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OFHEO's conforming loan limits will not decrease
from the current level of $417,000 in 2009 or any subsequent year, per a newly announced decision by the agency that's in keeping with what NAHB has advocated.
NAHB applauded the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) on March 26 for its decision that effectively reverses previously proposed guidelines that could have resulted in lower conforming loan limits in future years. "This move is a step in the right direction to ensure that there is an adequate availability of funds for the refinancing of loans and for new loans," noted NAHB EVP and CEO Jerry Howard in an official statement released the day of the announcement. OFHEO also said that the conforming loan limit will not increase until cumulative increases in house prices exceed cumulative decreases since the $417,000 limit was first reached. This is consistent with current practice for the annual loan limit adjustment, which NAHB supports, and with rec ommendations put forth by NAHB and other industry groups. Of course, the announcement has no impact on the temporary increase in the conforming loan limit for high-cost areas that was recently established under the Economic Stimulus Act and that is set to expire at the end of this year.
A good decision by the Federal Housing Finance Board
that was announced on March 24 will allow the Federal Home Loan Banks to temporarily increase their holdings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities to help stabilize the mortgage finance market. In an NAHB statement applauding the move, EVP and CEO Jerry Howard said "This prudent action to allow the Federal Home Loan Banks to double their holdings of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) for a two-year period will help to alleviate the mortgage credit crunch by potentially injecting more than $100 billion into the MBS market." NAHB also noted that in order to get mortgage money flowing again, Congress should move quickly to enact FHA modernization and comprehensive reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
New-home sales continued downward in February
with a 1.8% decline to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000 units, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Commerce Department, released March 26. This sales pace was about 30% below a year earlier and down 58% from the peak in July 2005. While builders have been doing everything in their power to sell homes and reduce the supply of homes on the market, so far at least, buyer demand remains quite weak heading into the spring home buying season. Which is all the more reason that Congress needs to act decisively upon its return from the Easter recess to enact measures -- such as a temporary home buyer tax credit, FHA modernization and GSE oversight r eform -- that can help get housing moving again and keep our industry from dragging the overall economy into recession. With more home builders reporting significant traffic of prospective buyers through their model homes in recent weeks, it stands to reason that such additional stimulative measures could have substantial positive impacts on both housing and the economy, NAHB noted in its press release.
The latest Census Bureau estimates of population growth
indicate that Texas is gaining more new residents than any other state, with four of the top metropolitan areas in the country in terms of numerical population growth. At the top of the list that Census produced on March 27, the Dallas-Fort Worth area added more than 162,000 residents between July 2006 and July 2007. Other Texas metros in the top 10 included Houston, Austin and San Antonio. Also near the top was Atlanta, which scored the second-largest population boost of more than 151,000 new residents. Coming in at No. 3 was Phoenix, Ariz., followed by Houston; Riverside, Calif.; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Austin; Las Vegas; and San Antonio, in that order. Of the 50 fastest-growing metros, more than half (27) were in the South and 20 were in the West. On the other side of the coin, Detroit's populati on declined by more than three times the drop in any other area, with 27,300 people exiting the metro over the past year. Meanwhile, other metros with out-migration of more than 5,000 people included Pittsburgh, Pa.; Cleveland, Ohio; Columbus, Ga.; Youngstown, Ohio; and Buffalo, N.Y. The South's first-place standing for population growth was largely credited to the region's relatively strong local economies and affordable housing prices. Read more about the Census numbers here.
Ensuring a talented workforce for years to come
in the residential construction industry is an achievable goal that the National Housing Endowment is helping make a reality with substantial grants to four institutions of higher education. The $100,000 Homebuilding Education Leadership (HELP) Grants are awarded for purposes of helping colleges and universities create, expand or enhance existing residential construction management programs. Newly awarded grant recipients include:
California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, Calif. This school will use their HELP funding to support the development of a unique and challenging curriculum.
Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham, Ala. Funds will be devoted to expanding the school's existing construction management program and its student recruitment efforts.
John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill. This school will establish an NAHB student chapter and advisory board and incorporate Residential Constructio n Academy classes into its curriculum.
Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Grant money will help the school build upon the strengths of its existing program, where 80% of graduates currently go to work in the residential construction industry each year.
NAHB bids farewell to Philip Polivchak,
President emeritus and founder of our federation's Home Builders Institute (HBI) workforce development arm, who passed away on March 20 at the age of 74. For more than three decades, Phil directed and managed HBI, which is our non-profit organization that trains and places young people so that they can pursue productive careers in the construction industry. Over the years, he built a nationwide network of skills training programs in seven crafts that are offered through more than 100 state and local HBAs and 65 federally operated Job Corps Centers. The result -- the country's largest cra ft training program serving the housing and light commercial building industry. So far, more than 250,000 young men and women have participated in these training programs since their inception in 1967. To say the least, Phil had an extensive resume that included serving as an advisor to the U.S. Departments of Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services and Defense. He also served on numerous Presidential committees, including the President's National Committee-Jobs for Veterans Program and others. Surely the NAHB family and the entire residential construction industry has lost one of its most dedicated servants and loyal proponents. Just as certainly, Phil's memory will live on through the outstanding programs he helped create and the people whose careers have been built through those efforts.
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