NAHB will host Teleforums with Presidential Candidates; Members are Invited to Participate

NAHB will co-sponsor virtual town hall events with the presidential candidates. These events, or "teleforums,” will provide NAHB members with an opportunity to hear from the candidates and ask them questions via telephone. All NAHB members are invited to participate. The following candidates have been invited to participate:

• President Barack Obama
• Governor Mitt Romney
• Governor Rick Perry
• Congressman Ron Paul 
• Congresswoman Michele Bachmann
• Speaker Newt Gingrich
• Businessman Herman Cain

Ron Paul teleforum is Thursday, October 13
Are you a Ron Paul fan?  The first confirmed teleforum will be with Representative Ron Paul on Thursday, October 13, at approximately 2:00 p.m. EST. You must sign up immediately (by 5 p.m. Wednesday, October 12) if you want to participate in the first teleforum. Simply fill out the registration form at this link. You will need to provide us with a valid telephone number at which you can be contacted when the event begins.

Join the teleforum at the HBA of Greenville Office
The first teleforum will be aired at the HBA of Greenville Office on Thursday, October 13.  If you would like to join the teleforum there, simply click on this link to register.  We will email you when we have a confirmed time for the teleforum.  You will have the added bonus of helping HBA staff prepare a mailing while you participate in the teleforum!

How it will work

Due to last-minute changes in the candidates’ schedules, all teleforum times are approximate. Registrants for the first event with Ron Paul will receive an email on the day of that event, letting you know roughly what time to expect the call that will connect you. Should you miss the initial call, please be patient, as you will be called back. Each teleforum event will last roughly 45 to 60 minutes, and you will receive instructions on how to submit a question to the candidate once you are connected. Please keep in mind that only a limited number of questions can be taken in each teleforum due to time constraints. Also bear in mind that, if you do not wish to participate in a certain teleforum, all you need to do is hang up when the operator calls you. 

We expect more candidates to soon confirm times in which they can participate in a teleforum event. You will be notified of each subsequently scheduled teleforum as soon as that information is available. 

NAHB Policy on Presidential Elections

Consistent with our policy, NAHB is not endorsing any presidential candidate. We are simply providing a channel through which the candidates can talk with our members, and vice-versa. It is up to each of our members to decide whether he or she will participate in any of the calls that will be taking place.

Duct Tape Guys appear at the Southern Home and Garden Show

The Duct Tape Guys will appear at the Southern Home and Garden Show this weekend.  Scheduled appearances include:

• Friday, September 30, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
• Saturday, October 1, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Don't miss the Duct Tape Guys and the Duct Tape Workshop, where you can learn dozens of ways to use the world's most universal tool.

Opportunity to Judge Prism Awards in Charleston

Are you interested in judging the Prism Awards in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina?  The commitment involves two days and two nights in Charleston, with your food and lodging costs paid for by the Charleston-Trident Home Builders Association.  Judging dates are October 13 and 14.  You will arrive on October 12.

The Prism Awards is a comprehensive program recognizing excellence in home building remodeling, and new home sales and marketing.

If you are interested, contact CTHBA by calling 843-572-1414 and ask for Rachel.

HBA of Greenville sponsors EPA Lead Paint Seminar open to all

The Home Builders Association of Greenville is hosting a Lead Paint Seminar presented by the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, September 29, 3 p.m., at the TD Convention Center.

The seminar is open to the entire home improvement industry compliments of the Home Builders Association of Greenville.

The seminar will feature speakers on the various aspects of the new lead paint rule.  EPA is beginning to step up its enforcement of the lead paint rule, so it is important for the home improvement industry to understand and comply with the rule.

Speakers include:

• 3:00-3:30 What is Abatement?: Lead Abatement Training Components, Greenville Technical College, Joy Finch
• 3:30-3:50 Statistics: South Carolina Health Department Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, M.L. Tanner
• 3:50-4:10 Legal implications of not complying, Childs Thrasher, of Gallivan White and Boyd
• 4:20-4:40 Are You Insured? (Insurance options available, costs and coverage), Palmetto Insurance, Howard Cox
• 4:40-5:10 Proper use of Lead Testing Equipment Lead Check, W. Jonson
• 5:10-5:40 Renovation and Repair Painting Rule, EPA Region 4, Andrea Lippitt
• 5:40-6:00 Questions and Answers

Following the seminar participants will receive a complimentary ticket to Big Thursday, the preview party for the Southern Home and Garden Show held on the show floor in the TD Convention Center.

To register for the EPA Lead Paint Seminar, click here.

Southern Home and Garden Show: Big Thursday is back!

The Southern Home and Garden Show is in the final stages of preparation for its grand opening on Friday morning, September 30, at 10 a.m.  But before the show opens to the public, it will open on Thursday evening for HBA members, guests, and community leaders for a preview party we affectionately call "Big Thursday."

Big Thursday begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, September 29, on the show floor at the TD Convention Center.  Extra tickets are available at the door for $20 each.

Big Thursday returns to the Southern Home & Garden Show as a private event held on the exhibit floor. The Thursday evening VIP reception is an invitation-only event for members of Upstate area Home Builders Associations, Realtors, business owners, elected officials and other VIPs.

The Thursday night event will have more of a trade show feel," said Michael Dey, Executive Officer of the Home Builders Association of Greenville. "We've had many exhibitors ask us about bringing back Big Thursday and believe this is the best way to do it. A private reception will allow home show exhibitors the opportunity to meet with builders and other potential business partners before the show opens to the public on Friday morning."

The theme for this year's Big Thursday is tailgating.  Thursday night college football will be shown in the game zone on the show floor.  Live entertainment on the Palmetto Bank stage will feature The Funktion.

Big Thursday is sponsored by Waldrop Heating and Air, Piedmont Natural Gas, Home Depot, TD Convention Center, and Vass Markets.  The Southern Home and Garden Show is presented by Charter and produced by the Home Builders Association of South Carolina.

Don't miss the hottest private party in town this Thursday at the Southern Home and Garden Show.

Addison Homes hires Threatt, Penland

Addison Homes announced this week the hiring of Melissa Hill Threatt, Associate AIA, and Ken Penland.  Threat joins the home builder as an estimator.  Penland joins the company as a project superintendent.

Read the entire report at Greenville Business Magazine by clicking here.

Multi-family housing market continues to strengthen

While single-family housing production remains relatively weak, multi-family housing continues to strengthen across the country. Future home buyers continue to sit on the sideline and instead have opted for renting or have purchased town homes and other non-traditional housing.

NAHB’s multifamily production index (MPI) rose for a fourth consecutive quarter in the second quarter of 2011 to 44.4. It is the highest quarterly reading since 2006, and continues the trend of generally improving conditions in the market for new multifamily housing that has emerged since the MPI dropped to a record low of 16.0 in the third quarter of 2008.

The index and all of its three components (construction of low-rent units, construction of market-rate-rent units, and construction of “for sale” units) are scaled so that any number over 50 indicates that more respondents report conditions are improving than report conditions are getting worse. In the second quarter of 2011, a majority of developers saw improvements in the production of low-rent and market-rate units. Looking forward, most developers expect conditions to continue improving for these two segments of the market.

Meanwhile, the Multifamily Vacancy Index (MVI) increased slightly from 35.0 in the first quarter of 2011 to 36.1 in the second quarter. With the MVI, lower numbers indicate fewer vacancies. Results also show that multifamily developers and property owners expect vacancy rates to decline over the next six months.