HBA Cornerstone Magazine, November 2023

2023 Fall Golf Tournament pages 8-10

November 2023 | www.westfloridabuilders.com | page 1

Cover Story

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November 2023 | Home Builders Association of West Florida | page 2

Cassy Smith

Taylor Bubert

(850) 497-6810

(850) 497-6810

Operations Manager

House Agent

Vicki Ruschel

Personal Lines Manager

(850) 497-6810

cassy@gcainsurance.com taylor@gcainsurance.com vicki@gcainsurance.com

Gulf Coast Insurance gcains.com

700 New Warrington Rd Pensacola, FL 32506

November 2023 | www.westfloridabuilders.com | page 3

Pensacola O: 850-497-6810

2023 Leadership Board

2023 Home Builders Association of West Florida Board of Directors BUILDER MEMBERS

Amir Fooladi President Encore Homes

Austin Tenpenny Secretary Adoor Properties

Marty Rich Past 2nd Vice President University Lending Group

Dax Campbell 1st Vice President Campbell Construction & Company

Lindy Hurd 2nd Vice President/SMC Chair First International Title

Chad Edgar Immediate Past President Joe-Brad Construction

Jennifer Reese Treasurer Reese Construction Services

Paul Stanley 3rd Vice President The First Bank

Josh Peden Financial Officer/Treasurer Hudson, Peden & Associates

www.westfloridabuilders.com

Stephen Moorhead Legal Counsel Moorhead Real Estate Law Group

Cornerstone is published for the Home Builders Association of West Florida by Ballinger Publishing and distributed to its members. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited without written authorization. Articles in Cornerstone do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the HBA of West Florida. Articles are accepted from various individuals in the industry to provide a forum for our readers.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

The End of the Year is Fast Approaching ..................................................................... 6

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

Get Involved in HBA Councils & Committees .................................................. 7 & 20

Bill Batting, REW Materials Rick Byars, Florida Power & Light Bruce Carpenter, Home Mortgage of America Mickey Clinard, Hancock Whitney Bank Laura Gilmore, Fairway Ind. Mortgage, Affordable Housing Liaison Chris Graye, Graye’s Granite Jill Grove, Pensacola Energy John Hattaway, Hattaway Home Design, Cost and Codes Chair Chris Thomas, Acentria Insurance Shellie Isakson-Smith, Supreme Lending Daniel Monie, KJM Land Surveying Alex Niedermayer, Underwood Anderson & Associates Ric Nickelsen, SmartBank Zach Noel, Clear Title of NW FL Charlie Sherrill, SouthState Bank Pam Smith, Real Estate Counselors, Pensacola Assn. of Realtors Liaison (proposed by PAR) Janson Thomas, Swift Supply Wilma Shortall, Trustmark Mortgage Kevin Sluder, Gene’s Floor Covering

Mary Jordan, Gulf Coast Insurance Tradesman Education Chair Suzanne Pollard-Spann, Legacy Insurance Brokers Ambassadors Chair

4400 Bayou Blvd., Suite 45, Pensacola, Florida 32503

2023 Fall Golf Tournament ........................................................................................ 8-9

Fred Gunther, Gunther Properties Drew Hardgraves, Landshark Homes Ronnie Johnson, J. Taylor Homes Heath Kelly, Heath Kelly Construction Lowell Larson III, Venture Real Estate Alton Lister, Lister Builders, Governmental Affairs Chair Kyle McGee, Sunchase Construction Shon Owens, Owens Custom Homes & Construction Douglas Russell, R-Squared Construction Eric Shaffer, Shaffer Construction Casey Smith, DR Horton Monte Williams, Signature Homes Anton Zaynakov, Grand Builders

COUNCIL CHAIRS

(850) 476-0318

Cover Story

Ex-Officio Members of the Board of Directors Blaine Flynn, Flynn Built Shelby Johnson, Johnson Construction Russ Parris, Parris Construction Company Newman Rodgers, Newman Rodgers Construction Thomas Westerheim, Westerheim Properties Doug Whitfield, Doug Whitfield Residential Designer Curtis Wiggins, Wiggins Plumbing

November 2023 | Home Builders Association of West Florida | page 4

Cornerstone

FEATURE STORY

America Needs More Houses, But Homebuilders Are Hobbled By High Interest Rates ................................................................................... 7 Homebuyers Are Putting More Money Down Than Ever Before Despite Difficult Housing Conditions ...................................................... 15-17

Jennifer Mancini Executive Director jennifer@hbawf.com

HBAWF NEWS

Members Doing Business with Members .......................................................... 7 & 15 Top 10 Reasons To Do Business With An Active Associate Member ...... 10, 15 & 18

Installation Banquet Registration and Sponsorship Forms .................................. 12-13

Like Us on Facebook ......................................................................................... 18 & 21 Spike Club ................................................................................................................... 22

Vicki Pelletier

Director of Marketing & Communication vicki@hbawf.com

NAHB NEWS

NAHB International Builders’ Show - New Member Special Deal ......................... 11

Next Issue: DEC 2023

Mortgage Rates Well Above 7% Continue to Hammer Builder Confidence ........... 14 Learn How to be an Expert Home Salesperson ......................................................... 18

Remodeling Spending Forecast for 2024 ................................................................... 19 NAHB Commends Selection of New Speaker of the House .................................... 19

Edit: Nov 24, 2023 Display Ads: Nov 24, 2023

ECONOMIC NEWS

Housing Share of GDP Remains Flat in the Third Quarter of 2023 .............................. 17

DEPARTMENTS INDEX

Advertisers Index, Web, & Email Addresses ………….....……...........……… 22

Publisher Malcolm Ballinger Advertising Account Executives

Paula Rode, Account Executive ext. 28 paula@ballingerpublishing.com

Cornerstone, the monthly publication of the Home Builders Association of West Florida serving Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties, is published monthly, twelve (12x) per year. Send address changes to HBA of West Florida, 4400 Bayou Boulevard, Suite 45, Pensacola, Florida 32503-1910. Cornerstone, is published in the interests of all segments of the home building industry and is distributed to its members and others associated with the HBA of West Florida. HBA of West Florida and Ballinger Publishing does not accept responsibility for, or endorse any statement or claims made by advertisers or authors of any articles. Every effort has been made to assure accuracy of information, but authenticity cannot be guaranteed. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of Home Builders Association of West Florida, Copyright ©, 4400 Bayou Boulevard, Suite 45, Pensacola, Florida 32503-1910, 850.476.0318. Advertisers and advertorials in Cornerstone do not constitute an offer for sale in states where prohibited by law.

Geneva Strange, Account Executive ext. 31 geneva@ballingerpublishing.com

November 2023 | www.westfloridabuilders.com | page 5

For advertising rates Phone: 433.1166 • Fax: 435.9174

President’s Message

The End of the Year is Fast Approaching

Feature Story

issued last month fell over 7% compared to a year ago because the math doesn’t really work for builders right now, said Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at the National Association of Realtors.

“It’s hard to find a buyer who can afford a new build, but also it’s expensive to build a home,” Lautz said.

T

he end of the year is fast approaching and it’s always a busy time for all us.

There are a lot of work, family and other community events competing for our time, energy and funds. As such, I want to thank all of the sponsors, participants and volunteers who made our recent Fall Golf Tournament event a great success. I know that during increasingly tough economic times our members have to make difficult choices about how to spend their sponsorship dollars and which industry events they are able to attend. Again, thank you for your continued support of the HBA. Your support allows us to do important work on behalf our our entire industry.

I invite you all to the Annual HBA Installation Luncheon on December 6th at Sander’s Beach. We will be installing the 2024 Board of Directors, recognizing members for their outstanding service this past year, and Dax Campbell will be sworn in as the new HBA of West Florida President. Please see the registration form included in this magazine or contact the HBA office for more information.

On behalf of the HBA Board of Directors and our staff, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for being a part of the HBA of West Florida family.

It’s expensive for a few familiar reasons: Construction costs are high, it’s hard to find skilled workers, but most of all, “the increase in long-term interest rates,” said Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders.

Just like homebuyers taking out mortgages, homebuilders take out loans too.

“As interest rates increase, the cost of financing for acquiring land, developing building lots, and the construction loans for builders, all of those increase,” Dietz said.

Amir Fooladi

“ I know that during increasingly tough economic times our members have to make difficult choices about how to spend their sponsorship dollars and which industry events they are able to attend.”

Wills sees that in Austin, Texas, where he owns River City America Needs More Houses, Donny Construction and Design. He said he used to take out loans to buy land pretty regularly. He’d build a house on spec, and then sell it But Homebuilders Are Hobbled for a profit. These days, not so much.

By High Interest Rates

I

f you are in the market for a house, you know that it is rough out there.

To recap: Mortgage rates are the highest they’ve been since 2000, at 7.5% for a 30-year fixed, according to Freddie Mac. Homeowners are locked in to much lower mortgage rates, so they don’t want to sell. And prices for homes that do go on the market remain high.

Building new housing could help things, and the U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday that the number of completed homes rose last month. But that likely won’t last, because further up the housing pipeline, homebuilders are starting fewer projects right now.

In a lot of parts of the country, the first thing a homebuilder has to do to build housing is get a permit. And the number of permits

If you do

business

So, he’s building fewer houses. And that doesn’t bode well for a market that is seriously lacking in supply, said Aaron Jodka at the investment firm Colliers. He said ultimately, it may take more government support, like zoning changes and grants or loans, to meet demand.

“That’s probably a combination of municipal policy as well as tax relief, state government, etc., coming together to try to solve those problems. It’s certainly not easy,” Jodka said.

Meanwhile, Donny Wills in Austin said as long as interest rates are high, he can make money another way.

“I get more calls right now for remodels than I do for custom homes,” Wills said.

And he said, when rates eventually come down to 5% or 6%, builders like him will start investing in new homes again.

GET INVOLVED

HBA Councils and Committees!

with previous members, please give them a call and reinforce the value of membership as well as the importance of

Sales & Marketing Council

Members Doing

Tradesman Council

Business with Members

November 2023 | Home Builders Association of West Florida | page 6

“The amount of interest you’d end up paying on that loan, you would never be able to sell that house for a good profit. You know, we would end up probably taking a loss on spec homes,” Wills said.

HBA Ambassadors

Meets 1st Friday of each month

Meets Quarterly Meets Quarterly

Board of Directors

Meets 3rd Tuesday of each month

November 2023 | www.westfloridabuilders.com | page 7

Cover Story

2023 Fall Golf Tournament

T

he HBA’s Fall Golf Classic was a huge success! Thank you to the Ambassador’s Committee, led by Suzanne Pollard Spann, who assisted the HBA’s Vicki Pelletier in putting on such a fun event. Our Sponsors are the best and we truly appreciate their support of the Home Builders Association of West Florida.

EVENT SPONSOR D. R. Horton

2023 FALL GOLF TOURNAMENT THANK YOU NOTES

EAGLE SPONSORS SWBC Mortgage AEGIS Ross And Company Realestate Builders Speciality Quality Roofing Ridgeline Construction Florida Power And Light Bay Area Graphics

A special thank you to the staff at Scenic Hills for making this all possible, Rick Gorman and his team for doing such an amazing job for us every year.

A Big Thank You to the

BIRDIE SPONSOR Genesis Land & Title

AMBASSADOR COMMITTEE

HOLE SPONSORS Gulf Coast Insurance Swift Supply Lennar Gulf Breeze Natural Gas Southeast Roofing Harvesters Credit Union Aegis / Fortress Tool Expo Prime Lending Sherwin Williams H&R Roofing & Construction Bay Area Graphic

for help with this event!

Suzanne Pollard-Spann Legacy Insurance Brokers– AMBASSADOR Chair Marty Rich University Lending Group Tanya Underwood Emerald Coast Granite and Tile Christine Giese SWBC Mortgage Kristi Bell Cadence Bank

SWAG BAG SPONSOR Gulf Breeze Natural Gas BREAKFAST SPONSOR Clear Title of Northwest Florida, LLC LUNCH SPONSOR Southeast Mortgage

Fran Jones Escambia County Housing Finance Authority Zach Noel Clear Title of Northwest Florida Michelle Alexander Sherwin Williams

BEVERAGE CART SPONSORS 3D Surveying, LLC Better Homes And Garden Real Estate Main Street Properties CART SPONSOR Fairway Independent Mortgage

Wilma Shortall The First Bank Keith Branch Good Foundations, Inc Tonua Branch Good Foundations, Inc Kathy Hulion Community Bank

November 2023 | Home Builders Association of West Florida | page 8

MORE PHOTOS NEXT PAGE November 2023 | www.westfloridabuilders.com | page 9

Cover Story

NAHB News

More 2023 Fall Golf Tournament Photographs

TOP 10 REASONS TO DO BUSINESS WITH AN ACTIVE ASSOCIATE MEMBER 1. They support the industry at the local, state and national levels.

2. They volunteer time, talent and treasure to help the association accomplish its goals.

3. They recruit their colleagues and business contacts to become members.

4. They serve on committees and councils gaining valuable networking opportunity while helping to advance the association’s mission.

5. By doing so, you increase the value proposition for all membership in our HBA. 6. They are strong supporters of local and state PACs and BUILD-PAC.

Home & Auto go together.

Like you & a good neighbor.

7. They are a major source of non-dues revenue through sponsorships, advertising, etc.

8. As industry partners, they are a valuable resource for business and management tips.

9. They are heavily invested in your business success: You win, they win!

10. Why wouldn’t you do business with a member?

Michael Johnson, Agent 3127 E Langley Avenue Pensacola, FL 32504 Bus: 850-478-7748 www.michaeljohnsonagency.com

1601975

November 2023 | Home Builders Association of West Florida | page 10

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November 2023 | www.westfloridabuilders.com | page 11

HBAWF News

November 2023 | Home Builders Association of West Florida | page 12

November 2023 | www.westfloridabuilders.com | page 13

NAHB News

Feature Story

Mortgage Rates Well Above 7%

Continue to Hammer Builder Confidence

S

tubbornly high mortgage rates that have climbed to a 23-year high and have remained above 7% for the past two months continue to take a heavy toll on builder confidence, as sentiment levels have dropped to the lowest point since January 2023.

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in October fell four points to 40 from a downwardly revised September reading, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today.

This is the third consecutive monthly drop in builder confidence.

“Builders have reported lower levels of buyer traffic, as some buyers, particularly younger ones, are priced out of the market because of higher interest rates,” said NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey, a custom

home builder and developer from Birmingham, Ala. “Higher rates are also increasing the cost and availability of builder development and construction loans, which harms supply and contributes to lower housing affordability.”

Since late September, mortgage rates are up nearly 40 basis points to 7.57%, according to Freddie Mac. Interest rates have increased on the Federal Reserve’s apparent higher-for-longer monetary policy stance, better than expected macro growth during the third quarter and longer-term concerns over government budget deficits.

“The housing affordability crisis can only be solved by adding additional attainable, affordable supply,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Boosting housing production would help reduce the shelter inflation component that was responsible for more than half of the overall

Consumer Price Index increase in September and aid the Fed’s mission to bring inflation back down to 2%. However, uncertainty regarding monetary policy is contributing to affordability challenges in the market.”

As a result of the extended high interest environment, many builders continue to reduce home prices to boost sales.

In October, 32% of builders reported cutting home prices, unchanged from the previous month but still the highest rate since December 2022 (35%). The average price discount remains at 6%. Meanwhile, 62% of builders provided sales incentives of all forms in October, up from 59% in September and tied with the previous high for this cycle set in December 2022.

Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for more than 35 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.” Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.

All three major HMI indices posted declines in October. The HMI index gauging current sales conditions fell four points to 46, the component charting sales expectations in the next six months dropped five points to 44 and the gauge measuring traffic of prospective buyers dipped four points to 26.

Looking at the three-month moving averages for regional HMI scores, the Northeast fell four points to 50, the Midwest dropped three points to 39, the South fell five points to 49 and the West posted a six-point decline to 41.

TOP 10 REASONS TO DO BUSINESS WITH AN ACTIVE ASSOCIATE MEMBER 1. They support the industry at the local, state and national levels.

2. They volunteer time, talent and treasure to help the association accomplish its goals.

3. They recruit their colleagues and business contacts to become members.

4. They serve on committees and councils gaining valuable networking opportunity while helping to advance the association’s mission.

5. By doing so, you increase the value proposition for all membership in our HBA. 6. They are strong supporters of local and state PACs and BUILD-PAC. 7. They are a major source of non-dues revenue through sponsorships, advertising, etc.

Homebuyers Are Putting

More Money Down Than Ever Before Despite

8. As industry partners, they are a valuable resource for business and management tips.

9. They are heavily invested in your business success: You win, they win!

10. Why wouldn’t you do business with a member?

Difficult Housing Conditions

B

uying conditions may be tough, but homebuyers are coming to the table with bigger down payments.

The US median down payment increased 11.3% year over year in the third quarter to $30,434, marking the highest total since Realtor.com started tracking the data in 2013.

The average down payment percentage reached 14.71% of the purchase price in the same period, also the highest in the last decade.

The trend suggests that homebuyers in today’s market have the incentive and means to contribute large payments. They are leveraging their wealth — whether it is equity or cash — to beat out competitors without the same access. continues on page 16

November 2023 | Home Builders Association of West Florida | page 14

business

If you do with previous members, please give them a call and reinforce the value of membership as well as the importance of

Members Doing Business

with Members

November 2023 | www.westfloridabuilders.com | page 15

Feature Story

Homebuyers Are Putting

More Money Down Than Ever Before Despite

Difficult Housing Conditions from page 15

“The people who are able to play ball in this interesting market are more likely to be higher earners,” Hannah Jones, economic research analyst at Realtor.com, told Yahoo Finance. “Also because inventory is so tight and mortgage rates are so high, it’s creating a more competitive environment where people are more likely to put more down as a means of competition because there’s such limited inventory on the market.”

The median down payment amount grew 118% in the last four years to nearly $30,500 in the third quarter from $13,937 in the third quarter in 2019 before the pandemic began, according to Realtor. com’s data.

Economic News was 11.39%, but that number climbed after the start of COVID to 12.75% and hit 14.71% in the third quarter, suggesting buyers are starting their homeownership with more equity in hand.

Today’s homebuyers have good reasons to bump up their stake in their new homes.

For starters, they want to beat out other offers by presenting themselves as less risky buyers.

When buyers get in multiple bids scenarios, it becomes a safer bet for sellers to pick a buyer who is able to put more down because it’s an insurance policy about [the buyers’] financial strength,” Jones said.

A changing buyer pool is another reason for increasing down payments.

Homebuyers who can come up with enough cash to purchase in today’s market are not your traditional buyers. The majority of them are repeat buyers with carryover equity, higher-income households, or ones with access to large down payment.

“Buyers who are participating perhaps have a lot of money, they can put more down from a previous home sale,” Jones said. “Otherwise they are not so worried about the budget side of the equation.”

“Almost like a biased sample,” Jones said.

On average, repeat buyers contributed 17% On top of that, buyers also want to reduce their monthly payment under today’s high Jacob Channel, LendingTree’s senior economist mortgage rates and a larger down payment can do that. of the purchase price toward their down

“There’s just no getting around how expensive houses are right now...”

The surge can partly be attributed to rapidly rising home prices during the pandemic. The US median home price increased by nearly 40% to $373,253 in the third quarter from $266,861 in the same period in 2019.

For instance, a homebuyer purchasing a $300,000 home with a 10% down payment will have a monthly mortgage of about $1,900 with a 30-year mortgage at 7.57%.

Under the same scenario but with a 15% down payment, the monthly payment would be reduced to $1,800.

The average percentage of deposit as a share of home price also grew. Since 2013, the average annual share of down payment

“It makes a lot of sense that buyers are trying to limit the amount of interest on their loan,” Jones said.

payment, whereas first-time buyers put down 6% on average, according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2022 Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers. While repeat buyers have always been the majority of the buyer pool, their share has grown to 75% in 2022 — or nearly three in four buyers. This is a significant growth compared to the historical average of 61.5% from 1981 to 2021.

The number of first-time buyers has shrunk below historical averages, hitting 26% last year — an all-time low. In August, first-time buyers made up only 29% of all sales, well below the long-term average.

Prospective buyers that intend to buy for the first time typically have lower incomes than repeat buyers (the median first-timer reports a household income of $75,000 to $79,999, versus $125,000 to $149,999 for prospective repeat buyers), according to Zillow’s Consumer Housing Trends Report 2023.

“Today’s market is so expensive and so challenging to compete in it,” Jones said.

The same report also shows that the higher the income, the higher the success rate of landing a home purchase. The percentage of successful homebuyers is 42% for households earning $100,000 or more, 27% for households earning $50,000 to $99,999, and 19% for families making less than $50,000.

Some younger homebuyers also are getting a leg up by getting money from family or other loved ones. A recent LendingTree report found that 78% of Gen Z and 54% of millennial homeowners received some type of financial assistance for down payment.

“There’s just no getting around how expensive houses are right now,” Jacob Channel, LendingTree’s senior economist and report author, told Yahoo Finance.

“And because of that there’s more incentive for people to say to a parent or somebody like that, ‘I’d really like to buy a house but it’s so prohibitively expensive, I need some help.’”

These type of buyers are edging out potential first-time buyers who have limited means and a smaller down payment. The share of first-time buyers dropped to 29% in August from 30% a month ago. This is just 3 percentage points higher than November 2022’s tracking at 26%, the lowest level recorded since NAR data collection began.

“We are not seeing that lower side of down payment because those buyers just can’t play ball at all,” Jones said.

Source: Yahoo Finance 10/14/23

November 2023 | Home Builders Association of West Florida | page 16

Housing Share of GDP Remains Flat in the Third Quarter of 2023

H

ousing’s share of the economy remained at 15.9% at the end of the third quarter of 2023. Overall GDP increased at a 4.9% annual rate, following a 2.1% increase in the second quarter of 2023 and 2.2% increase in the first quarter of 2023. Housing’s share of GDP remained at 15.9% for the third consecutive quarter in 2023.

In the third quarter, the more cyclical home building and remodeling component – residential fixed investment (RFI) – remained level at 3.9% of GDP. RFI added 15 basis points to the headline GDP growth rate in the third quarter of 2023. This was the first time, following nine consecutive quarters, where RFI contributed positively to GDP growth. Housing services added 42 basis points to GDP growth, the highest level of contribution for any household consumption expenditure on services.

Housing-related activities contribute to GDP in two basic ways.

The first is through residential fixed investment (RFI). RFI is effectively the measure of the home building, multifamily development, and remodeling contributions to GDP. It includes construction of new single-family and multifamily structures, residential remodeling, production of manufactured homes and brokers’ fees.

For the third quarter, RFI was 3.9% of the economy, recording a $1.0 trillion seasonally adjusted annual pace.

The second impact of housing on GDP is the measure of housing services, which includes gross rents (including utilities) paid by renters, and owners’ imputed rent (an estimate of how much it would cost to rent owner-occupied units) and utility payments. The inclusion of owners’ imputed rent is necessary from a national income accounting approach, because without this measure, increases in homeownership would result in declines for GDP. For the third quarter, housing services represented 12.0% of the economy or $3.3 trillion on a seasonally adjusted annual basis.

Taken together, housing’s share of GDP was 15.9% for the third quarter.

Historically, RFI has averaged roughly 5% of GDP while housing services have averaged between 12% and 13%, for a combined 17% to 18% of GDP. These shares tend to vary over the business cycle. However, the housing share of GDP lagged during the post-Great Recession period due to underbuilding, particularly for the single-family sector.

November 2023 | www.westfloridabuilders.com | page 17

NAHB News

NAHB News

Learn How to be an

Expert

Home Salesperson

N

AHB’s fall slate of engaging interactive education continues with courses in managing finances and home sales.

Every Tuesday and Thursday in November (except during the week of Thanksgiving), industry leaders will lead insightful discussions to help small and growing business owners sharpen their skills for financial success.

Continuing education credits are available.

Financial Management

Tuesday, Nov. 7 and 14 | 1-4 p.m. ET Learn the tools you need to achieve financial success. Topics include annual operating plans, budgets, financial reports and revenue forecasts to control your profitability.

The New Home Sales Professional

Thursday, Nov. 9 and 16 | 1-4 p.m. ET This course will help you understand your competition, know how to approach different types of perspective buyers, and improve your customers’ experience.

Tuesday, Nov. 28 | 1-4 p.m. ET Learn the essentials for creating a website optimized for lead capture including SEO, paid search, social media and how to create compelling calls to action.

How to Craft a Winning Digital Marketing Strategy

Thursday, Nov. 30 | 1-4 p.m. ET This course focuses on your website, branding and content, teaching you marketing strategies and tactics to engage with potential home buyers.

Visit www.nahb.org to register.

TOP 10 REASONS TO DO BUSINESS WITH AN ACTIVE ASSOCIATE MEMBER 1. They support the industry at the local, state and national levels.

2. They volunteer time, talent and treasure to help the association accomplish its goals.

3. They recruit their colleagues & business contacts to become members.

NAHB Commends

Website Best Practices for Maximum Lead Generation

4. They serve on committees and councils gaining valuable networking opportunity while helping to advance the association’s mission.

7. They are a major source of non-dues revenue through sponsorships, advertising, etc.

8. As industry partners, they are a valuable 5. By doing so, you increase the value proposi- resource for business and management tips. tion for all membership in our HBA. 9. They are heavily invested in your business success: You win, they win!

6. They are strong supporters of local and state PACs and BUILD-PAC. 10. Why wouldn’t you do business with a member?

Stay up-to-date on news and events Have access to exclusive promotions and giveaways Check out polls and fun facts on the page

Have pictures from HBA events?

Share them with us!

Tag yourself in our photos!

Visit Us @ facebook.com/HBAWF November 2023 | Home Builders Association of West Florida | page 18

Remodeling Spending Forecast for 2024

T

his month’s Remodeling Forecasts, Myths & Trends video, sponsored

by Lowe’s Pro, arms remodeling professionals with the knowledge they’ll need to dive into next year’s market with confidence. This installment, “LIRA – Outlook for Residential Remodeling Spending,” focuses on an analysis of the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) report and what remodelers can expect for the remainder of 2023 and 2024.

Contributing expert Abbe Will, senior research associate and associate project director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, guides viewers through some of the LIRA’s key elements and explains how each metric can be used to predict what lies ahead for the remodeling and repair industry: • Challenges that face the remodeling industry in the coming year, such as high mortgage rates, declining home sales and the higher costs of labor and materials.

• The numerous advantages expected to support the continued expansion of remodeling and repair spending, including record levels of home equity, the continued aging of housing stock and a permanently higher percentage of people working from home.

• The relationship between the remodeling industry and the new home building industry, and how trends in new home construction can be used to make predictions about trends in remodeling.

Selection of New

Speaker of the House

A

licia Huey, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and custom home builder and developer from Birmingham, Ala., issued the following statement on Oct. 25th after the House voted to install Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) as the new Speaker of the House: “The National Association of Home Builders congratulates Rep. Mike Johnson on his election to serve as the Speaker of the House. With the nation in the midst of a housing affordability crisis, we look forward to working with the new speaker and Democratic and Republican lawmakers in both chambers to extend the National Flood Insurance Program and pass other important legislation that will allow builders to construct more homes and apartments to move housing and the economy to higher ground.”

November 2023 | www.westfloridabuilders.com | page 19

NAHB News

Membership

Bring a friend to our next meeting!

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New Members builder Members

Associate Members

Places For People Build, LLC

The Shutter House

Jordan Yee 8 N. Coyle St. Pensacola, FL 32502

Jeff Younger - Owner 2501 E. Olive Road Pensacola, FL 32514

p 850.380.8020

p 850.462.3717

SPIKE: Amir Fooladi, Encore Homes

TheShutterhouse.com SPIKE: Luke Shows, Shows Construction, LLC

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For future upcoming events, please call the HBA office at 850.476.0318

GET INVOLVED HBA Councils & Committees!

HBA Ambassadors

Meets 1st Friday of each month

Sales & Marketing Council Meets Quarterly

Tradesman Council Meets Quarterly

Board of Directors

Meets 3rd Tuesday of each month

November 2023 | Home Builders Association of West Florida | page 20

November 2023 | www.westfloridabuilders.com | page 21

In construction, a spike is a steel object that is essential to making a building strong. As in construction, the HBA of West Florida sees a Spike as someone that works to keep our association strong. Spikes work on the recruitment and retention of members in addition to keeping members active with the association. Anyone is eligible for Spike status. On Spike credit is awarded for each new member recruited and an additional credit is awarded for that new member’s renewal on or before their anniversary date. If you help to retain a member, you are eligible to receive a half point for each member.

Spike Club Levels Spike Candidate Blue Spike Life Spike Green Spike Red Spike Royal Spike Super Spike Statesman Spike Grand Spike All-Time Big Spike

1-5 credits 6-24 25-49 50-99 100-149 150-249 250-499 500-999 1000-1499 1500+

Spike Club Members and their credits as of 09/30/2023.

Statesman Spike 500 Credits Harold Logan 525.5 Super Spike Rod Hurston

250 Credits 432.5

Royal Spike Rick Sprague Edwin Henry William “Billy” Moore Bob Boccanfuso

150 Credits 210.5 201.5 184 165.5

Red Spike harlie Rotenberry Oliver Gore Ron Tuttle Newman Rodgers IV Ricky Wiggins

100 Credits 150 115 110 102 101.5

David Holcomb

100.5

Green Spike Doug Sprague Kenneth Ellzey, Sr. Russ Parris Blaine Flynn Paul Stanley Bob Price, Jr. Thomas Westerheim Darrell Gooden Bill Daniel Wilma Shortall

50 Credits 90.5 80.5 73.5 70 68.5 60 58.5 52.5 51.5 51.5

John Hattaway

50

Life Spike Doug Whitfield Amir Fooladi Suzanne Pollard-Spann Garrett Walton Bruce Carpenter III Luke Shows Steve Moorhead Brent Woody Karen Pettinato Larry Hunter Taylor Longsworth Lee Hudson Alton Lister Jon Pruitt Milton Rogers Doug Herrick Dean Williams Lorie Reed Martin Rich William Merrill Kevin Ward Rick Faciane Bill Batting Alex Niedermayer

25 Credits 42.5 36.5 35 32 30 26.5 23 22.5 21 21.5 20.5 19.5 19 17.5 17.5 16.5 16.5 16 15.5 15.5 13.5 13 12 11

Kim Cheney

10

Spike Credits Shelby Johnson Mary Jordan Kevin Russell James Cronley Shellie Isakson Smith Rodney Boutwell Dax Campbell

9.5 9.5 9.5 9 8 7 7.5

Advertiser’s Index Alpha Closets p 850.934.9130 AlphaClosets.com

23

Ballinger Publishing p 850.443.1166 ballingerpublishing.com

21

Campbell Construction & Company, LLC p 850.698.4153 dax.campbellconstruction@gmail.com

3

Gulf Coast Insurance p 850.497.6810 gcins.com

3

Michael Johnson Insurance Agency p 850.478.7748 michaeljohnsonagency.com

11

Pensacola Energy o 850.436.5050 pensacolaenergy.com

2

REW Building Materials, Inc. o 850.471.6291 c 850.259.7756 ecbmfl.com

3

West Fraser westfraser.com/osb

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If you would like to join the Spike Club or Desire Additional Information, please contact Vicki Pelletier (850) 476-0318

November 2023 | Home Builders Association of West Florida | page 22

November 2023 | www.westfloridabuilders.com | page 23

November 2023 | Home Builders Association of West Florida | page 24