Member Rebate Program

ATTENTION BUILDERS AND REMODELERS: If you have changed your mailing address since you have signed up with the program, please send us an email of your current/updated mailing address. All emails can be sent to Josh@HBArebates.com We look forward to writing your next rebate check!

Renewable Energy in New Homes

A rising number of new homes include renewable energy features, a trend that is apparent in both single-family and multifamily construction. McGraw Hill Construction’s data and analytics team surveyed a set of NAHB single-family and multifamily members in 2013.
According to the findings, 12% of single-family builders reported including solar photovoltaic panels in new home construction in 2013. More popular for single-family construction was geothermal groundsource heat exchange property, used for some projects by 26% of home builders. Wind power is less popular, with only 1% of single-family builders reporting its use.


Multifamily developers were more likely to use these power production features in at least some of their projects. For example, 45% of multifamily developers used solar panels, 42% installed geothermal property in some projects and 13% reported using wind turbines.
That said, the frequency of use of these items was more common on the single-family side of the market, perhaps due to incentives like the section 25D power production tax credit for new and existing homes. More than half of single-family builders who report installing solar panels do so on more than 25% of their projects. And more than 75% of single-family builders who install geothermal property do so on more than 25% of their homes.
In contrast, for multifamily developers who report installing solar panels, more than 75% do so on fewer than 25% of their projects. And nearly all multifamily developers who report using geothermal do so on fewer than 25% of their properties.

By Robert Dietz on July 11, 2014 Courtesy of NAHB

HBA of Greenville forms Sales and Marketing Council

Your HBA of Greenville has recently approved and formed the Sales and Marketing Council of the Upstate. The SMC of the Upstate is designed to serve the needs of the upstate's ever growing and expanding industry sales needs. The SMC Board of Directors is comprised of :

• JoAnn MacHamer (Arthur Rutenberg Homes), Chair
•   Gary Cohen (Allen Tate Realtors), Vice Chair
•   Bruce Pasquarella (Arthur Rutenberg Homes)
•   Amanda Dumont (Keller Williams)
•  Haro Setian (Keller Williams)
•   Beth Smith (C. Dan Joyner)
•   Carol Pyfrom (Carol Pyfrom Realty)
•   Isabelle Fleshman (C. Dan Joyner)
•   Kathy Weeks (Allen Tate Realtors)
•   Production home builder representative- Bill Kane (Ryan Homes)
•   HBA Board of Directors Liaison  - Joe Hoover (Hoover Custom Construction) 

Membership and sponsorship opportunities will be available and the SMC of the Upstate will host a Kick- Off event this fall so stay tuned. 

HBA Past President, Levis L. Gilstrap, Sr.

Levis L. Gilstrap, Sr.

Greenville

Levis Leon Gilstrap, Sr., 94, of Greenville, husband of the late Alice Williams Gilstrap, died June 26, 2014.

Born in Easley, Levis was a son of the late James Attaway and Venna Ree Mitchell Gilstrap.

Levis was an active member of White Oak Baptist Church, where he was a Deacon, Trustee, Sunday School Superintendent and teacher.
Levis was the original owner and operator of Hillcrest Food Market and Levis L. Gilstrap Real Estate. He was awarded the Order of the Palmetto in 1993. He served as S.C. Residential Home Builders Commissioner for 28 years. He was also a past President of the Greenville Home Builders Association, The Board of Realtors and Civitan Club.

Surviving are his two daughters, Loretta Robinson and Regina Smith and her husband Milton, all of Anderson; two sons, Levis L. "Chip" Gilstrap, Jr. and his wife Julie of Greenville and Scott T. Mann and his wife Julie of Easley; nine grandchildren, Wendy Clarke, Kelly Howard, Zach and Jake Smith, Brittany George, JA and Kade Gilstrap and Madison and Ashleigh Mann; three great-grandchildren, Hayden and Venna Shay Clarke and Everett George. He is preceded in death by his daughter, Venna Ann Howard.

Funeral services will be held Monday, June 30, 2014 at 11 am at White Oak Baptist Church with Rev. Chris Barnes officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the church.

The family sends a special thank-you to Open Arms Hospice and Levis' caregivers, Traci, Betty, Stuart, Magina and Mercedes.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to White Oak Baptist Church, 1805 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville, SC 29609 or to Meals on Wheels, 15 Oregon St., Greenville, SC 29605.

Arrangements by The Mackey Mortuary

Published in The Greenville News on June 29, 2014

HBA Member offering FREE House!

One of your HBA Members is offering a free home. The home is a 2 bedroom 1 bath home and needs to be moved off a property scheduled for development. While the home is free there is a cost to move the home off the property.
The move date has been scheduled so if you are interested in this home please contact the HBA office at 864-254-0133 for more information.

Thank You!

The HBA of Greenville would like to thank the Community Service Committee for their hard work this past weekend on a recently acquired Habitat for Humanity home. The volunteer group included Eddie Howard of Howard Custom Builders, John Wolfrom of Providence Realty, Jon Statom of Palmetto Exterminators, and Amy Torlay of Hughes Supply. They painted the interior of the home, replaced the back deck, and also replaced windows along with many other smaller projects. The committee has also received gifts in kind to complete this home and get the family into the home by the end of summer. Some of those gifts in kind include a new roof furnished by Allcon Roofing, new plumbing and fixtures provided by Hughes Supply, and Crawlspace Incapsulation provided by Palmetto Exterminators. However, we are still in need of several other items!
For more information or if you would like to help please call or email Crystal Yanes at the HBA Office. 864-254-0133 or cyanes@hbaofgreenville.com

FHFA Index Shows Mortgage Interest Rates Decrease in May

National data show interest rates on mortgages decreased from April to May, according to an index of new mortgage contracts.

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders index was 4.18 percent for loans closed in late May. The index is calculated using FHFA's Monthly Interest Rate Survey. The contract rate on the composite of all mortgage loans was 4.13 percent, a decrease from 4.23 percent in April.

Interest rates are typically locked in 30-45 days before a loan is closed. Consequently, May data reflect market rates from mid- to late-April. The effective interest rate was 4.28 percent, down 10 basis points from 4.38 percent in April. The effective interest rate accounts for the addition of initial fees and charges over the life of the mortgage.

FHFA's interest rate survey shows the average interest rate on conventional, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages of $417,000 or less was 4.37 in May, a decrease of 16 basis points. The average loan amount for all loans was $282,600 in May down $1,200 from $283,800 in April.