NAHB Briefs: March 2005

In February, association health plan (AHP) legislation was introduced by Reps. John Boehner (R-Ohio), Sam Johnson (R-Texas), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), and Albert Wynn (D-Md.). This new bill, H.R. 525, would help alleviate the rising number of uninsured and the high cost of health care, according to the NAHB.

“The NAHB has been a strong advocate of AHPs as a solution for the skyrocketing health care costs over the past decade that have driven many small businesses out of the health insurance market entirely, forcing them to abandon coverage for their employees,” says Dave Wilson, NAHB president.

The measure, The Small Business Health Fairness Act, would allow small business owners to band together across state lines through membership in a local, state, or national trade association to leverage their size, just as large businesses do, to negotiate lower insurance costs and more options.

The legislation has the strong backing of the Bush administration and more than 160 trade associations.

“Access to quality, affordable health care is an important issue to home builders and America's small businesses,” says Wilson. “H.R. 525 would enable America's working families to receive the cost-effective, high-quality health care coverage they deserve."

Sales of new single-family homes for 2004 topped one million and set a new annual sales record for the fourth consecutive year, according to U.S. Commerce Department figures released in January.

“Sales were up nearly 9 percent for the year,” says Dave Wilson, NAHB president. “The record-breaking pace can be attributed to strong demographic demand, low mortgage rates, and rising employment and household income, and we expect this pattern to continue into early 2005.”

Total new single-family home sales for the year reached 1.183 million, an 8.9 percent increase from the previous annual record of 1.086 million set in 2003.

All four regions recorded solid annual sales increases for 2004. Sales in the Northeast topped 83,000, the Midwest had 209,000 sales, the South posted 546,000 sales, and the West registered 345,000 sales.

The median sales price of new single-family homes increased 12.2 percent to $218,000 for the year, up from $195,000 in 2003.

The inventory of new homes for sale was 432,000 at the end of 2004, a 4.8 months' supply at the December sales pace. “The inventory situation inched up during the final months of 2004 but, as in previous months, most of the recent increase has been for units permitted but not yet started,” says Dave Seiders, NAHB chief economist. “The inventory situation is not worrisome, particularly if builders keep the numbers of units that are under construction or completed under close control.”

The NAHB has developed guidelines to help home builders incorporate environmental practices into every phase of home building. The “Model Green Home Building Guidelines,” first revealed at January's International Builders' Show, encourage builders to provide decent, affordable housing and conserve the environment by offering voluntary, builder-, and market-driven green solutions for such things as lot design and preparation, site planning and land development, and water. The guidelines, which were developed for single-family homes but also may be applied to multifamily and custom homes and remodeling projects for existing homes, give builders information that is vital to constructing affordable resource-efficient houses to local conditions.