NCHBA Blog

Carol Kavanaugh Announces Bid for Douglas County Commissioner Seat

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:59:00 GMT

March 30, 2012

To: Wenatchee Area Media

From: Friends of Carol Kavanaugh

Re: Campaign Announcement

Carol Kavanaugh will be running for the seat of Douglas County Commissioner District 1 currently held by Ken Stanton.

Carol moved to the Wenatchee area in 1977 after acquiring her Masters degree from Western Washington University. Her achievements include the following:

1) Member of the Douglas County Regional Planning Commission 2006 – present.

2) Chairperson of the Douglas County Regional Planning Commission 2008 – present.

3) President Elect of the North Central Washington Association of Realtors.

4) Member of the Board of Directors for the North Central Washington Association of Realtors 2006 – present

5) Member of the Board of Directors for the Washington Association of Realtors 2007 – present.

While raising her children Erin and Eddy, Carol was very active in the Eastmont Public School system chairing and coordinating multiple events.

After many months of consideration and encouragement from family, friends and business associates, Carol decided to run for Douglas County Commissioner. She feels that Douglas County needs leadership. “We need leaders who demonstrate respect for the process and who take responsibility for decisions made. We need to restore citizen confidence and trust in the process. We may not agree on every issue, but the citizens of Douglas County will know that their voices were heard and their input mattered.”

Carol’s campaign is based on the philosophy that the long-time culture of “no” needs to be replaced with a culture of “how can we help you accomplish your goals and visions.” Her goal is to create a “County of Opportunity” and address “excessive and burdensome regulation”.

“There is so much talent, so many hard workers, and so many people with good ideas and strong principals in Douglas County. People must begin to step up and offer themselves as positive alternatives to elected officials who have forgotten the people who elected them. It has never been an ambition of mine to run for elected office, but in doing so I hope to set an example for others.”

To schedule an interview or appearance for Carol Kavanaugh, please contact Greg McEwen at 509-669-4622 or at gmac@solutionsresourceteam.com

House Prices: the “Priced Out” Effect

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:16:00 GMT

NAHB Economics regularly receives requests to evaluate the effects of pending new regulations on housing affordability in local markets where regulatory actions are expected to raise home prices. The NAHB Priced Out Model provides straightforward answers on the issue. The model estimates how many households can qualify for a new home mortgage before and after a house price increase. The resulting difference is the number of priced out households. A new research paper from NAHB Economics discusses the priced out methodology in detail and presents the new 2012 estimates for the United States and 325 metropolitan areas.

The 2012 estimates show that nationally a $1,000 increase in the home price leads to pricing out about 232,447 households. The size of the impacts across metropolitan areas ranges from more than 6,000 households in Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI to only 14 households in Napa, CA. These large differences mainly depend on metro population, new home prices and income distribution. The Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI metro area registers by far the largest priced out effect in the nation, in part because it is a relatively affordable metro area where 43 percent of households can afford a new home, and in part because it is a populous area with almost 3.5 million households residing there. On the other hand, in Napa, CA, where half of all new homes sell for more than $700,000, only 13 percent of households can afford new homes to begin with. So adding another thousand to the price disqualifies only 14 households from buying a new home.

Looking at the affordable metro areas, where more than fifty percent of households can afford new homes, the priced out effects are large and can often disqualify thousands of new home buyers. In Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX, almost 4,700 households are priced out of the new home market as a result of prices rising by $1,000, in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA – 3, 771 households.

Even though the NAHB Priced Out Model does not estimate effects of new regulation on new home sales or housing starts, it highlights often overlooked effects of regulation on affordability of new homes.

The research paper also notes that every time a local or regional government raises construction costs by, for example, increasing building permit or impact fees, the final price of the home to the buyers usually goes up by more than the increase in the government fee. This is because other costs such as commissions and financing charges automatically rise as well. As shown in Table 1, these add-on charges range from 0 percent if a fee is imposed directly on buyers to 39 percent if cost is incurred when applying for site development approval. So that for every $1 increase in fees incurred, for example, when acquiring a building permit, the final price of a new home to its final customer rises by $1.20.

Court Upholds NLRB Poster Rule, But Disallows Sanctions

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 23:05:00 GMT

NAHB has recently alerted our members to a new government rule mandating that most employers prominently display a poster in their workplace that advises employees of their right to unionize. In a case brought by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has recently upheld the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) collective bargaining rights poster rule, but has also held that an employer’s failure to display the poster will not be considered to be an unfair labor practice, nor will it toll the statute of limitations for filing an unfair labor practice complaint. If the rule lacks these sanctions, it may be unenforceable as a practical matter. However, because there is uncertainty as to whether the NLRB or private parties may assert other enforcement options, NAM has announced its intention to appeal the portion of the court’s decision that upholds the NLRB rule. Read the court’s opinion here. A separate challenge to the NLRB collective bargaining rights poster rule, brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. The NLRB poster rule is scheduled to go into effect on April 30, 2012. For more information, please contact David Crump at 800-368-5242 x8491.

NCHBA Offers New Health Insurance Program Option

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:17:00 GMT

We're pleased to announce a new selection of medical insurance benefit plans for our members to choose from. The Washington Builders Alliance Trust (WABAT) program is uniquely designed to meet the needs and demands of the building-related trades. With 15 custom medical plans, 4 dental plans, vision benefits, and a variety of supportive services at no additional cost, you can increase your benefit buying power and benefit choices.

WABAT believes that, by creating competitive plans and rates, they can help participating employers compete for and retain valuable employees.

Check out the brochures here to learn more about Major Providers, Wellness, Increased Buying Power and Tailored Rates. This is just another way the NCHBA is working to promote and protect the building industry in North Central Washington. For more information please contact the NCHBA office at (509) 665-8195.

State Building Code Council Adopts January 1, 2011 Effective Date for New Energy Code

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:21:00 GMT

Changes to the State Energy Code adding $12,000 to the cost of a new home will take effect January 1, 2011 according to the State Building Code Council (SBCC) which voted 13-2 on Friday to adopt the changes. The SBCC rejected Governor Gregoire's request to delay the implementation of the expensive new codes until April.

The SBCC vote is a huge disappointment for BIAW members, but it was not surprising considering the SBCC has no concern for the housing industry. In fact, SBCC members appointed by the Governor to represent the building industry are not even builders. They are energy and sustainability consultants.

The new energy codes were originally scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2010, but after the Governor's request for a nine month delay, the SBCC approved a 120 day delay. Gregoire's request for a delay and the SBCC's subsequent actions came on the heels of a lawsuit filed by BIAW in federal court challenging part of the energy code on the grounds that it is more stringent than federal regulations and thus is preempted by federal law. This lawsuit is pending in federal court.

BIAW and association members testified that the energy code's new effective date should be extended beyond the initial 120-day delay and urged SBCC members, at the very least, to honor the Governor's original request to delay the energy code until April 2011. With the current state of the economy and tight credit and low appraisals plaguing the homebuilding industry, homebuilders and homebuyers cannot absorb energy code changes adding $12,000 to the cost of new homes.

BIAW will continue to fight these costly changes through its ongoing lawsuit against the SBCC. We would like to thank our NCHBA members who responded to the recent Call-to-Action requests to write letters to the State Building Codes Council, requesting that they delay implementation.

For more information and to view a copy of the energy code, visit: http://www.biaw.com/Code_Updates.aspx