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EDUCATION EDGE: MAKING YOUR BRAND
STAND OUT
Today's customers are demanding, tech savvy and welleducated. How can builders/ remodelers set their services apart from the crowd? Marketing and Sales for Business Professionals, taught before the Builders' Show, Monday, Feb. 18, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. will look at marketing and sales tools to help your members build their brand and a positive reputation that will engage and motivate potential customers, clients and referral partners. Find information about this course as well as others at BuildersShow.com.
THE TOP POSTS OF 2018 As 2018 comes to a close, we’re taking a quick look at the posts NAHBNow readers viewed the most.
It’s probably no surprise that lumber was the top issue for our readers this year.
Here are the five most popular blog posts: • Rising Lumber Prices Hit Home: Three of the five top posts focused on lumber: the tariffs and the impact of rising prices on the industry.
• Treasury Releases Draft Regulations for 20% Pass Through Entities: The new tax law passed at the end of 2017 required new regulations for many tax issues impacting our members.
• Softwood Lumber Prices Climb to Record Highs: This Jan. 30 post signaled a theme for the year ahead: rising lumber prices, which by the end of January had skyrocketed 30% since Hurricane Harvey hit the previous summer.
• What Millennial Home Buyers Want: Business development posts like this one speak to readers’ strong interest in the latest research and insight into the millennial generation of home buyers. • Record-High Lumber Costs Adding More than $7,000 to the Price of a Home: Rounding out the top five, this post put a real price tag on the pain that builders and home buyers alike felt due to rising lumber prices. Access each of the top posts online at NAHBNow.com.
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Building Buzz | January 2019
GIVE LEAVE, GET TAX CREDIT Tax reform legislation enacted in December 2017 offers a new tax credit for employers who provide paid family and medical leave. Here are several facts about how this credit works and which employers are eligible to claim it: • The credit is available for wages paid in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2020.
• Some employers can claim the credit retroactively to the beginning of their first taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017, if they meet the terms of a transition rule on or before December 31, 2018. • To be eligible for the credit, an employer must have a written policy in place that includes: • At least two weeks of paid family and medical leave annually to full-time employees, prorated for part-time employees. • Pay for family and medical leave that’s at least 50 percent of the wages normally paid to the employee.
• Generally, for tax year 2018, the employee’s 2017 compensation from the employer must be $72,000 or less.
The credit ranges from 12.5% to 25% of wages paid during an employee’s leave.
For purposes of this credit, family and medical leave includes leave for one or more of the following reasons: • Birth of an employee’s child and to care for the child.
• Placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care.
• Care for the employee’s spouse, child or parent who has a serious health condition. • A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to do the functions of their position. • Any qualifying need due to an employee’s spouse, child or parent being on covered active duty in the Armed Forces. This includes notification of an impending call or order to covered active duty.
• To care for a service member who’s the employee’s spouse, child, parent or next of kin.
RECRUIT THE NEXT GENERATION
OF SKILLED LABOR
The start of a new year is a great opportunity to remind your local community about the rewarding career opportunities available in residential construction.
The Careers in the Construction Trades section on nahb.org provides detailed information on six popular residential construction trades: carpentry, electrical, HVACR, masonry, painting and plumbing. You can share trade-specific salary information and videos to showcase the different career paths available around the country.
Plus, the Career in Construction Management page highlights the industry’s management opportunities. In fact, U.S. News and World Report ranked construction managers #2 in Best Construction Jobs and #62 in The 100 Best Jobs in 2018.
NAHB also continues to update its members-only Skilled Workforce Development Resources to help you recruit skilled labor and spread the word about the valuable careers available in residential construction. For example, NAHB economists provide annual state-specific salary updates for the top trades based on the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data also includes each state’s projected demand for the trades over the next two years. HBAs and members can use this information about their local residential construction labor market to help recruit prospective employees.