Blog: Building Alaska
Blogs 2011
03/12/12Home Builders Stress Need to Prevent Taxation on Phantom IncomeNAHB this week called on Congress to take measures to prevent taxation on “phantom income” in order to help small businesses to avoid major tax liabilities on income never received. |
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03/05/12NAHB Remodelers Applauds Inhofe Bill to Improve Lead Paint Rule and Reduce Regulatory BurdenThe National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Remodelers commended Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) for introducing the Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2012 (S. 2148) to improve the lead paint rule for home owners and remodelers who must comply with the costly work practices and record keeping requirements of the rule. The bill was introduced with five original co-sponsors: Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), David Vitter (R-La.), Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). |
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02/20/12Housing Affordability Reaches Record Level as Tight Credit Conditions Impede Housing MarketNationwide housing affordability, as measured by the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), rose to a record level during the fourth quarter of 2011, while prospective home buyers continued to feel the constraints of tighter credit standards and a soft economy. |
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02/03/12N. Claiborne Porter, CGP, CGR, Named 2011 Certified Graduate Remodeler of the Year by NAHBN. Claiborne Porter, CGP, CGR, has been named the 2011 Certified Graduate Remodeler (CGR) of the Year by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in recognition of his successful efforts to raise awareness of this educational designation for remodelers. |
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01/19/12Home Builders Still Supporting Communities, Despite DownturnDuring the holidays, many Americans pause to reflect on the year that is coming to an end. There was no relief in 2011 for the home building industry, which has been devastated by the economic downturn. Thousands of builders went out of business and many others continue to struggle to make ends meet on a daily basis. Yet home builders around the country are still putting aside their challenges to help less fortunate members of their communities. |
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01/19/12Builder Confidence Rises Fourth Consecutive Time in JanuaryBuilder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes continued to climb for a fourth consecutive month in January, rising four points to 25 on the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. This is the highest level the index has attained since June of 2007. |
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01/06/12Young Households Count on the Mortgage Interest DeductionHomeownership, the foundation of the American Dream and the American economy, is under attack. Lawmakers are considering tampering with the mortgage interest deduction—which has been part of the tax code since its inception in 1913—in a bid to reduce the federal deficit. |
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12/19/11TWENTY METROS JOIN LISTOF IMPROVING HOUSING MARKETS IN DECEMBERThe number of improving housing markets continued to expand for a fourth consecutive month in December, rising from 30 to 41 on the latest National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI), released today. |
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12/12/11Statement From NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen on Proposal to Raise MortgageWASHINGTON, Dec. 12 - Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev., today issued the following statement on a congressional plan to raise fees charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and use them to help pay for an extension of this year's payroll tax cut through 2012: "Congress is essentially proposing to raise taxes on millions of potential home buyers in order to pay for a payroll tax cut and other non-housing legislative initiatives. With the housing market struggling to regain its footing, such a short-sighted move would be extremely counterproductive and threaten the fragile economic recovery. "The guarantee fees (g-fees) that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge lenders to... |
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11/18/11Home Builders Applaud Congress For Restoring Higher FHA Loan LimitsThe NAHB today applauded Congress for reinstating for another two years the higher conforming loan limits for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), noting that this is an important step to help mend the struggling housing market. |
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11/14/11Congress attacking mortgage interest deduction despite public supportToday, the nation faces an unprecedented assault on housing that threatens to derail nearly 100 years of national policy promoting the value of homeownership, and the public remains largely unaware of the potential catastrophe that lies ahead. |
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11/07/11Home Builders Weigh In on Garrett’s Housing Finance ProposalRep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises, on Nov. 3 held his first hearing on his discussion draft legislation to reform the nation’s mortgage markets. |
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10/31/11Improving Markets Index - Anchorage, AK MSANAHB recently unveiled an index that tracks housing markets on the mend — the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index. |
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10/16/11A Tax Increase on Millions of Home OwnersPolicymakers looking to target the mortgage interest deduction in the name of tax reform should think twice before imposing a huge tax increase on millions of middle-class home owners that would sink the nascent housing and economic recovery. |
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10/07/11Number of Improving Housing Markets Nearly Doubles in OctoberThe second edition of the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI), released today, shows 23 individual housing markets now qualifying as “improving” under the new gauge’s parameters. This is nearly double the 12 housing markets that made the list last month. |
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09/30/11Meeting Alaska’s Construction Workforce NeedsAlaska Works Partnership’s (AWP’s) Women-In-The-Trades program along with Anchorage and Fairbanks Construction Academies are helping to meet the workforce needs of Alaska’s construction industry. Construction is Alaska’s third largest industry, paying the state’s second highest wages, and accounts for 20 percent of Alaska’s economy.* That means Alaska needs skilled workers to fill construction jobs across the state. |
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09/30/11Congress Fails to Act to Stop Loan Limit Decline But Could Reinstate Higher LevelsDespite an industry-wide legislative and grassroots push to stave off a reduction in the size of federally approved home loan guarantees, Congress failed to act, leaving millions of potential home buyers with the prospect of facing higher mortgage interest rates and downpayment costs and other less favorable loan terms. |
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09/24/11Building the American Dream in the Midst of an Industry NightmareThe building industry has slowly been watching the American dream of home ownership turn into a bad case of insomnia where builders are restless to build and keep the dream alive, but homebuyers aren’t interested in dreaming. Our current economic and political environment have been catalysts, and the result is a concoction similar to that of a Moltov cocktail. We’ve all been watching it burn, feeling hopeless and helpless. But the American dream has real merit, and it’s our job to remind people (and our politicians) just how important the construction industry is to our way of life. In addition to holding our politicians accountable and reminding them that the construction industry gives our citizens access to the American dream, we also need to do our part by... |
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09/21/11Effluent Limitation GuidelinesNAHB has been working hard over the past three years to convince EPA not to issue a numeric Effluent Limitation Guideline (ELG) for the construction industry. If adopted, a numeric limit would require construction site operators to install costly treatment systems, sample stormwater discharges, and self report sampling data to EPA or their state permitting authority–adding thousands to the average home cost. |
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09/21/11Lee receives certificationsGrayling Construction’s Cody Lee receives CGR and CGP certifications |
09/21/11New Improving Market Index Highlights 12 Metro Areas Showing Sustained Economic RecoveryThe National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released its first NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI), a new economic index revealing metropolitan areas that have shown improvement for at least six months in three key economic areas—housing permits, employment and housing prices. The list of metropolitan areas includes: Alexandria, LA Anchorage, AK Bangor, ME Bismarck, ND Casper, WY Fairbanks, AK Fayetteville, NC Houma, LA Midland, TX New Orleans, LA Pittsburgh, PA Waco, TX... |
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09/09/11Municipality of Anchorage must improve permit processFor several years now we at the Anchorage Home Builders Association (AHBA) have been experiencing difficulties in getting timely service from the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) Department of Development Services. The impact to the residential construction industry is huge. As of June '11 new home starts are below June '10 and down by over half of June '05 while housing demand and the cost of rent are going up, fast! So what's going on? First the permit submittal and plan review technicians have been left so short staffed that they often are buried by the backed up files. With no light at the end of the tunnel MOA’s productivity seems to slow to a creep while the industry burns rubber waiting for the light to turn green. This is not a new issue, in years past... |
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