May 2021 Building Buzz

BISMARCK-MANDAN HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION MAY 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 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

www.instagram.com/bismanbuilders

SINCE 1958.

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 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

www.twitter.com/bmhba

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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 May 31st, 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 04/13/2021

Randy King

Vern Vetter

Greg Meidinger Kyle Herman Darwin Fettig Wayne Schumacher Kathy Feist Chad Moldenhauer William Watson

Mark Roningen

Howard Malloy

Pat A. Thomas

Aaron Jahner

Mark Dettling

Bryan Brendel

Jayden Veil

Earl Torgerson Corey Theis Brandon Fraser Darren Schmidt Lynette Wohl Jason Frank Travis Welle

Kelly Johnson Todd Freitag

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

15 Years Dakota Awards, Inc. Vance Vetter Homes

5 Years Morton County

Statesman Spike 500-999 Credits Kelly Moldenhauer (734.50) Super Spikes 250-499 Credits Todd Brady (373.00) Robb Sattler (288.50) Mike Todd (287.50) Eddy Mitzel (285.00) Lee Mitzel (265.50) Pat Marback (254.00) Royal Spikes 150-249 Credits Lori Willson (210.50) Rory Schlosser (190.00) Berna Vetter (189.00) Mike Hopfauf (187.50) Colby Well (163.00) Jack Knutson (157.50) Red Spikes 100-149 Credits Blair Ihmels (145.00) Steve Redding (123.50) Dan Sparling (120.00) Jerry Sposkwaski (105.00) Chad Moldenhauer (101.50) Dana Schlomer (100.00) Green Spikes 50-99 Credits Vance Vetter (95.00) David Patience (92.50) Mark Larson (91.00) Paula Haider (90.50) Eric Brenden (85.50) Darren Buffington (83.00) Kenneth Knodel (66.00) Art Goldammer (63.50) Scott Moran (55.50) Scott Duchscherer (52.50) Nadine Schaff (52.50) Life Spikes 25-49 Credits Marc Conrad (46.50)

Gerald Hopfauf (44.50) Gerry Rudnick (44.00) Drew Knutson (40.50) Matt Shauer (40.00) Greg Zenker (36.00) Lyle Forderer (25.50) Blue Spikes 6-24 Credits Kevin Fischer (24.50) Jeff Sattler (24.00) Jason Frank (21.50) Shane Gaffaney (16.50) Earl Torgerson (16.50) Melinda Llyod (14.50) Todd Schmidt (14.00) Bob Kupper (10.00) Greg Meidinger (10.00) Wayne Solberg (10.00) Pete Brendel (8.00) Darryl Hatzenbuhler (6.50) Mike Wolf (6.50) Joe Hillerson (6.00) Bill Schmid (6.00) Spike Candidates .50-5 Credits Rory Anderson (5.50) Shannon Reichenberg (5.50) Brian Benz (5.00) Kurt Steiner (4.50) Parker Pladson (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) Wade Vogel (1.00) Travis Welle (1.00) Bryan Brendel (0.50) Jan Hoge (0.50)

The 2021 Spring Parade of Homes is in the books! The Parade consisted of 41 homes by 28 different builders. Finishing a few of the entries came down to the wire and we thank all our members for working hard to get them finished. I hope the event was successful for everyone.

Last month I addressed material price increases and I hate to be a broken record this month. However, it seems we can’t go more than a couple of days without some sort of additional increase notice. Lumber prices are a widely known issue to even those outside of our industry. Now we are receiving price increase notifications for electrical wire, PVC, furnaces, water heaters, flooring, millwork and interior doors, and the list goes on. Just prior to writing this article, I received an email from the electrician I work with. Their wire prices have gone up 60% since February and now their distributor is being limited to how much material they can purchase each month from the manufacturer. These continuous increases are presenting new GREG MEIDINGER challenges for all of us. How do subcontractors and suppliers offer bids to general 2021 BMHBA PRESIDENT contractors and hold their price for more than a day or two? How do us as builders enter into contracts with new homeowners when the bids we receive are not good for more than a day or two? These are challenges we are all facing, and I don’t know about you, but I haven’t found a rock solid answer to these questions. We are all navigating uncharted waters and I encourage everyone to lean on their peers and work together. I don’t know that any of us will have the magic answer, but this is definitely a time where we can help each other out and share any good ideas we come across.

Back to what seems like the material that started all of this, lumber. NAHB has been working diligently on addressing the lumber crisis. They are asking for answers regarding the lumber supply chain, what is causing the high prices and supply constraints, and looking for answers to what will increase production. Lumber prices coupled with other material increases is putting housing affordability at risk. As we all know, continued low interest rates are helping to offset increased costs. The concern we should be aware of is what happens when interest rates increase? Please watch your inboxes for emails from NAHB regarding Calls to Action and when prompted forward those emails to our elected officials. We all need to be proactive and do our part to address material price increases. My hope is NAHB’s efforts will soon extend beyond lumber.

Now that I got all the not so fun business out of the way, I will end with something more fun and exciting. Please watch your email for information on the Spring Mixer and General Membership Meeting on May 17. This is a laid back, fun event to socialize, eat some appetizers, and have a beverage or two! I hope to see you all there!

MONTH

YEAR ‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 ‘21

‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 ‘21

‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 ‘21

‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 ‘21

‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 ‘21

0

9

1

0

10

2

5

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

1

2

FEBRUARY

3

4

5

2

0

10 17

0

0

0

1

2

1

2

6

5

0

0

1

0

0

0

3

0

2

0

1

1

0

0

0

3

0

MARCH

21 22 14 2

9

32 28

2

2

1

4

9

11 6

4

8

2

8

9

0

3

0

0

0

1

4

9

9

4

2

4

12 12

APRIL

52 29 40 27 26 23

4

3

6

8

14 12 8

16 11

5

18 2

4

0

6

3

14 5 11 11 14

4

MAY

31 46 29 16 28 23

5

6

4

9

26 13 11 15 11

4

17 2

5

5

0

2

14 16 7

20 10

5

JUNE

31 43 48 24 18 40

10

2

2

3

21 20 13 13

6

1

6

3

1

1

1

8 11 4

4

6

8

JULY

40 16 60 22 17 34

3

3

2

7

9 13 6

11 12 14

0

5

1

5

1

6

13 9

4

3

11

1

AUGUST

20 48 16 27 19 29

6

1

7

2

17 7 13 20 10 16

8

2

9

4

5

3

8

9

6

8

5

5

SEPTEMBER

28 44 26 22 23 43

8

3

10

9

16 14 26 11 10 22

3

3

4

5

2

4

9

9

9

6

5

10

OCTOBER

54 14 22 15 36 43

4

7

3

10

9 29 20

9

9

7

17 10 7

5

3

8

4

7

3

7

1

5

NOVEMBER

16 11 9

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

DECEMBER

1

1

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

2

1

0

4

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

2

45

27

36

54

132 123 114 116

71

90

67 40 37

28

20

32

83 80 51

61

60

57

45

27

36

54

132 123 114 116

71

90

67 40 37

28

20

32

83 80 51

61

60

57

0

0

1

Data not collected for the ETA in 2015 and 2016.

JANUARY

21

TOTAL

297 286 270 169 201 312 50

YTD TOTAL

297 286 270 169 201 312

BISMARCK SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING Aspire Homes 5209 Gold Dr Big River Builders 3824 Bounty Cir D & B Homes 4002 Clairmont Rd Diversity Homes 3812 Monreo Dr Diversity Homes 3849 Poseidon Loop Diversity Homes 400 Granite Dr EMH, Inc. 513 Quarry Ln EMH, Inc. 600 Flint Dr Hallmark Homes 4085 Intrepid Cir Huntington Homes 216 Colt Loop Huntington Homes 220 Colt Loop J.E. Homes 3613 Cogburn Dr J.E. Homes 4003 Ivory Ln J.E. Homes 5329 Titanium Dr J.E. Homes 5333 Titanium Dr J.E. Homes 5337 Titanium Dr

0

0

11

Joe Vetter Const.

3813 Cogburn Dr Joe Vetter Const.

4013 Cogburn Dr K & L Homes 5818 Heritage Ridge Rd K & L Homes 5932 Crested Butte Rd Knutson Homes 520 Shale Dr Sattler Homes 3510 Doubleday Dr Sattler Homes 3519 Doubleday Dr Sattler Homes 411 Live Oak Ln Sattler Homes 501 Live Oak Ln Sattler Homes 517 Boston Cir Stoneshire Builders 3812 Powder Ridge Dr Verity Homes 103 Kenner Loop BISMARCK ETA SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING Brendel Homes 6611 Selland Loop D & B Homes 4825 Rolling Ridge Rd J.E. Homes 7603 Hawktree Dr K & L Homes 8213 Nicklaus Dr

4

10

Pinnacle Homes 6308 Serene Cir Prairie Aire Homes 8310 Nicklaus Dr Rudnick Construction 3524 Palmer Pl Rudnick Construction 6209 Misty Waters Dr Self/Owner 6702 Golden Crest Rd MANDAN SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING Diversity Homes 4615 Nova Ave NW J.E. Homes 3829 Amari Loop NW J.E. Homes 3833 Amari Loop NW J.E. Homes 3837 Amari Loop NW J.E. Homes 806 Sunflower Ln SW Premier Homes 2313 34th Ave SE Ultimate Tile & Hardwood 240 Cobblestone Loop SW Verity Homes 501 Cobblestone Loop SW Verity Homes 502 Lena Ct SE LINCOLN SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING Rusch Homes 2870 Butler St

4

14

Rusch Homes 2953 Armstrong St Rusch Homes 2997 Armstrong St Rusch Homes 7010 28th Ave SE BURLEIGH COUNTY SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING J.E. Homes 7305 Star Ln K & L Homes 11008 Acadia Cir K & L Homes 15003 Acadia Dr K & L Homes 8235 Star Ln Pearson Home Builders 14895 Park Ranch Rd Premier Homes 11337 Pauls Dr Red Deer Homes 1161 Parker Ranch Rd Self/Owner 6130 Island Dr MORTON COUNTY SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING Boulder Homes 4543 Trailblazer Loop Centennial Homes 4469 Cow Poke Trl Self/Owner 2426 Roberta Dr N Self/Owner 3588 Hwy 31

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

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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 17

JULY

JULY 13

AUGUST 19

SEPTEMBER 23-26

OCTOBER 21

NOVEMBER

It has been an honor to be part of the Bismarck-Mandan Home Builders Association over the years and I look forward to being involved again with our Association. In 2004 I served as the BMHBA President and went on to be involved at the State and National level. I was the NDAB President in 2007 and from 2006-2010 I was a National Delegate for NAHB. Over the years I received both the BMHBA and NDAB Associate of the Year Awards along with Volunteer and Member of the Year Award. Being involved in the association is very rewarding in many aspects. I’ve served on all the committees and with each one the goal was always to do what is best for our membership, association, and community.

How long have you been in the BMHBA? 33 years Where do you work and what is your job title? Northern Plains Plumbing & Heating - Residential Operations Mgr. What do you do on a day-to-day basis at your job? Work with our Home Builder clientele, meet with homeowners who are building and remodeling on selection of plumbing fixtures, schedule crews for projects, order fixtures and materials and manage projects.

How has the building industry changed since you first joined the association? So many aspects of the building industry have changed tremendously. There are many more options available to clients whether building or remodeling.

Master baths are larger, more outdoor living spaces with kitchens (even though our season is short) and open kitchen and family room areas just to name a few. Projects are

completed in a shorter amount of time than they used to be years ago. Technology has become a large part of the home including touch faucets and faucets with voice technology.

How long have you been on the board? In past years I have served on the Bismarck-Mandan Home Builders Board of Directors for approximately 12 years.

What has been your favorite part about being a member of the BMHBA? Getting to know our members and building friendships. Working with the membership and encouraging them to be involved; to share their knowledge and talents.

What advice would you give someone who is interested in being on the BMHBA board? Be sure you are ready for the commitment and willing to invest the time to continually better our association.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time? In my time away from work I enjoy traveling to see my family, spending time with friends and when the weather is nice working in my yard and relaxing on the patio.

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

April 22 – April 25, 2021 “There’s No Place Like Home” We want to thank our local home builders that worked so hard putting together such a beautiful spring parade of homes. We had a grand total of 41 beautiful homes in the parade!

We also want to thank our sponsors, Kelli Thompson (SPOH chair), parade of homes committee, and all builder volunteers. We could not have put on this event without all of you!

Mark your calendars for the 2021 Fall Parade of Homes on September 23-26!

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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:

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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.

The ND Legislature has officially gaveled out for their 67th Legislative Session! In total, the NDAB lobbying team tracked 71 bills.

We thank each of you that took the time to follow through on call-toaction requests, build on relationships with your legislators, and participated on our weekly Government Affairs meetings. The success of our efforts really lands on your efforts and we appreciate you! We hope you enjoyed and appreciated and the bi-weekly updates as well that were emailed out updating on the status of the session and the importance of the bills and work being accomplished at the capitol. The work that the legislators did over the four months while officially in session was remarkable. We thank them for their dedication and time.

2021 NDAB PRESIDENT PHIL RISBRUDT

NDAB CEO · KIM SCHNEIDER

An important Thank You goes out to our Government Affairs Chairman John Gunkleman of the Fargo-Moorhead HBA. John took the time to work directly with the NDAB lobbying team to discuss bills, plans of action, and to help convey the messaging to our members. John provided the perspective from a member, a builder, and a business owner. Proudly representing members from across North Dakota, we appreciated the numerous text messages, email exchanges, phone calls, and leading weekly meetings that John supported us all on.

Advocacy is a great member benefit, and the work happens at the local, state, and national levels all year long! Please be watching your inboxes, reading your newsletters, and checking out social media to be kept aware of what is happening and how you can help. Members are our most power resources when it comes to advocacy work. Your voice matters! Key decision makers want to hear your personal stories when they are making important votes on issues that impact the building industry. Please reach out to your local HBA to learn how you can get more involved!

Contributing to PAC is another substantial way to support the building industry. The NDAB-PAC and the BUILD-PAC are two ways that our industry can support candidates who are friends of the building industry. As a non-partisan political action committee, donations from personal, member accounts are pooled together to provide campaign donations to those candidates running for office at your local, state, and federal levels. Contributions to NDAB-PAC are completely voluntary. Contributions to NDAB-PAC are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. Contributions at any level are accepted all year long and we invite you learn more by reaching out to your local HBA. Take care, Phil Risbrudt, 2021 NDAB President Kim Schneider, NDAB CEO

The Bismarck Community Development Department has introduced a new tool that is now available to encourage public participation in Bismarck’s planning and development process. The new Community Development Activities online map shows all of the projects, including subdivisions, rezonings, annexations, building permits and others, that are currently in review or recently approved by the Community Development Department. Members of the development community and residents can use the map to keep track of projects that are underway, or upcoming in the City of Bismarck and its extraterritorial area.

Once an application is submitted to the Community Development Department, the project will show up on the map with basic information and contact information for the staff project manager. As the project proceeds through the process, more information is added to the map.

Recently approved building permits and site plans will also be shown.

“We are committed to connecting and engaging people throughout the entire planning and development process.

The new Community Development Activities online map provides an excellent one-stop place for residents and members of the development community to connect and stay informed. We are hopeful this new resource will enhance public engagement and encourage citizen participation,” said Ben Ehreth, Community Development Director.

The Bismarck Community Development Activities map is currently available on the city website in the GIS Map Gallery at www.bismarcknd.gov/maps or at the following link: https://arcg.is/1feLur0.

Applications that have upcoming public hearings are highlighted with a notice of the date of the hearing. After a project is approved, it will remain on the map in a different color for two years with project information available.

For more information, please contact Community Development at 701-355-1840.

Students at the Bismarck State College carpentry program are not only laying the foundations for carpentry, but they are also building on their future careers.

completed in April.

The program is run by the associate professor of carpentry at BSC, Earl Torgerson. A Marine Corps veteran, he aims to ensure his students complete projects to the highest standard. Some of these projects include building cabinetry, building furniture and ultimately, building a house.

Torgerson said, “The Bismarck State Carpentry program each year builds a house out in the community.” The program runs two semesters, and the construction of the house begins around September.

Aaron Wole, one of the carpentry students, said, “Once we got everything framed together, we’ve been doing interior work now. We’ve done everything from hanging sheetrock, and now we’re doing the doors.”

The students begin the framework of the house in the first semester. Construction of the house is expected to be

Daniel Nairn, AICP · Senior Planner · Bismarck Comm. Development

Torgerson described how the course is designed and said, “In January, we generally start out doing cabinet making, [we do] a cabinet making class for a month, where the students learn how to build case construction cabinets and then we also touch a little bit on furniture-making as well.”

The house is then featured on the Bismarck-Mandan Homeowner’s Association Parade of Homes. Torgerson says, “from that point, it’ll be listed with a local realtor and available for sale.”

Students learn valuable skills to take with them as they enter into their trade, with many lining up work while still in the program. Wole joined the program from Fargo and says, “I’m working for Klein’s Carpentry and eventually I’m going to be taking over that business.”

Torgerson says students can easily find jobs due to the high demand in the profession. He says there are more jobs than carpenters.

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

BUILDING MATERIALS

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While being stuck at home during quarantine many of us discovered new hobbies or binge-watched our favorite Netflix shows.

Others were hard at work.

In Bismarck-Mandan, contractors were working overtime building homes, and others were busy planning.

Greg Meidinger owns Aspire Homes in Mandan. Before the pandemic, he says he was building four to five homes a year.

Now that number has doubled. Greg Meidinger has constructed a lot of homes lately, including one for the Frank family.

“This has just been a really easy process. Greg has made it really painless, and he’s just been a great builder. It’s been a good experience,” said home buyer Lori Frank.

While the Franks were planning for this home even before the pandemic, many in the Bismarck-Mandan area were not.

“Low interest rates. People are taking advantage of that.

Home building is up significantly across the country due to the recent low interest rates and now supply manufacturers are having a hard time keeping up with demand.

They’re finding they can get more home for their money or afford more homes,” said Meidinger.

Meidinger says the pandemic also played a role in this construction boom.

“The other thing that I’ve heard from a few homeowners is being home, working from home, maybe they’ve thought about building, but being home and spending all that time kind of pushed them to decide, you know if we’re going to be home this much, we are going to build now,” said Meidinger.

The Franks say COVID-19 hasn’t impacted their build that much, but there were some minor setbacks.

“We noticed some delays during construction related to labor. There was certain crews that had to quarantine or come off of the job a little bit, but overall the schedule remained pretty close to when we had originally anticipated coming in or moving into the house,” said home buyer Rob Frank.

Meidinger said he hasn’t seen new home construction grow this fast since the oil boom back in 2012 to 2015.

“As soon as we dig a hole and start getting the foundation poured, we’re trying to get as much of the material picked out and ordered for the home upfront,” said Meidinger.

The owner of Aspire Homes in Mandan, Greg Meidinger, Meidinger says on some occasions he’s had to order says everything was fine up until August, after that they started appliances five months out. seeing delays in receiving appliances, cabinets and siding.

President Biden announced his fiscal year 2022 budget today and it calls for a total of $68.7 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, an increase of $9 billion, or 15%, over the 2021 enacted level.

This is just the first step in the budget process and Congress will ultimately decide on final spending levels for HUD and other federal agencies.

Of note to the housing community, Biden’s HUD budget would: • Expand Housing Choice Vouchers to 200,000 Additional Families. The Housing Choice Voucher program currently provides 2.3 million low-income families with rental assistance to obtain housing in the private market. The discretionary funding request proposes $30.4 billion, a substantial increase of $5.4 billion over the 2021 enacted level, to maintain services for all currently assisted families and expand assistance to an additional 200,000 households, particularly for those who are homeless or fleeing domestic violence.

• Increase the Supply of Affordable Housing. To address the critical shortage of affordable housing in communities throughout the nation, the discretionary request provides a $500 million increase to the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, for a total of $1.9 billion, to construct and rehabilitate affordable rental

When presented with four choices for exterior design, respondents for NAHB’s latest What Home Buyers Really Want edition did not choose a clear winner.

Traditional was the most popular of the design choices, but was only preferred by 32% of home buyers. Contemporary (e.g., clean lines, sloped roofs and expansive windows) was preferred by 24%, while Transitional (e.g., contemporary design with traditional cues) and Modern (e.g., bold and boxy with flat roofs) were the third

housing, and to support other housing-related needs.

• Spur Infrastructure Modernization and Rehabilitation in Marginalized Communities. The discretionary request provides $3.8 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program, which includes a targeted increase of $295 million to incentivize communities to direct formula funds toward the modernization and rehabilitation of public infrastructure and facilities in historically underfunded and marginalized communities facing persistent poverty.

• Support Access to Homeownership and Pandemic Relief. The discretionary request supports access to homeownership for underserved borrowers through the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) mortgage insurance programs. FHA is a crucial source of mortgage financing for first-time and minority home buyers, who accounted for 83% and 37%, respectively, of FHA home purchase loans in 2020.

• Promote Efforts to Prevent and Redress Housing Discrimination. The discretionary request provides $85 million in grants to support state and local fair housing enforcement organizations and to further education, outreach, and training on rights and responsibilities under federal fair housing laws.

and fourth preferences at 16% and 14%, respectively.

Traditional was the top preference for all geographical regions except the Pacific, where Contemporary homes were the top choice at 29%.

NAHB released its Remodeling Market Index (RMI) in the first quarter of 2021, posting a reading of 86, up 38 points from the first quarter of 2020. The finding is a signal of residential remodelers’ confidence in their markets for projects of all sizes.

the pandemic, and activity should continue to grow into 2021 as the economy accelerates with an easing of the pandemic,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz.

“However, material availability and prices continue to be a challenge for remodelers and their customers.”

“The remodeling market has recovered from the pandemic and continues to grow as the economy strengthens,” said NAHB Remodelers Chair Steve Cunningham, CAPS, CGP, a remodeler from Williamsburg, Va. “Increased household savings during the second half of 2020 have lifted budgets available for home improvement projects. However, demand is stronger than many remodelers can handle, resulting in being forced to turn work away.”

The RMI was redesigned in 2020 to ease respondent burden and improve its ability to interpret and track industry trends. As a result, readings cannot be compared quarter to quarter until enough data are collected to seasonally adjust the series. To track quarterly trends, the redesigned RMI survey asks remodelers to compare market conditions to three months earlier, using a “better,” “about the same,” “worse” scale. In the first quarter, 41 percent of respondents indicated that the market is “better” and only 4 percent rated it “worse” than the fourth quarter of 2020.

The RMI survey asks remodelers to rate five components of the remodeling market as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” Each question is measured on a scale from 0 to 100, where an index number above 50 indicates that a higher share view conditions as good than poor.

The Current Conditions Index is an average of three of these components: the current market for large remodeling projects, moderately-sized projects and small projects. The Future Indicator Index is an average of the other two components: the current rate at which leads and inquiries are coming in and the current backlog of remodeling projects. The overall RMI is calculated by averaging the Current Conditions Index and the Future Indicator Index.

Any number over 50 indicates that more remodelers view remodeling market conditions as good than poor.

In the first quarter, all components and subcomponents of the RMI were 82 or above. The Current Conditions Index averaged 89, a 31-point increase from the first quarter of 2020, with large remodeling projects ($50,000 or more) yielding a reading of 85, moderately-sized remodeling projects (at least $20,000 but less than $50,000) at 90 and small remodeling projects (under $20,000) with a reading of 92. These readings were all up substantially year-over-year, indicating strength for remodeling across all types of projects.

The Future Indicator Index averaged 84, up 45 points from the first quarter of 2020, with the rate at which leads and inquiries are coming in at 86 and the backlog of remodeling jobs at 82.

“The large year-over-year increase in the RMI signals a very strong recovery in remodeling activity since the onset of

For the full RMI tables, visit nahb.org/rmi.

May is National Home Remodeling Month. Learn about the remodeling industry and download free resources

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