March 2021 Building Buzz

BISMARCK-MANDAN HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION MARCH 2021 || WWW.BMHBA.COM

BUILDING Building Buzz is a publication of the Bismarck-Mandan Home Builders Association.

Bismarck-Mandan Home Builders Association 2600 Gateway Ave, Ste 1 Bismarck, ND 58503 Phone: 701.222.2400 Fax: 701.250.9730

www.facebook.com/bmhba PROFESSIONALS BUILDING OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH PROMOTION OF

SINCE 1958.

Aspire Homes 3313 Bayshore Bend SE Mandan, ND 58554 (701) 426-8583 greg@daretoaspirend.com

Hallmark Homes 3200 Rock Island Place, Suite 4 Bismarck, ND 58504-7717 (701) 471-7634 hallmarkhomes@outlook.com

Triton Homes 1601 N 12th St Suite 605 Bismarck, ND 58501 (701) 223-3030 jamie.schmidt@investcore.com

Townsquare Media 1830 N 11th St Bismarck, ND 58501 (701) 250-6602 bill.schmid@townsquaremedia.com

Boulder Homes PO Box 1421 Bismarck, ND 58502 (701) 400-5554 boulderhomesnd@gmail.com Apex Builders PO Box 652 Mandan, ND 58554 (701) 527-7899 amy@apexbuildersnd.com Sattler Homes PO Box 7218 Bismarck, ND 58507 (701) 255-7628 jeff@bismarckbuilder.com Dakota OutdoorScapes 8351 Hwy 1804 N Bismarck, ND 58503 (701) 595-0890 mckenzie@ndscapes.com

Dawn Watson dawn@bmhba.com Office: 701-222-2400 Cell: 701-390-5049

Stoneshire Builders 3208 Daytona Dr Bismarck, ND 58503 (701) 471-6935 brian@stoneshirebuilders.com Joe Vetter Construction 2523 Powder Ridge Circle Bismarck, ND 58503 (701) 258-9394 joevetterjvc@gmail.com

www.instagram.com/bismanbuilders www.twitter.com/bmhba

www.bmhba.com

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PAGE 11 Northern Plains Plumbing, Heating & Air 2510 Vermont Ave Bismarck, ND 58504 (701) 226-8810 lori@northernplains.net CAVES 1365 Tacoma Ave, Suite 1 Bismarck, ND 58504 (701) 751-1162 rons@cavesnd.com

Brittney Roehrich brittney@bmhba.com Office: 701-222-2400 Cell: 701-240-3540

Elysha Head

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Representing the diversity of the building industry, the BMHBA consists of building specialists from every section of the construction field and associated industries. Your membership strengthens our voice in Bismarck-Mandan construction sector as well as at a state and national level. If you haven’t already submitted payment, please renew your membership by March 31, 2021.

Thank you to our members who have helped grow our BMHBA membership over the years by recruiting new companies to join our association. If you know of a company that is interested in joining contact Brittney Roehrich at brittney@bmhba.com or 701-222-2400.

Top Recruiters as of 2/16/2021

Denise Ziegler

Jason Franzen

Kelsey Dahl

Grant Miller

Jordan Anderson

Shelley Werner

Marc Menge

Scott Moran Drew Knutson

Cathleen Engel Rocky Thompson Lisa McMillan Bruce Thompson Parker Pladson Eric Brenden Mark Perry Wade Vogel Debra Stoppler

Statesman Spike 500-999 Credits Kelly Moldenhauer (733.50) Super Spikes 250-499 Credits Todd Brady (372.50) Mike Todd (287.50) Robb Sattler (287.00) Eddy Mitzel (282.00) Lee Mitzel (265.00) Pat Marback (254.00) Royal Spikes 150-249 Credits Lori Willson (210.00) Rory Schlosser (190.00) Berna Vetter (188.50) Mike Hopfauf (186.50) Colby Well (163.00) Jack Knutson (157.50) Red Spikes 100-149 Credits Blair Ihmels (145.00) Steve Redding (123.00) Dan Sparling (120.00) Jerry Sposkwaski (103.50) Chad Moldenhauer (100.50) Dana Schlomer (100.00) Green Spikes 50-99 Credits Vance Vetter (94.50) David Patience (92.00) Mark Larson (91.00) Paula Haider (89.50) Eric Brenden (84.00) Darren Buffington (81.50) Kenneth Knodel (66.00) Art Goldammer (63.50) Scott Moran (55.00) Scott Duchscherer (52.50) Nadine Schaff (52.00) Life Spikes 25-49 Credits

Marc Conrad (45.50) Gerald Hopfauf (44.50) Gerry Rudnick (43.00) Drew Knutson (40.00) Matt Shauer (39.50) Greg Zenker (35.50) Lyle Forderer (25.00) Blue Spikes 6-24 Credits Kevin Fischer (24.50) Jason Frank (21.00) Jeff Sattler (17.00) Shane Gaffaney (16.50) Earl Torgerson (16.50) Melinda Llyod (14.50) Todd Schmidt (14.00) Bob Kupper (10.00) Wayne Solberg (10.00) Pete Brendel (8.00) Darryl Hatzenbuhler (6.50) Mike Wolf (6.50) Joe Hillerson (6.00) Spike Candidates .50-5 Credits Rory Anderson (5.00) Brian Benz (5.00) Shannon Reichenberg (5.00) Kurt Steiner (4.50) Parker Pladson (4.00) Bill Schmid (4.00) Jason Kerner (3.50) Jarred Roloff (3.50) Roger Grendahl (3.00) Sam Gietzen (2.50) Shirley Thomas (2.50) Heidi Rue (2.50) Mark Abramson (2.00) Brian Eiseman (2.00) Jamie Schmidt (2.00) Raymond Fiske (1.00) Reid Kubesh (1.00) Terry Leabo (1.00) Travis Welle (1.00) Bryan Brendel (0.50) Jan Hoge (0.50)

Please welcome our new members from February 2021 to the association!

Join the BMHBA in congratulating these longstanding members. Their dedication to the Bismarck-Mandan Home Builders Association is appreciated and truly valued.

Advanced Truss Fabricators

BNC National Bank

J & R Vacuum & Sewing Pacific Sound and Video

Alliance Real Estate - Denise Ziegler Bianco Realty - Judy Maslowski Trademark Realty

LOOKING GLASS CABINETRY AND DESIGN Associate Membership (701) 400-8593 brandy@lookingglasscabinetry.com VOYAGER ELECTRICAL SERVICES Associate Membership (701) 471-4725 voyagerelectric@outlook.com REALTY ONE GROUP – ENCORE Associate Membership (701) 226-2407 monica@realtyonegroupencore.com www.realtyonegroup.com DAKOTA CLIMBING COMPANY Associate Membership (701) 369-3236 dakotaclimbing@gmail.com www.dakotaclimbing.com EMERALD BUILDERS LLC Builder Membership (701) 425-1096 victor@emeraldbuildersnd.com http://www.emeraldbuildersllc.com

My last message may have jinxed the weather! I was talking about how beautiful the weather had been, basements being poured, and concrete trucks still rolling. February brought winter back to us with a vengeance and gave everyone a reality check. As I write this an actual temperature of nearly 60 below was recorded in North Dakota overnight. Painfully cold! Overall, we can be thankful for a mild winter. March is here, days are getting longer, and spring is on the horizon.

With the Legislative session in full swing the Association and North Dakota Association of Builders have been monitoring several bills. One of real importance that could have a positive, direct impact on our trade is House Bill 1478. This bill relates to alternative education opportunities outside the classroom for course credit. More specifically, the bill will help with the GREG MEIDINGER recruitment for workforce development in the building trades by allowing 2021 BMHBA PRESIDENT students younger than the age of 18 to have an opportunity to experience hands-on pre-apprenticeship on job sites. The bill will help introduce students to successful future careers in the trades industry.

Locally, many trades are struggling to find help. This has been an ongoing problem and with construction being as busy as it is, the problem has grown recently. I have had several conversations over the past couple of weeks with various trades concerned about finding and recruiting help. Many have expressed the need to hire even if the person is not experienced. Finding ways to encourage and help students engage in education that prepares them for trades is important. My hope is by the time this article is published, HB 1478 has passed with flying colors and we can educate and train the next generation of individuals to keep our industry thriving.

The Home Show is upon us. The Home Show Committee has been working diligently and will be introducing a few new ideas. It is great to see a group of people working together and coming up with ideas that will bring some value-added items to the show. Based on attendance at the Sport Show over the past weekend, I anticipate a wellattended Home Show. There is still time to sign up. If you have been debating, I encourage you to take the step.

This is a great place to get your company name along with products and services you offer in front of the public.

To those who will be participating, I wish you a highly successful show!

MONTH YEAR

‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 ‘21

JANUARY

0

9

1

0

10

2

FEBRUARY

3

4

5

2

0

10

MARCH

21 22 14

2

9

32

APRIL

52 29 40 27 26 23

MAY

31 46 29 16 28 23

JUNE

31 43 48 24 18 40

JULY

40 16 60 22 17 34

AUGUST

20 48 16 27 19 29

SEPTEMBER

28 44 26 22 23 43

OCTOBER

54 14 22 15 36 43

NOVEMBER

16 11

9

DECEMBER

1

0

‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 ‘21

‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 ‘21

1

0

0

2

0

0

0

2

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

2

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

2

6

5

0

0

0

0

0

3

0

2

1

1

0

0

0

3

2

2

1

4

11

6

4

8

2

8

0

3

0

0

0

1

9

9

4

2

4

12

4

3

6

8

14 12

8

16 11

5

18

2

4

0

6

3

14 5 11 11 14

4

5

6

4

9

26 13 11 15 11

4

17

2

5

5

0

2

14 16 7

20 10

5

10

2

2

3

21 20 13 13

6

1

6

3

1

1

1

8 11 4

4

6

8

3

3

2

7

9

13

6

11 12 14

0

5

1

5

1

6

13 9

4

3

11

1

6

1

7

2

17

7

13 20 10 16

8

2

9

4

5

3

8

9

6

8

5

5

8

3

10

9

16 14 26 11 10 22

3

3

4

5

2

4

9

9

9

6

5

10

4

7

3

10

9

29 20

9

9

7

17 10

7

5

3

8

4

7

3

7

1

5

11 14 12

3

0

1

0

7

7

7

6

2

6

2

5

0

0

0

2

3

4

1

0

2

1

1

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

2

1

0

4

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

2

132 123 114 116 71

90

67 40 37

28

20 32

21

TOTAL

297 286 270 169 201 312 5

YTD TOTAL

297 286 270 169 201 312

45 27 0

0

‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 ‘21

0

1

5

Data not collected for the ETA in 2015 and 2016.

0

‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 ‘21

36 54 0

0 45 27 36 54

BISMARCK SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING Diversity Homes Diversity Homes Diversity Homes Huntington Homes Huntington Homes

3908 Herd Pl 3925 Herd Pl 4121 Britannic Ln 207 Colt Loop 211 Colt Loop

4

132 123 114 116 71 90

0

0

0

0

67 40 37 28 20 32

83 80 51 61 60 57 83 80 51 61 60 57

BURLEIGH COUNTY SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING Dan Emineth

6675 Shoal Dr

SEE YOUR AD HERE! Call the BMHBA office (701-222-2400) for more information.

1

1

Professional Women in Building is dedicated to supporting home building and encouraging women within the industry. This council is a charter of the Bismarck-Mandan Home Builders Association.

The PWB has created an environment where women can come together to connect, grow leadership skills and be role models for the next generation of home building professionals.

For more information or if you want to join, you can check out their Facebook page at Bismarck Mandan Professional Women in Building or contact Dawn Watson at 701-222-2400 or dawn@bmhba.com

DUE TO COVID-19 ALL EVENTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS FOR UPDATES.

JANUARY 21

FEBRUARY 9-12

MARCH 26-27

APRIL 22-25

MAY 25

JULY

JULY 13

AUGUST 19

SEPTEMBER 23-26

OCTOBER 21

NOVEMBER

What is an interesting fact about your business that most people don’t know?

Guaranty & Title is a shareholder owned company that was formed in 1955 in Bismarck. Since that time, we have grown to 30 locations that span across Eastern Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, so if you’re buying a property in the upper-Midwest, we’ve got you covered!

Do you have any advice for someone just entering this industry?

Buckle up and enjoy the ride! The real estate industry can be one of the most rewarding and difficult professions. It can mean feast or famine, sacrificing weekends, evenings, time with family and holidays. HOWEVER, the ultimate reward is that every single day, those involved in the real estate industry have the incredible privilege of helping people realize the American Dream of home ownership and this is why those of us in the industry love this profession.

What is a typical day like for your team?

The mission of Guaranty & Title is to provide the best service in every market in which we participate. A typical day at for our Team is to always expect the unexpected by making sure we are ready for anything and everything. Our Team knows that the workday may not end at 5:00pm and understands that we must be flexible and able to multi-task, while continuing to pay close attention to the fine details of each transaction. When it comes to preparing for a closing, a great deal goes on behind the scenes. Our experienced and knowledgeable Team is precise and efficient when performing title searches, coordinating closing services, calculating buyer and seller fees, prorating taxes & insurance, etc. We handle all the details of the closing process and strive to provide an exceptional customer experience.

What do you hope to see North Dakota Guaranty & Title Co. accomplish in the coming years?

In the middle of a major housing shortage, our goal is to support our builder partners move quickly to provide as much housing as possible. This key component of the market is important to getting back to an even better and balanced marketplace.

What inspired your team to enter this industry?

The majority of those employed in the title industry most likely did not “dream” of working in this sector.

Many of our Team joined because of a job opening and learned the ins and outs of title on-the-job. The world of title is the least “sexy” part of the transaction, but it is by far the most important as it guarantees ownership to the property. Most home buyers and sellers do not realize that no matter whose name is on the mortgage if there is a break in the chain of title – or “cloud” on title – there could be questions on actual ownership.

What makes your business unique from other title teams in the area?

By far, what sets our Team apart from others is our longevity, company size and number of locations.

North Dakota Guaranty & Title has a deep bench of experience and knowledge in the title industry. We have a dedicated commercial department that handles transactions nationally and, as a company, we specialize in difficult, unique and complicated real estate transactions. What might be overwhelming to some is matter of fact to us!

What is your favorite part of your job?

Successfully closing every transaction and providing the exceptional customer experience! We understand that, whether you are a first-time home buyer, selling after 50 years or building your dream home, this is an emotional process, and our job is to take care of our customers every step of the way.

What is your favorite part about the spring season?

Spring marks the beginning of warmer weather and longer daylight hours, the blooming of flowers and the budding of leaves. It also marks an uptick in new construction and (hopefully) more inventory for buyers!

facebook.com/thetitleteam

instagram.com/thetitleteam

www.thetitleteam.com

GET THE LATEST IDEAS THROUGH DISCUSSION WITH EXHIBITORS • BAR & SOCIAL SPACE • EXHIBITOR VIP ROOM • KIDS KORNER (HOSTED BY PWB) WITH DIY PROJECTS, FUN ACTIVITIES, AND SWAG BAG GIVEAWAYS •

Friday, March 26: 3:00 pm – 9:00 pm || Saturday, March 27: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm || ww.bismanhomeshow.com

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS AND PARTNERS KIDS KORNER PLATINUM SPONSOR

GIFT VOUCHERS SPONSOR – (2) $500 WINNERS

VIP ROOM SPONSOR

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KIDS KORNER SILVER SPONSORS

KIDS KORNER BRONZE SPONSORS

Adults: $5.00 || Kids (18 and under): FREE || Bismarck Event Center || 315 S. 5th St Bismarck, ND 58504

ADVERTISING RATE AGREEMENT Building Buzz is the monthly newsletter of the Bismarck-Mandan Home Builders Association. It is published the first week of each month and mailed to members and community stakeholders.

Digital copies are posted to social media and the association’s website. Rack copies are available at the BMHBA office. Building Buzz highlights upcoming events, building news, and spotlights our members.

Target your advertising to fellow BMHBA members and build your business! Full color ad placements are available throughout the newsletter.

AD SIZE

MONTHLY PAYMENT

Single

$21.00

2.5” x 1.6”

N/A

$240

Double

$42.00

5.25” x 1.6”

2.5” x 3.2”

$478

Triple

$64.00

8” x 1.6”

2.5” x 5.23”

$730

Quad

$88.00

5.25” x 3.2”

N/A

$980

Six Space

$126.00

5.25” x 5”

N/A

$1436

Back Cover

$158.00

8” x 3.2”

N/A

$1800

Insert*

$158.00

11” x 8.5”

8.5” x 11”

$1800

DETAILS Ads have to be designed and completed by your business.

Updates and revision requests are not allowed. Submit all ads in the exact dimensions that match the ad size desired.

Adobe InDesign/Photoshop, pdf, png, or jpg files are accepted.

Submit FINISHED Ads to Brittney Roehrich at brittney@bmhba.com by the 20th of the month prior to the publication.

Inserts must be supplied by the advertiser and delivered to the BMHBA office.

HORIZONTAL DIMENSIONS VERTICAL DIMENSIONS

ANNUAL PREPAYMENT - SAVE 5%

CONTACT INFORMATION AND ADVERTISING AGREEMENT Company:

MORE INFO:

Contact Person: Phone: Email:

Circle One: Bill Me Monthly

Ad Size

Prepaid 12 Month Ad

I have read and understand the contract terms below.

Signature

Date

Contract Terms: Payment in full is due at signing in order to receive the 5% prepayment discount. Contract is a oneyear commitment (12 ads). Contract cannot be canceled and refund will not be given for ads that don’t publish due to advertiser’s failure to submit copy by the 20th of the month prior to publication. All ads are subject to cancellation if payment is not made by the end of each month.

VOLUNTEERING AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL Work must go on! As we continue to navigate through COVID-19 times, we are all learning to embrace virtual meetings, virtual conferences, and finding ways to connect with peers from across the nation. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) continue to work hard on many levels, including advocacy as well as committee work. Recently, NAHB hosted their winter meetings virtually where several our North Dakota members along with all the Executive Officers participated in committee meetings, trainings, and a Board of Delegates meeting.

2021 NDAB PRESIDENT PHIL RISBRUDT

NDAB CEO · KIM SCHNEIDER

While attending NAHB Board of Delegates meeting, committees made up of Builders and Associates meet to discuss what is happening in the building industry, discuss membership numbers and how to increase them. We discuss issues across the nation, BUILD-PAC fundraising opportunities and fund disbursements to candidates.

We can recognize our peers with various National awards for the work they do and most importantly, we have an opportunity to network. If interested in learning more about NAHB meetings and events, please connect with your local association’s Executive Officer or connect with our office.

During these winter meetings, the following accolades were announced: • Congratulations to our newest inductees of NAHB Senior life delegates: John Gunkelman and Don Dabbert! That is 20 years of volunteer work, dedication, and commitment to NAHB meeting attendance.

• Congratulations to Kochmann Brothers Homes, Inc, a Fargo based home building company and HBA of FargoMoorhead member for being awarded NAHB’s BEAM recipient! This award is Builders Engaging Associate Members (BEAM) is nominated and awarded by Associate members.

• Congratulations to Eric Miller, HBA of Fargo-Moorhead member as he was recognized as one of the Associate of the Year nominees during the NAHB Associates Committee Award presentation!

• Congratulations to NDAB CEO Kim Schneider for achieving the EOC 50 hours of CE level and for being appointed to hold the position of BUILD-PAC EO Liaison.

March also brings us cross over for the legislature and this means that all bills that passed in one chamber moves over to the other chamber (House to Senate or Senate to House) and are heard in their assigned committees. NDAB Government Affairs committee continues to meet weekly to discuss active bills and daily our tracking sheet is updated.

Kim and Sara continue to work hard attending hearings and floor sessions, connecting with Legislators, and collaborating with fellow lobbyists. Should you ever have any questions about what is happening at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Take care, Kim Schneider

Knife River is a full service aggregate-based construction company, providing ready-mix concrete aggregate sales and delivery and concrete construction services. We provide services throughout North Dakota for public, private and commercial construction projects.

701-580-4527

Bismarck-Mandan | Washburn | Beulah

Mark Roningen - Business Development

The City of Bismarck will be initiating a process to update the City’s Comprehensive Plan. This plan will guide all land use and development decisions made by the City and create a basis for any future amendments to the zoning and subdivision ordinances, as required by North Dakota Century Code. Planning is essential to anticipate future opportunities and challenges, effectively invest in public infrastructure and facilities, align city actions with the will of the public, and create a fair and consistent roadmap forward. With first-hand experience in the development trends underway in Bismarck, members of the building industry will be valuable stakeholders in this communitywide effort.

The City of Bismarck currently uses a variety of plans, including the 2014 Growth Management Plan, the 2017 Infill and Redevelopment Plan and the 2020 Metropolitan Transportation Plan, to evaluate land use and transportation projects. This Comprehensive Plan will draw from and update each of these plans to create a single userfriendly source, something that has not been done in Bismarck since the 1980s.

The plan will be titled Together 2045 – Bismarck’s

As the Bismarck-Mandan economy grows, so does the need for affordable housing. The Lewis and Clark Development Group is working to solve that problem so our communities continue to thrive.

The largest portion of the rental population is earning minimum wage, and failure to pay rent is the number one reason for evictions in North Dakota.

These bare walls will soon become a common room for people to gather. And steel frames will become home to dozens of families. Brent Ekstrom says many people don’t realize just how large the need is for affordable housing.

“The ones that are at 80%, 60% and 30% of that median

Comprehensive Plan, envisioning future growth for the City over the next 25 years. While that’s the vision, nobody expects to know what technological, legal, or social changes will affect development in the future, so the City will need to review this plan every few years to remain relevant.

Including “Together” in the title emphasizes the shared vision of the plan. While city staff will be coordinating the effort, it can only succeed if the broader community has an opportunity to participate. This includes residents of the City and the extraterritorial area, business owners, non-profit organizations, and representatives of the development industries. While the plan will need to be firmly rooted in facts to remain realistic, the community is welcomed to envision the future Bismarck they want to live and work in.

Look for a number of opportunities to participate and learn more about the plan in the coming months. If you would like to be added to a list to receive email updates as the plan proceeds, please contact planning@bismarcknd.gov. Completion is targeted for December of 2022.

Daniel Nairn, AICP || Senior Planner City of Bismarck Planning Department

income are the ones that we’re targeting for these properties. So, they’re service workers, they’re your teachers,” Ekstrom said. Rent for each apartment will differ based on income and qualifications for various housing programs.

The 120 units will consist of: 49 efficiencies with an average rent of of $615, 44 one-bedrooms ranging from $729 to $900 on average, 21 two-bedrooms ranging from $895 to $1,000 on average and six three-bedrooms with an average rent of $1,028.

Ekstrom expects construction to be complete by Dec. 31 of 2021. For more information on units or to apply for an apartment, call the office at 701-471-3323.

Builders FirstSource is your first source for great customer service and high quality building materials.

BUILDING MATERIALS

1513 39TH AVE SE, MANDAN | 701-663-9861 | WWW.BLDR.COM

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule clarifying the definition of employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as it relates to independent contractors. While the rule will make it easier for businesses to classify workers as independent contractors, it is still unclear if it will ultimately be implemented by the incoming Biden administration.

The DOL’s final independent contractor rule as issued today still relies on an economic realities test to determine employment status, but adopts a more streamlined fivefactor approach.

The House today approved the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 (H.R. 447), legislation that would expand youth and adult access to instruction in the skilled trades.

populations where long-duration programs are prohibitive for small employers.

Two “core factors” are given greater weight in making this determination — the nature and degree of the employer’s control over the work, and the worker’s opportunity for The final rule would provide more clarity to employers in profit or loss based on personal initiative and/or determining whether a worker is an independent contractor investment. or an employee under the FLSA. NAHB has called on DOL to The three other factors that may serve as additional take steps to provide greater clarity to employers and guideposts in the analysis are the amount of skill required workers in light of the often conflicting federal tests that for the work; the degree of permanence of the working exist, and has urged further action to harmonize the relationship between the worker and the potential definition of “employee” across all relevant statutes. employer; and whether the work is part of an integrated Though the rule is intended to take effect 60 days after it unit of production. is published in the Federal Register, the DOL under the new The final rule will be published in the Federal Register on Biden administration could delay the effective date and Jan. 7 and be effective on March 8, 2021. support legal challenges to keep the rule from being implemented.

For more information contact NAHB’s David Jaffe at 800368-5242 x8317 or Alexis Moch at x8407.

NAHB welcomes a number of provisions in H.R. 447, chiefly those affording increased flexibility and options for registered apprenticeship program structuring. This would help alleviate one of the biggest challenges to running skillsbased training programs in the residential construction industry and assist the efforts of the Home Builder Institute (HBI) to tailor its curriculum offerings to different

The National Apprenticeship Act also expands technical assistance to training providers and offers robust funding and grant opportunities to support the bill’s ambitious goals for programming growth under the national apprenticeship system.

NAHB would like to see additional improvements made to the bill and will work with lawmakers as the legislation moves to the Senate.

Record-low mortgage rates offset record-high home prices to keep housing affordability steady in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released today. Though affordability rates held firm, regulatory and supply-side challenges threaten to aggravate affordability problems in the year ahead In all, 58.3% of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of October and end of December were affordable to families earning an adjusted U.S. median income of $72,900. This is unchanged from the 58.3% of homes sold in the third quarter of 2020 that were affordable to medianincome earners and the lowest reading since the fourth quarter of 2018.

from the previous all-time low of 3.05% in the third quarter.

Lansing-East Lansing, Mich. was the nation’s most affordable major housing market, defined as a metro with a population of at least 500,000. In Lansing-East Lansing, 89.9% of all new and existing homes sold in the fourth quarter were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $75,000.

Rounding out the top five affordable major housing markets in respective order were Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, Pa.; and St. Louis, Mo.

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. supplanted San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, Calif., as the nation’s least affordable major housing market. There, just 9.1% of the homes sold during the fourth quarter were “While historically low mortgage rates are helping on the affordable to families earning the area’s median income of affordability front, there was a significant jump in year-over$71,800. year home pricing from 2020 to 2019, as inventory Other major metros at the bottom of the affordability remained lean due to supply chain issues and the COVID-19 chart were in California. In descending order, they included pandemic,” said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke. “Moreover, lumber prices remain extremely high and builders anticipate San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco; AnaheimSanta Ana-Irvine; San Diego-Carlsbad; and San Josethat regulatory costs are likely to rise, which will put even Sunnyvale-Santa Clara. more upward pressure on home prices.”

“Looking forward, interest rates are likely to rise as the pace of vaccines increase and economic activity climbs back to more normal levels,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “One trend that will help counterbalance growing affordability concerns is the suburban shift in home sales and construction to smaller markets. An increase in telecommuting is providing more ‘market power’ to prospective buyers, allowing them to live in lower cost, lower density markets.”

All five least affordable small housing markets were also in the Golden State. At the very bottom of the affordability chart was Salinas, where 13.6% of all new and existing homes sold in the fourth quarter were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $75,800.

In descending order, other small markets at the lowest end of the affordability scale included Santa Maria-Santa Barbara; Santa Cruz-Watsonville (tied for second); Merced; and San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande.

The HOI shows that the national median home price Please visit nahb.org/hoi for tables, historic data and jumped to an all-time high of $320,000 in the fourth quarter, details. surpassing the previous record-high of $313,000 set in the third quarter. Meanwhile, average mortgage rates fell by 20 basis points in the fourth quarter to a record-low of 2.85%

Builder confidence in the single-family 55+ housing market remained high in the fourth quarter, inching down one point from an all-time high to 82, according to the NAHB 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI) released today.

There are two 55+ HMIs measuring distinct segments of the 55+ housing market: single-family homes and multifamily condominiums. Each 55+ HMI measures builder sentiment based on a survey that asks if current sales, prospective buyer traffic and anticipated six-month sales for that market are good, fair or poor (high, average or low for traffic).

“Builders continue to report a strong market for the 55+ housing segment,” said Harry Miller III, chairman of NAHB’s 55+ Housing Industry Council and president of Regal Builders LLC in Dover, Del. “However, in some parts of the country we are seeing some lost interest in multifamily communities due to COVID-19 concerns.”

Two of the three index components of the 55+ singlefamily HMI decreased in the fourth quarter: present sales

Regulatory and supply-side challenges coupled with slowing rent growth and rising vacancy rates will weaken the multifamily construction market in 2021. However, the development market should stabilize by 2022, according to NAHB economists who participated in an online press conference as part of the 2021 International Builders’ Show® virtual experience (IBSx).

“Though the multifamily sector is performing much better than nonresidential construction, developers are facing stiff headwinds in 2021,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Shortages and delays in obtaining building materials, rising lumber and OSB prices, labor shortages and a more ominous regulatory climate will aggravate affordability woes and delay delivery times.”

NAHB analysis of Census data reveals that 34% of total multifamily construction occurred in lower density, lower cost markets in 2020. “These areas have outpaced higher density markets over the past four quarters and we anticipate this trend will continue this year,” said Dietz.

Turning to the forecast, multifamily starts are expected to fall 11% this year to 349,000 units from a projected total

dropped one point to 87, expected sales for the next six months fell seven points to 83 and traffic of prospective buyers remained unchanged at 69.

The 55+ multifamily condo HMI fell four points to 63. All three index components also decreased from the previous quarter: present sales fell four points to 66, expected sales for the next six months decreased three points to 64 and traffic of prospective buyers dropped six points to 57.

All four components of the 55+ multifamily rental market fell in the fourth quarter: present production decreased six points to 56, expected future production dropped 16 points 45, present demand for existing units fell 13 points to 63 and future expected demand decreased six points to 65.

“Like the broader housing market, builders are dealing with increased building material costs, labor shortages and a lack of buildable lots,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “These supply-side issues are making it difficult to meet the strong demand for the 55+ housing market.”

For the full 55+ HMI tables, please visit nahb.org/55hmi.

of 392,000 in 2020. The downturn will be short-lived, as multifamily production is expected to post modest gains in 2022, up 5% to 365,000 units.

After four years of a steady, upward trajectory, rent growth flattened in 2020. “Due in part to pandemic-related issues, rent growth in December 2020 was up just 0.4% from a year ago,” said Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington, NAHB’s Assistant Vice President of Forecasting and Analysis.

Looking at another metric, four of the top five multifamily markets, as measured by the number of permits, posted yearly declines from November 2019 to November 2020.

The New York-Newark-Jersey City region, the largest in the nation, registered a 14% drop in permits. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugarland, Texas was down 10%, Los AngelesLong Beach-Anaheim, Calif. fell 16% and Dallas-Fort WorthArlington, Texas posted the sharpest decline at 46%.

Meanwhile, Austin-Round Rock, Texas, the No. 2 market in the nation, posted a robust 54% increase in permits.

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