The Nail, June, 2014

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NAIL The official magazine of Home Builders Association of Middle Tennessee President Michael Dillon Vice President Trey Lewis Secretary/Treasurer Randall Smith Executive Vice President John Sheley Editor and Designer Jim Argo Staff Connie Nicley Pat Newsome

THE NAIL is published monthly by the Home Builders Association of Middle Tennessee, a non-profit trade association dedicated to promoting the American dream of homeownership to all residents of Middle Tennessee.

SUBMISSIONS: THE NAIL welcomes manuscripts and photos related to the Middle Tennessee housing industry for publication. Editor reserves the right to edit due to content and space limitations.

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to: HBAMT, 9007 Overlook Boulevard, Brentwood, TN 37027.

Phone: (615) 377-1055.

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FEATURES 7 Membership Mixer!

“Margarita Madness” themed membership mixer big fun at the HBAMT.

9 Housing industry spurs job growth

NAHB recently told Congress that the housing industry will spur job growth with the right policies in place.

10 Second Fishing Tournament in the books

The second 2014 Piedmont Natural Gas Bass Trail Tournament was held last month at Mason’s Boat Dock.

DEPARTMENTS 4 News & Information 13 SPIKE Club Report 14 June Calendar 14 Chapters and Councils

ON THE COVER: A healthy housing industry will serve as en engine for job growth. Full story on page nine.

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news&info

Marti Veto, Executive Vice President of the Williamson County Association of Realtors®, delivered a “Real Estate Market Update” at the joint meeting of the Metro/Nashville and Williamson County chapters last month. A big thanks to Stonegate Mortgage for sponsoring the meeting!

New home sales rise 6.4 percent in April

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ales of newly built, single-family homes rose 6.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000 units in April, according to newly released data from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. The gain builds on an upward revision of sales numbers reported for the previous month.

“Builders are gradually increasing sales, but tight credit conditions, particularly for first-time home buyers, are impeding a more robust recovery,” said Kevin Kelly, chairman

Low mortgage rates and affordable home prices are factors that should help keep starts on an upward trajectory in the months ahead.

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of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del. “In a positive development, builders are adding inventory in anticipation of a further release of pent-up demand,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “We are only about half-way back to what could be considered a normal market, but relatively low mortgage rates and affordable home prices are other factors that should help keep starts and sales on a slow upward trajectory in the months ahead.”

On a regional basis, new-home sales rose 47.4 percent in the Midwest and 3.1 percent in the South and held steady in the West. The Northeast posted a 26.7 percent decline.

The inventory of new homes for sale increased to 192,000 units in April. This is a 5.3-month supply at the current sales pace. n

Hendersonville City Planner Fred Rogers was the association’s special guest at the Sumner County Chapter’s first meeting of the year last month. The meeting was sponsored by Hermitage Lighting Gallery.

Tammie Smoot from BDX (standing) spoke to the Sales and Marketing Council about “Home Buyer Insights” at the council’s May meeting.

Special thanks to The Jones Company for sponsoring the meeting.

Housing affordability edges higher in first quarter

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lightly lower median home prices along with steady mortgage rates contributed to higher housing affordability in the first quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), released today.

In all, 65.5 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of January and end of March were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $63,900.

This is slightly higher from the 64.7 percent of homes sold that were affordable to median-income earners in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, the national median home price dipped from $205,000 in the fourth quarter to $195,000 in the first quarter while average mortgage interest rates were virtually unchanged, moving from 4.54 percent to 4.57 percent in the same period.

“Housing affordability remains strong and this is an encouraging sign as the spring home building season moves into high gear,” said NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly, a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del. “As home prices and mortgage interest rates are unlikely to go down, the first quarter HOI is another indicator that this is an opportune

time to buy,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.

Syracuse, N.Y. was the nation’s most affordable major housing market, as 93.7 percent of all new and existing homes sold in this year’s first quarter were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $67,700. Meanwhile, Cumberland, Md-W.Va. claimed the title of most affordable smaller market, with 96.3 percent of homes sold in the first quarter being affordable to those earning the median income of $54,100.

Other major U.S. housing markets at the top of the affordability chart in the first quarter included Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.; Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.; Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.; and Dayton, Ohio; in descending order.

Smaller markets joining Cumberland at the top of the affordability chart included Springfield, Ohio; Kokomo, Ind.; Mansfield, Ohio; and Lima, Ohio.

For a sixth consecutive quarter, San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif. held the lowest spot among major markets on the affordability chart. There, just 13.3 percent of homes sold in the first quarter were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $100,400.

Other major metros at the bottom of the afford-

The Kingston Group honored with Remodeling Magazine Big50 Award

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he Kingston Group has been named to “Remodeling” magazine’s Big50 list, which celebrates remodeling businesses nationwide whose professionalism, business practices and success make them role models for the industry.

“We are honored to receive this distinction and to be included in the highly respected Big50 list,” says Jordan Clark of the Kingston Group, a past president of the HBAMT (2011).

“The award recognizes excellence, expertise and leadership, and we are privileged to be named to this select group of remodelers.”

The Big50 awards were presented last month at the Remodeling Leadership Conference in Washington, DC, and the 50 winners are featured in the May issue of Remodeling. n

ability chart included Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif.; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.; New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.N.J.; and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.; in descending order.

All of the five least affordable small housing markets were in California. At the very bottom of the affordability chart was Santa Cruz-Watsonville, where 21.1 percent of all new and existing homes sold were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $77,900.

Other small markets at the lowest end of the affordability scale included Napa, Salinas, San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, and Santa Rosa-Petaluma, respectively.

Please visit nahb.org/hoi for tables, historic data and details.

Editor’s Note: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) is a measure of the percentage of homes sold in a given area that are affordable to families earning the area’s median income during a specific quarter. Prices of new and existing homes sold are collected from actual court records by Core Logic, a data and analytics company. Mortgage financing conditions incorporate interest rates on fixed- and adjustable-rate loans reported by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The NAHB/Wells Fargo HOI is strictly the product of NAHB Economics, and is not seen or influenced by any outside party prior to being released to the public.t. n

NAHB Remodeler Awards call for entries

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Back row (l to r): Robbie Edwards, Clay Watkins, Ricky Scott, Levi Mangiaracina, Jacob Boone, Jordan Clark.

Front row (l to r): Duane Dixon, Gloria Padilla, Nathan Forrester.

ntries are now being accepted for the 2014 NAHB Remodelers awards which include NAHB Remodeler of the Year, National Remodeling Hall of Fame, Homes for Life awards and the Council Awards for Demonstrating Remodeling Excellence (CADRE).

Winners will be honored during the annual NAHB Remodelers Gala, held during the Remodeling Show in Baltimore on Oct. 23, 2014.

All applications for the four award programs (see link below) must be submitted by July 25, 2014. To learn more about the awards and see past winners, go to nahb.org/remodelerawards. For additional questions, contact remodel@nahb.org. n

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Sam Carbine.

Jimmy Franks, Beth Nicely and Phil Smith.

Margarita Madness!

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The Jimmy Charles Band.

Mike Dillon.

embership Mixer fun! The HBAMT held a “Margarita Madness” themed Membership Mixer May 15th. Held directly following a new member orientation at the association’s Brentwood offices, the event drew big crowds fueled by an open bar featuring “endless margaritas” thanks to Darin and Christina Cunningham. Attendees were also treated to a terrific live performance by the Jimmy Charles Band!

Special thanks to the Membership Mixer sponsors: Bancorp South; Gateway Mortgage Group; Metropolitan Bank, the RE/MAX Elite team of Darin and Christina Cunningham; The Bank of Nashville; and Trus Joist. n

Jason Broderick and Kevin Barber.

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Healthy Housing Industry spurs job growth

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he health of housing is key for the overall state of the U.S. economy and housing stands poised to serve as an engine of job growth with the right policies in place, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) told Congress recently.

Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Policy during a hearing examining the drivers of job creation, NAHB economist Robert Dietz said that home building and remodeling have generated 274,000 jobs over the past 2 ½ years.

“This expansion has direct economic benefits,” said Dietz. “Housing provides the momentum behind an economic recovery because home building and associated businesses employ such a wide range of workers.”

Employment from new home construction and remodeling has a wide ripple effect.

About half the jobs created by building new homes are in construction. They include framers, electricians, plumbers and carpenters. Other jobs are spread over other sectors

of the economy, including manufacturing, retail, wholesale and business services.

NAHB analysis of the broad impact of new construction shows that building 1,000 average single-family homes generates: • 2,970 full-time jobs • $162 million in wages • $118 million in business income • $111 million in taxes and revenue for state, local and federal governments

Similarly, construction of 1,000 rental apartments, including units developed under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, generates 1,130 jobs while $100 million in remodeling expenditures creates 890 jobs.

Currently, housing comprises about 15.5 percent of GDP but Dietz said the industry still has room to grow.

“Typically, housing represents 17 to 18 percent of the GDP,” he said. “With a growing population and an aging housing stock, NAHB forecasts that single-family construction will increase 22 percent in 2014 to 760,000 units and multifamily production will rise 6 percent to 326,000 units.”

Noting that 2014 should be the first year since 2007 in which total housing starts exceed 1 million homes, Dietz said this expansion will produce jobs. “In April alone, home builders and remodelers added 13,100 jobs,” he said.

NAHB estimates that total housing construction over the next few years should return to just under 1.7 million combined single-famJune, 2014

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Round two champs!

Jerry Deal and Kevin Tidwell earned first place honors and awards following the second Piedmont Natural Gas Fishing Tournament of the year.

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he second Piedmont Natural Gas Fishing Tournament of the year took place May 20 at Mason’s Boat Dock in Waverly, Tenn. The competitive field included nearly 50 fishermen who angled for the biggest catches of the day during a beautiful Spring day on Kentucky Lake.

Jerry Deal and Kevin Tidwell from Piedmont Natural Gas took home first place honors following the afternoon weigh-in.

Deal and Tidwell reeled in whopping 22.11 lbs worth of catches.

Hassan Moghdom and Donnie Rubel followed up their first place finish in April with another strong showing. The Mid Tenn Flooring duo weighed in with 19.01 lbs.

And the Morrison & Fuson team of Tommy Fuson and Gary Singleton reeled in 17.96 lbs worth of catches to secure third place honors.

First place winners Deal and Tidwell also took home the “Big Fish” award for a catch weighing in at 6.52 lbs.

Special thanks to title sponsor Piedmont Natural Gas; platinum sponsors ABC Supply Company and Petersen & Sons; and silver sponsors American Heating and Cooling, Reliance Heat & Air and Stonegate Mortgage.

Next stop: Tuesday, June 17 at Bull Creek Marina. (Registration form on page thirteen.) n

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Company Boat

Fisherman

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Piedmont Natural Gas

Jerry Deal & Kevin Tidwell

22.11

Mid Tenn Flooring

Hassan Moghdom & Donnie Rubel

19.01

Morrison & Fuson

Tommy Fuson & Gary Singleton

17.96

McKenzie Construction

John Bornstein & David Gnewikow

17.53

Piedmont Natural Gas

Danny Barksdale & Bill Ingham

17.11

Premier Concrete Pumping

Chris Jenkins & Eric Johnson

16.39

Piedmont Natural Gas

Gerald Griffin & J.P. Hooper

16.13

American Heating & Cooling

Kevin Israel & Todd Spann

16.12

Piedmont Natural Gas

Jerry Bell & Rob Hall

15.90

J.S. Earhart Plumbing

Bobby Coulson & Jody Earhart

15.15

Francescon Construction

Jay Catignani & David Francescon

14.36

Piedmont Natural Gas

Danny Hankins & Tommy Lynch

12.87

Piedmont Natural Gas

Donnie Whitaker & Luke Whitaker

12.56

Piedmont Natural Gas

Walter Hutchinson & Jeff Neely

11.84

Piedmont Natural Gas

Matt Brown & B.J. Gunter

9.69

Donnie Rubel and Hassan Moghdom, with tournament official Lamar Morgan (far right) earned second place honors following the second Piedmont Natural Gas Fishing Tournament of the year.

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SPIKE REPORT Life Spikes

Eighteen SPIKES (in bold) increased their recruitment numbers last month. What is a SPIKE? SPIKES recruit new members and help the association retain members. Here is the latest SPIKE report as of April 30, 2014.

Top 20 Big Spikes Jim Ford 912 Virgil Ray 821 Bill King 776 Mitzi Spann 672 Jim Fischer 566 Terry Cobb 565 John Whitaker 387 James Carbine 331 Jennifer Earnest 325 Dan Stern 306 Kevin Hale 286 Tonya Jones 271 Reese Smith III 260 David Crane 242 Steve Moody 219 Sonny Shackelford 216 Davis Lamb 182 Cyril Evers 181 Jackson Downey 174 Tim Ferguson 167

ily and multifamily starts on an annual basis.

Homeownership also represents the most important investment and source of savings for most middle class households.

The latest economic data show that the primary residence represents 62 percent of the median home owner’s total assets and 42 percent of their wealth. Moreover, almost two-thirds of all U.S. households own a home, while just 50 percent possess a retirement account and only 16 percent own stocks and bonds.

Though homeownership remains a cherished American ideal, access to safe and decent affordable rental housing is needed for those households for whom renting is the best choice. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit, the nation’s only affordable housing production program, serves a critical role in this regard.

Since its inception, the tax credit has produced and financed more than 2 million affordable rental apartments.

Industry faces several challenges While home construction is poised to continue to expand and add jobs, builders continue to face persistent headwinds.

These include access to building lots, rising building material prices, access

Jim McLean 164 Louise Stark 163 Trey Lewis 148 Harry Johnson 146 Steve Cates 140 C.W. Bartlett 138 Tonya Alexander 127 Steve Hewlett 119 Sam Carbine 115 James Franks 114 Carmen Butner 105 Johnny Watson 101 Dave McGowan 99 B.J. Hanson 97 Jeff Zeitlin 87 Duane Vanhook 83 Jordan Clark 81 Erin Richardson 76 Julie DuPree 75 Jeff Slusher 70 John Baugh 68 Wiggs Thompson 63 Don Bruce 62 Jim Ford, Jr. 62 Hill McAlister 57 Joe Morgan 54 Gerald Bucy 53 Beth Sturm 53 John Broderick 52 David Hughes 49 Al Davis 47 Sheila Rawlings 47 Bernie Laine 46 Greg Langley 46 Benny Sullivan 46 Lori Fisk-Conners 45 Andrew Neuman 45

to builder loans and worker shortages in some markets.

Additional challenges are the lack of policy certainty in areas connected to housing. To help the industry play its

traditional role as a job creator, Dietz called on Congress to ensure that undue regulatory burdens do not hinder economic and job growth. “Regulations imposed by the government at all levels account for 25

Bryan Edwards 44 Kay Russell 44 Peggy Krebs 39 John Ganschow 37 Chuck Clarkson 36 Frank Miller 36 Andy Wyatt 36 Brad Butler 35 David Lippe 35 Michael Dillon 34 Al Hacker 34 Ray Edwards 32 Dan Strebel 32 Steve Wheeley 30 Alvin Basel 29 Christina Cunningham 25 Spikes Don Mahone 17 Marty Maitland 17 Jess Dillon 16 Tracy Lomax 14 Frank Tyree 12 Derenda Sircy 11 Pam Smith 10 Don Alexander 9

percent of the final price of a new single-family home built for sale,” he said.

On the tax front, Dietz urged lawmakers to protect the mortgage interest deduction and Low Income Housing Tax Credit, which are critical to ensuring the growth of the middle class and access to affordable housing, and to enact a tax extenders bill that would retroactively extend expired tax rules such as the minimum 9 percent credit rate for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and residential energy efficient tax credits for new construction and for retrofitting existing homes.

Passing comprehensive housing finance reform that includes a federal backstop to ensure the availability of the 30-year mortgage, increase private capital in the marketplace and protect the American taxpayer would be a net positive for job creation, he added. n

Homeownership represents the most important investment and source of savings for most middle class households.

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JUNE Calendar Sunday

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Tuesday

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Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

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Saturday

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Sales & Marketing Council meeting

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Dickson County Chapter meeting

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HBAMT Remodelers Council meeting

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Metro/Nashville Chapter meeting

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Sales & Marketing Council meeting

Chapters & Councils CHAPTERS CHEATHAM COUNTY CHAPTER Chapter President - Roy Miles: 615/646-3303 Cheatham County Chapter details are being planned.

Next meeting: to be announced.

Chapter RSVP Line: 615/377-9651, ext. 310 DICKSON COUNTY CHAPTER Chapter President - Mark Denney: 615/446-2873.

The Dickson County Chapter meets on the third Monday of the month, 12:00 p.m. at the Ponderosa Restaurant in Dickson.

Next meeting: Monday, June 16.

Topic: to be announced.

Price: FREE, lunch dutch treat.

Chapter RSVP Line: 615/377-9651, ext. 307 MAURY COUNTY CHAPTER Maury County Chapter details are currently being planned.

Next meeting: to be announced.

Chapter RSVP line: 615-377-9651, ext. 312; for callers outside the 615 area code, 1-800-571-9995, ext. 312 METRO/NASHVILLE CHAPTER Chapter President - John Whitaker: 615/843-3300.

The Metro/Nashville Chapter meets on the fourth Monday of the month, 11:30 a.m. at the HBAMT offices.

Next meeting: Monday, June 23.

Topic: to be announced.

Price: Builders Free pending sponsorship; $10 per person with RSVP ($20 w/o RSVP).

Chapter RSVP Line: 615/377-9651, ext. 304

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ROBERTSON COUNTY CHAPTER Next meeting: to be announced.

Robertson County RSVP line: 615-377-9651, ext. 313.

SUMNER COUNTY CHAPTER The Sumner County Chapter meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month, 11:30 a.m. at the new Hendersonville Library.

Next meeting: to be announced.

Chapter RSVP Line: 615/377-9651, ext. 306 WILLIAMSON COUNTY CHAPTER Chapter President - BJ Hanson: 615/884-4935.

The Williamson County Chapter meets on the third Tuesday of the month, 11:30 a.m. at the HBAMT offices.

Next meeting: to be announced.

Price: Builders Free pending sponsorship; $10 per person with RSVP ($20 w/o RSVP).

Chapter RSVP Line: 615/377-9651, ext. 305 WILSON COUNTY CHAPTER The Wilson County Chapter meets on the second Thursday of the month, 11:30 a.m. at the Five Oaks Golf & Country Club in Lebanon.

Next meeting: to be announced.

Chapter RSVP Line: 615/377-9651, ext. 309 COUNCILS CUSTOM BUILDERS COUNCIL The CBC meets on the second Tuesday of the month, 11:30 a.m. at the HBAMT offices.

Next meeting: to be announced.

Council RSVP Line: 615/377-9651, ext. 311

GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL Council President - Erin Richardson: 615/883-8526.

The Green Building Council meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month, 11:00 a.m.

Next meeting: to be announced.

Topic: to be announced.

Price: free for Green Building Council members pending sponsorship; $20 for non-members with RSVP ($25 w/o).

Council RSVP Line: 615/377-9651, ext. 308 HBAMT REMODELERS COUNCIL Council President - Jason Broderick.

The HBAMT Remodelers Council meets on the third Wednesday of the month, 11:00 a.m. at varying locations.

Next meeting: Wednesday, June 18.

Location: to be announced.

Topic: to be announced.

Price: free for RMC members with RSVP; $15 for non-members with RSVP ($20 w/o).

Council RSVP Line: 615/377-9651, ext. 301 MIDDLE TENN SALES & MARKETING COUNCIL Council President - Trey Lewis.

The SMC meets on the first Thursday of the month, 9:00 a.m. at the HBAMT offices.

Next meeting: Thursday, June 5.

Topic: “Understanding Buyers from other Cultures,” with a panel of sales professionals including Ray Khayatt, Coldwell Banker Barnes, and Greg Crockett, Reliant Realty.

Price: SMC members free thanks to our sponsors US Bank! ($10 w/o RSVP); $20 for non-members with RSVP ($25 w/o).

Council RSVP Line: 615/377-9651, ext. 302.

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