $35/acre - $224,700 total. 
For additional information, please call 864-616-8888.

Rising Interest Rates, House Prices Push Thousands Out of the Market

One thousand dollars might sound insignificant when compared to the overall price of a new home. But that relatively small amount of money has a surprisingly big impact on affordability.

The National Association of Home Builders economists recently determined that for every $1,000 increase in the cost of today’s median-priced home, nearly 153,000 American households are priced out and would no longer be able to afford it.

Many builders and developers are finding it increasingly difficult to avoid these price jumps in the face of mounting regulations and government-imposed fees, which can add up quickly and shut the door on a growing number of prospective buyers.

Those numbers become even more eye-opening when looking at potential interest rate increases. With just a quarter-point rise in the rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, approximately 1.2 million people would be priced out of that segment of the market and forced to set their sights lower than a median-priced home—or delay their home purchase altogether.

But the impact varies widely across the country. The effects are more significant in areas where new homes are more affordable.

Eye On Housing recently revealed which states and metro areas have the highest percentage of priced-out households.