Builders Outlook2016 issue 11 by Ted Escobedo

National, State & Local Building Industry News 2016: Issue 11

10 Housing Trends to Watch

www.elpasobuilders.com Nearly a decade after the real estate crisis set off wild swings in the housing market, most markets finally stabilized last year. The election of Donald Trump has brought uncertainty into the industry, however. While the President-elect built his empire on real estate, he has said relatively little about what policy changes he might make regarding housing. That’s not too unusual, since when the housing market is doing well it is generally not a campaign issue. Here’s what the experts we spoke with expect to see in 2017:

1. Rising prices will keep pushing up homeowners’ net worth. After a 6.3 percent increase over the past year, home prices are poised to rise another 5.2 percent through September 2017, according to a recent report from CoreLogic. Rising prices have doubled the amount of home equity held by Americans with the average homeowner gaining more than $11,000 in home-equity wealth last year alone. If home prices continue to increase as projected, Americans would add $1 trillion in home equity to their collective balance sheets next year.

2. But mortgage rates are going up. Rates for conventional loans shot up nearly a quarter of a percentage point in the days following the election, the fastest increase since the ‘taper tantrum’ of 2013. That could be just the beginning; the Fed is expected to continue raising rates on a strong economy, and even before Trump’s election, the Mortgage Bankers Association was predicting that rates would reach 4.8 percent (an increase of nearly two percentage points) by the end of 2017. That means that borrowers who are looking to re-fi should do so earlier in the year, and buyers should consider locking in their rates during the closing process. While some worry that rising rates could dampen the housing market, job security and wage growth are larger factors on home activity than interest rates.

3. It’s getting easier to get a mortgage. It’s easier to get a mortgage now than at any time in the past eight years, according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index. That reflects an increased availability of both jumbo loans and low down-payment loans.

Banks may also be more willing to work with borrowers over the next few years as they look to make up for a decline in refinancing business when interest rates go up. “The pendulum has been swinging toward a loosening of the credit box a bit,” says Daren Blomquist, a senior vice president with Attom Data Solutions. “I don’t think we’ll see a reversal of that with the new administration. We’ll likely see an acceleration.” 4. Rents will continue to level off. While rents in most large metro areas will continue to increase next year, they’ll grow at just 1.7 percent next year, following a similar growth this year, according to Zillow’s rent forecast. The modest gains follow years of double-digit growths in many places and reflect inventory finally catching up with demand as builders create new apartment buildings to accommodate the nearly 40 percent of Americans who are choosing to rent rather than buy housing.

5. The share of cash buyers will move closer to normal. All-cash buyers fell below 30 percent of home sales this year for the first time since 2007, and they’re projected to decline for the next two years until they get back to their historical average of about 25 percent, according to CoreLogic. That’s good news for some homebuyers who have struggled in recent years to compete with all-cash buyers in bidding wars.

6. New homes are getting smaller. The median square footage for new homes this year fell for the first time since the recession. Smaller homes are the product of several trends driving the real estate market, including higher demand for homes close to city centers where space is tight, and continued growth in the “tiny home” movement.

The shift also reflects a renewed focus by builders on the neglected market of entry-level buyers. “They’re building smaller homes because people can’t afford to buy the larger homes anymore,” Chief Economist at Texas A & M’s Real Estate Center.

7. Inventory will remain tight. While builders have increased production, they’re still only putting homes up at about 60 percent of the normal pace. Total housing inventory at the end of September increased 1.5 percent to 2.04 million existing homes for sale, but that’s still 7 percent lower than last year. Unsold inventory in September was at a 4.5 percent-month supply, down from 4.6 percent the previous month. (A sixmonth supply is considered a healthy market.) That continued lack of inventory is one of the main factors behind rising prices. “It’s driven by supply and demand,” says Sam Khater, deputy chief economist at CoreLogic. “The lack of affordable supply is really driving up home prices.”

8. Foreign buyers will play a smaller role. Foreign buyers, who have helped fuel the luxury real estate market in recent years, backed off a bit this year amid rising prices and an appreciated dollar and increased scrutiny from the Treasury Department. That trend may accelerate as foreign investors weigh the impact of a Trump presidency on their purchase.

9. It’s getting easier for first-time buyers. After years of shutting them out, the market has become slightly more welcoming to first-time buyers. “On the supply side, builders are finding business models to provide the level of product, such as townhouses, that first-time buyers are looking for,” says Robert Dietz, chief economist with the National Association of Home Builders. “And on the demand side, wage gains and the demographics of today’s millennials who are marrying and having kids later, will help.” Millennials are more secure in their jobs, so they’re better qualified for mortgages, particularly the low down payment options. While inventory is still tight, many institutional investors have left the market, which makes it easier for first-time home buyers to compete for entry-level properties.

REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Builders Outlook

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2016 issue 11

Builders Outlook

President’s Message Carlos Villalobos

President, El Paso Association of Builders

As we approach the end of the year, there are many variables that potentially threaten home affordability in our market. In anticipation of the new President coming into the White House in January and his agenda, markets are already reacting to what is expected to happen. I always like to hear bad news first: 1. Rising Interest Rates Interest on a 10 year Treasury note have increased from 1.85% on Election Day to 2.38% on Wednesday. This has caused mortgage rates to climb over 4% for the first time this year. Higher interest rates mean higher payments, and in El Paso, many customers were already barely qualifying, so this means they might have to opt for either a smaller home than what they were looking for, or simply go for a more affordable resale/used home. However, interest rates are still at historically low levels and it’s not healthy for any economy to artificially maintain interest rates near zero through quantitative easing indefinitely.

Affordability Threatened by Future Market Conditions 2. New Energy Code: We have been talking about this all year so I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but the new Energy Code is calculated to add at least $2,000 to $3,000 to a typical home built to 2009 Energy Code Standards. On the bright side, the new code will reduce utility bills and should be able to offset the home’s more expensive price tag. 3. Rising Inflation: The new President Elect’s plans to reduce taxes and spend on infrastructure are expected to raise inflation to about 2.2% in 2017. If in fact Trump is able to pull off his proposed One Trillion dollar infrastructure plan, inflation will be sure to follow, especially in commodity prices, i.e., construction materials. This is not to say that inflation is entirely bad, a healthy inflation rate is needed to keep the economy growing at a healthy pace. And now for the (potential) silver lining: 1.Deregulation: Our new President elect is promising to untangle and

dismantle a lot of our current overregulation on business. One must admit that our current environment sometimes suffocates business with so much laws and regulations that it is hard to operate profitably, hopefully the simplification and revocation of many of our current laws will help ease the burden of doing business. 2. Tax Cuts: Trumps promises to simplify the tax code and offer tax cuts for the lower and middle classes would cause a short term stimulus to the economy, especially if not accompanied by spending reductions. However, he needs to quickly find out a way to grow the economy at the 3.5% he claimed he could “conservatively attain” or else these tax cuts will produce a worse deficit than what we already have. 3. Job Creation: Our new President Elect claims that he will create 25 Million new jobs by fostering a “dynamic booming economy”, if this can be accomplished, then I believe my first three concerns (interest rates,

inflation, energy code) would not be an issue after all as home building is driven by job creation, however, this is yet to be seen. Fortunately, apart from the National scene, El Paso seems to be taking on a life of its own as we see more investment and growth everywhere we go. Hopefully with the recent sale of a local oil refinery, the recipient of which has shown an inclination to invest in El Paso real estate and is now flush with cash, we will continue to see strong investments and job creation in the downtown area, which will in turn help us mature and keep growing as a city. Please join us on December 2nd at the Marriot for the installation of our new President of The El Paso Association of Builders, Mr. Don Rassette of Rassette Homes.

Builders Outlook 2016

Executive’s Message Ray Adauto, Executive Vice President EPAB November is here and gone, and December is rearing up. All said and done it’s either a wonderful thing or not. Frankly for me I really like Thanksgiving a lot and not necessarily for the food although it’s a part of liking this holiday. I like the turkey, I like the fixin’s, but most of all I like the recipe for stuffing that Margaret makes for me. She learned and adapted my mother’s recipe and when I bite it I remember my mom. No for me it’s about family and the one time when we can get together to share and give thanks for all the blessings. I repeat what Mike Santamaria always says: “My worst nightmare is somebody else’s

Issue 11

Optimistic outlook for our industry

dreams!” Yep I feel exactly that way especially when I see my grandkids, my daughters, and son in laws, and of course my extended family including my in-laws. We have more than 99% of the world’s population does right here in the USA and sometimes we forget that. That’s what Thanksgiving is for me. To almost everyone’s surprise the national election was won by Donald Trump and honestly I think that should work out well for the industry. Here’s why in my opinion. If Mr. Trump can get the Congress to move on issues of taxation and reduce corporate taxes, eliminate the death tax, and reduce or simplify the Internal Revenue Code then he will put money back to work. I remember that what seems eons ago there was a “junker rebate”, remember when the government said they would buy your car and the reason was that the auto industry was nearly bankrupt? At the time there was so much money being allocated that it worked out to nearly $100,000 per adult, something I said then would have

cured a lot of the ills if they had handed out the checks instead of doing a rebate. Many of us could have used an infusion of cash to pay off some debt and buy something new making the economy work again. They didn’t do that and so the “fix” was temporary. Now if Mr. Trump can get Congress to act on taxes this could be a really really big deal, something that could stimulate the economy for a long term rather than a short term. It’s going to impact home buying. The other thing is Mr. Trump hates big government and he’s said to the NAHB that he would work on reducing the amount of regulations a builder has to navigate in order to build a house. That would help housing. The one area that will be a concern has to do with immigration. Our industry has workers from all over the world in construction (yes, not just Mexico) and so Mr. Trump needs to heed the industries that depend on that workforce. I for one am excited that we are actually talking about taxes, regulation, and immigration.

It’s about time. I hope that we give him and his new administration a chance to succeed. Finally we attended the fall TAB board meetings in Austin in mid-November. The big news is that the upcoming legislative session is going to be jammed with anti-builder legislation (no surprise here) and that TAB is going to target particular bills that would cause you great harm if they were to pass. This is also where you come in as we prepare to meet our legislators on February 22 at the Capitol. We need a good contingent from El Paso to go enjoy that trip and learn about what’s going on in Austin. If you’ve never been then may I suggest you go this time. I can assure you that you will come back amazed at how much goes on there and how much your association protects you. More information on that trip will be forthcoming. Stay tuned to your emails and info in the Outlook.

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2016 issue 11

Builders Outlook

National Builder News Housing Starts Jump 25.5 Percent

n Led by impressive gains in both single-family and multifamily production, nationwide housing starts surged 25.5 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32 million units, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. Single-family starts reached their highest level since October 2007 while multifamily production jumped 68.8 percent from the previous month. “These robust figures correlate with strong builder optimism in the housing market,” said Ed Brady, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill. “A firming job market, a growing economy and rising household formations will keep the housing recovery on track into next year.” “Multifamily production bounced back after an unusually weak reading last month while single-family starts exhibited unusually strong growth as well,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Though October’s single- and multifamily production rates are clearly unsustainable, we expect continued growth in the housing sector in the months ahead.” Single-family starts rose 10.7 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual

rate of 869,000 units while multifamily production climbed 68.8 percent to 454,000 units. Combined single- and multifamily starts posted double-digit gains in all four regions in October. The Northeast, Midwest, South and West increased 44.8 percent, 44.1 percent, 17.9 percent and 23.2 percent, respectively. Overall permit issuance edged up 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.23 million in October. Singlefamily permits rose 2.7 percent to a rate of 762,000, while multifamily permits fell 3.3 percent to 467,000. Permit issuance increased 12.1 percent in the Midwest and 7.5 percent in the West. Meanwhile, the Northeast and South posted respective losses of 21.1 percent and 2.4 percent.

New Home Sales Down 1.9 Percent

n Sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 1.9 percent in October from a downwardly revised September reading to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 563,000 units, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. “Though slightly down from last month, new home sales have been on an upward

BUILDING

trend since last year,” said Ed Brady, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill. “Builders are adding to inventory based on consistent gains in sales, solid builder confidence and ongoing job and economic growth,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. The inventory of new home sales for sale was 246,000 in October, which is a 5.2-month supply at the current sales pace. The median sales price of new houses sold was $304,500. Regionally, new home sales fell 9.1 percent in the Northeast, 13.7 percent in the Midwest and 3 percent in the South. Sales increased 8.8 percent in the West.

NAHB Congratulates Donald Trump

n Ed Brady, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill., issued the following statement on Tuesday’s national elections: “The National Association of Home Builders congratulates Donald Trump on his election as the 45th President of the United States of America and all the lawmakers who were elected to the 115th Congress.

El Pa aso

“When President-elect Trump takes the oath of office in January and the 115th Congress convenes, NAHB looks forward to working in a bipartisan manner with the incoming administration and Republican and Democratic congressional leaders to tackle critical issues facing the housing industry. “Specifically, policymakers need to reform the regulatory process, ensure creditworthy home buyers and small businesses can get mortgages and loans, protect the mortgage interest deduction and expand the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. It is also essential to enact comprehensive housing finance reform that safeguards the 30-year mortgage. This pro-housing legislative and regulatory agenda will spur job growth and keep the housing and economic recovery moving forward.”

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Builders Outlook

2016 Issue 11

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2016 ISSUE 11

Guest Outlook Elliot Eisenberg Economic & Policy Blog

The current US economic expansion is one of the longest on record, and, come March, will become the third longest in US history, dating back to the start of record keeping in 1854. As such, there is increasing concern that we are due for a recession. That concern has only heightened, given that the last downturn was particularly nasty. This fear is weighing not only on household spending, but, more importantly, on corporate spending on plant and equipment, holding back GDP growth and labor productivity. Fortunately, this concern is misplaced. Simply put, age is not what kills expansions. Rather, it is an overheating economy that generally results in a recession. When wages start rising swiftly, investment activity starts taking off, debt levels grow rapidly, asset prices become untethered to reality, commodity prices remain high, and inflation rises rapidly,

Builders Outlook

A Recession is Unlikely the Federal Reserve invariably intervenes. In the attempt to cool things down, all too often the Fed raises rates too quickly or too much and accidently drives us into a recession. However, there is currently little evidence of any pre-recessionary economic exuberance. As a matter of fact, most of the economy is still behaving as if we were recovering from the recession rather than enjoying the boom times that come at or near the peak of an economic expansion. Growth, be it domestic or international, is subdued. Commodity prices are, with few exceptions, at or near cyclical lows, and bank lending is probably best described as solid. Moreover, inflation, while slowly rising, remains below the official Fed target rate of 2%. Lastly, while the unemployment rate is just 5%, wage gains are much weaker than they have been before previous economic downturns. This suggests that there is still slack in the labor market and that the Fed will not have to start raising rates quickly anytime soon. Spending by households and businesses is also not signaling a recession. Purchases of durable goods such as cars and dishwashers averaged 7.5% of GDP in Q2 2016, well below the 8.5% average that has

...the current economic expansion that started in July 2009 looks increasingly likely to become the longest economic expansion ever. persisted in years preceding recessions. Private investment spending on new home construction, business related software and equipment and so on â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is equally low. Moreover, the household debt-service ratio, or how much after tax income Americans are devoting to debt payments, is near its lowest level ever and personal savings rates are near their highest level in twenty years. Lastly, corporate profits are once again on the rise, reducing slightly elevated stock market valuations. The above notwithstanding, a recession is always a possibility due to economic shocks emanating from abroad that can dramatically raise energy prices, or a war or an election that can hurt household spending and business confidence. However, other than that, it would probably take much stronger economic growth for a prolonged period before the Fed felt

compelled to raise interest rates quickly enough to meaningfully slow down the economy and, in the process, possibly bring on a recession. In short, the current economic expansion that started in July 2009 looks increasingly likely to become the longest economic expansion ever. Increasing this potential is that even though wages and inflation are finally rising, the Fed has communicated its interest in seeing wages and inflation rise further as they have been too low for too long. So, enjoy the current expansion; it may well last a lot longer!

Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D. is President of GraphsandLaughs, LLC and can be reached at Elliot@graphsandlaughs.net. His daily 70 word economics and policy blog can be seen at www.econ70.com.

Buildeers Outlook On the Scene

PRO AM Golf Tournament November 2016

EPAB Pro-am proves to be a challenging but rewarding golf event The clouds were looming and the weathercaster was saying that we’d have a 60% chance of rain, mixed with thunder and lightning. It’s not the kind of thing you really want when you have a golf outing planned, certainly when you’ve selected the date well in advance and you hope all goes well. That’s precisely what happened this year when our friendly weather folks were saying that it was going to be a rainy Veterans Day. So like every year we hunkered down and prayed for good weather and just like so many times in the past we were blessed with clear skies and a slight breeze for our StrucSure Home Warranty Presents Pro Am Golf tournament. Our golf day was complicated with picking a date we thought would be a tribute to our Veterans and allow our entrants to take some additional time off on a

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Friday. Unfortunately we found that some of our regulars were going on a three day weekend since they would celebrate Veterans Day with family or friends in a different location than on the course. But like always we had great support from our teams and the Sun Country Pros who came from as far away as Santa Fe to play. The event has been a big deal to the pros and a big deal to the association as it earns revenue for us and gives us an opportunity to have some fun. As evidenced in the pictures we did both. StrucSure Home Warranty was our presenting partner and as such Scott Whisenant told the crowd that StrucSure loves to do this and more. “We enjoy meeting new friends at this event and it has helped me as a Greater San Antonio Builders Association board member to plan for

our first pro-am, from what I’ve learned here in El Paso,” Scott told the Outlook. “We enjoy coming out and look forward to many more opportunities in the future,” he continued. Our host was Painted Dunes and General Manager Anthony Bellow. “We’re glad to have brought the Pro Am back to Painted Dunes and to host the EPAB,” Anthony said. The challenge for the players is that they are playing a club pro and yet at the same time the pro is in competition with the other pros. “We have to balance the play because the pros are in a season long competition so they have to concentrate on their play while also helping the team players,” Anthony said. Our outing couldn’t have happened without our partners including HUNT

as the breakfast partner and Haskins Electric as our lunch/awards partner. “I love coming to the association golf tournament and we’re honored to be a part of this and other events,” said Chuck Haskins, owner of Haskins Electric. “The golf was tough but overall this is a great event,” he said. Winners were announced in the first, second and third place team winners, and also in the longest Drive and closest to the pin awards. An opportunity was given those winners to shoot for a million dollars hole in one and a $5000 putting challenge. Neither was won this year but we hope to offer the challenge next year. “We want to make sure we let our members know to look for our Pachanga (party) golf outing in April, so stay tuned,” said golf chair Sam Shallenberger.

Photos by Patrick Tuttle

Builders Outlook

2016 issue 11

Lending Mortgage rates keep rising after election threatening home affordability Long-term U.S. mortgage rates continued to surge this week in the aftermath of the election of Donald Trump as president. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Wednesday that the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate loan shot up to 4.03%, the highest since July 2015 and up from 3.94% a week earlier. The rate on 15-year home loans climbed to 3.25%, up from 3.14% last week and highest since January. Long-term U.S. interest rates have climbed since Trump was elected Nov. 8. That is largely because bond investors believe the president-elect's plan to cut taxes and spend massively on roads, bridges, airports and other infrastructure could ignite inflation. When they foresee rising inflation, investors demand higher long-term rates and pay lower prices for bonds. The expectations of economic stimulus from tax cuts and higher infrastructure spending that are driving up interest rates have also pushed stocks higher. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 19,000 for the first time.

Some minor help to home buyers did come Wednesday when the Federal Housing Finance Agency raised the loan limits on so-called conforming mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which tend to have cheaper rates than other loans. In high-cost counties, including Los Angeles and Orange, the loan limit rose from $625,500 to $636,150. In lower cost counties, including Riverside and San Bernardino, the limit climbed from $417,000 to $424,100. Still, many homes in Southern California cost far more than those ceilings and rising mortgage rates pose a threat to the housing market. Low rates had fueled a rally in home sales. The National Assn. of Realtors said Tuesday that sales of existing homes rose 2% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.6 million — the strongest pace since February 2007. Higher interest rates, along with rising house prices, could reduce demand for housing. For the moment though, it appears that rising rates are having the opposite effect as buyers rush

to purchase a home, fearful that rates will only climb further. The Mortgage Bankers Assn. said Wednesday that mortgage applications for new sales jumped 13% in the week ended Nov. 18, compared with the previous week. “People are panicked and jumping in to buy,” Richard T. Cirelli, head of RTC Mortgage Corp. in Laguna Beach. To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country between Monday and Wednesday each week. The average doesn't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1% of the loan amount. The average fee for a 30-year mortgage was unchanged at 0.5 point. The fee on 15-year loans stayed at 0.5 point. Rates on adjustable five-year loans climbed to 3.12% this week from 3.07%. The fee was unchanged at 0.4 point.

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2016 issue 11

Builders Outlook

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Santos, to and is an e around. was one ral “how inventor Technolo ntial customers. opportunity to of the nice “I thought to” book compani and gy today Visit Sho this st shows s es including innovator for at www.sho w we’ve had several relations wtechnol Home Dep in hip ogy.com informati Depot and with Rubber Maid ot. “My to get on on the Spring show Lowes is and Hom really a . great thing e to See Mor e Photos Page 8

Fall Hom e and Garden Show attracts thousand s

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Builders Outlook

2016 issue 11

EPAB Celebrates 70 Years

Association continues tradition of serving the home building industry and housing the El Paso community.

Join us as we take a look back at the housing market in El Paso in our special 12 part editorial series. Our first article appeared in the October Issue of Builders Outlook and is available online. at: https://issuu.com/snappypublishing/docs/outlook2016issue10r

Part 2 The 1950’s By Ray Adauto

he 1950’s brought about some serious changes to the housing markets in the U.S. and frankly around the world. Since the United States was sparred the type of fighting that took place in Europe and Asia the neighborhoods here were not completely destroyed and therefore didn’t require a complete rebuild. What did happen however is that there was such a huge demand for rebuilding in Europe and Asia that significant manpower and materials were sent overseas while the supplies in the United States were kept at a minimum. It was complicating an already

complicated situation because the returning veterans were eager to start families and get civilian life back on track. El Paso had seen a big growth spurt during the war and quickly became one of the Southwest’s most prominent cities. El Paso was a business hub outmaneuvering cities like San Antonio, Austin, Tucson, Phoenix and Albuquerque. El Paso was expanding its size but unfortunately in the late 50’s and early 60’s we started to lose our status as a go to city. But in the 1950’s it was a good time to be a builder in El Paso as housing and commercial real estate took off. The main arteries into and out of the city were streets like Alameda, North Loop, Montana, Mesa. There was no I-10 but there was talk of one coming on the heels of President Dwight Eisenhower’s plan for a strategic road system to link the east coast to the west coast. El Paso had a history of the railroad doing that and also including traffic from Mexico and into Canada. In a nutshell El Paso would be in line for part of the Eisenhower plan and that would mean growth. The Home Builders Association of El Paso was a fledgling association as were every other builders association across the USA. It was policies after WW II that had significant impact on what housing would look like in the second half of the 20th century. I Washington, D.C. the talk was about housing returning vets in

apartment like structures and FHA was being told that their lending practices would only encompass multifamily housing. Across the country and including El Paso it was clear that the private sector, led by the now infamous Levittown in Pennsylvania, single family housing was what the returning soldiers wanted for their family. It created another new phenomenon called “the suburbs”. It was based on the theory that Levittown professed, build a home cheap enough to sell enough. The actual thought was this: "Any fool can build homes—what counts is how many you can sell for how little." Said William J. Levitt. In 1950, Time Magazine estimated that Levitt and Sons built one out of every 8 houses in United States. Levitt remained the nation’s largest home builder through most of the 1950s. Yes and that sentiment rose in El Paso as well. It was during the 1950’s that some of the more familiar parts of El Paso were developed including Manhattan Heights, Mission Hills, Beaumont, Logan Heights and Clardy Fox. William J. Elliott one of the founders of the HBA El Paso was instrumental in those developments. The land east of Concordia cemetery was for the most part growth areas until the early 60’s while Logan Heights was the home of the “soldiers”. Why is really everything to do with being near Fort Bliss and easy terms

for military. In Manhattan Heights there had been some older areas being developed but Dyer Street became the gateway to the base and that area exploded. There is some older historic homes around Memorial Park but up around the Grandview Park area most of those homes were built in the 1950’s, including the house I was born into. The decade for the association began when George Hervey, prominent El Paso businessman took the helm as President for two years, 50 and 51. He was followed by Walter Driver (1952), Charles Foster (1953), Ross Borrett (1954), William Mayfield (1955), Harry Buckley (1956), Tony Passero (1957), Irwin Brand (1958), and closing the decade by Joe Yarbrough (1959). Some of these men have relatives active in today’s association. If you’re wondering when you go east and get on Yarbrough guess who it’s named after? Right, it is Joe Yarbrough. We’d like to hear some stories from the descendants of the leadership from the 1950’s, and hope that we can publish some of that. The 1950’s saw lots of changes for El Paso but the biggest change was coming just into the new decade of the 60’s. We’ll tackle some of that history in the next installment of “The 70th Anniversary” of the El Paso Association of Builders.

2016 Issue 11

Association News & Events

Builders Outlook

If you have an event or meeting that you would like to share with EPAB members, please submit your information to: margaret1@elpasobuilders.com CONDOLENCES

UPCOMING EVENTS DECEMBER 2 INSTALATION MARRIOTT HOTEL JANUARY 11 BOARD MEETING 12NOON EPAB OFFICE FEBRUARY 8 BOARD MEETING 11:00 GENERAL MEETING 12:00 El Paso Club FEBRUARY 22 RALLY DAY AUSTIN, TX

NEW MEMBERS Loyalty Homes, LLC Contact: Gustavo Loy 866 Silent View Place El Paso, Texas 79928 (915) 471-1894

SODA SPONSOR BUILDERS SOURCE APPLIANCE GALLERY

We mourn the loss of a longtime member Larry A. Baskind. Condolences to his family and law partner.

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