Commonwealth Rules Against PBA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Laura Pyne
August 26, 2010
717-730-4380, ext. 3011 (office)
717-712-3984 (cell)
lpyne@PaBuilders.org
COMMONWEALTH COURT RULES AGAINST PENNSYLVANIA’S NEW HOMEBUYERS
LEMOYNE, Pa. – On August 25, 2010 Commonwealth Court ruled unanimously
against new homebuyers through their chief advocate the Pennsylvania
Builders Association in the case to roll back the 2009 Uniform
Construction Code to the 2006 Code on constitutional grounds.
“We are obviously disappointed in this ruling,” said PBA
Executive Vice President Louis J. Biacchi. “It is now necessary for the
legislature to take action,” he continued.
PBA has 30 days to appeal the decision to the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court, but the judicial process leading to a reversal could take
all of 2011.
“This highlights the need for legislative action as the
statewide sprinkler mandate takes effect January 1, 2011 for
single-family homes. In fact, not pushing this issue to a vote in the
Senate and House of Representatives is the same as voting against new
homebuyers across the state by forcing this expensive sprinkler mandate
on them,” Biacchi explained.
The estimated added cost of the 2009 Code changes to a new home
in Pennsylvania is $13,000 between mandatory sprinklers and other
requirements. This is not acceptable, particularly during a time when
housing starts have dropped to their lowest level since World War II and
our country is in danger of slipping into a deeper recession.
New Home Sales at Record Low
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Paul Lopez
202-266-8409
plopez@nahb.org
www.nahb.org
New-Homes Sales Fall to Record Low in July
WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 – Sales of newly built, single-family homes declined
12.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 276,000 units in July,
according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department today. This was
the lowest sales rate for new homes on record.
“Today’s report, though not unexpected, is disappointing in view of the
improvement in sales activity that we saw in June,” said Bob Jones, chairman
of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from
Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “Potential home buyers have become very hesitant due
to uncertainty about the economy and job market, and are putting off the
decision to buy until they feel more confident.”
“The slow pace of economic recovery and worries about job security are
weighing heavily on the minds of potential home buyers right now,” agreed
NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “As a result, the housing market is
clearly in a holding pattern. That said, NAHB does not project that a
double-dip recession is in the cards, and we are looking for employment
gains later this year to help bolster sales activity moving forward.”
Sales of new homes fell across every region in July, with a 13.9 percent
decline registered in the Northeast, an 8.3 percent decline in the Midwest,
an 8.7 percent decline in the South and a 25.4 percent decline in the West.
Meanwhile, the latest figures indicated that builders are keeping a tight
rein on the inventory of new homes for sale. That inventory remained
unchanged at 210,000 units in July. However, due to the slower pace of sales
activity, the month’s supply of homes rose to 9.1 from 8.0 in the previous
month.
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ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based
trade association representing more than 175,000 members involved in home
building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management,
subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and
other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB is
affiliated with 800 state and local home builders associations around the
country.
Builder Confidence Declines for 3rd Month
For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Paul Lopez
202-266-8409
plopez@nahb.org
www.nahb.org
BUILDER CONFIDENCE DECLINES IN AUGUST
WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 – Builder confidence in the market for newly built,
single-family homes edged down for a third consecutive month in August,
according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo
Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The HMI declined one point to
13, its lowest level since March of 2009.
“Builders are expressing the same concerns that they are hearing from
consumers right now, particularly the sense that the overall economy and job
market aren’t gaining any traction,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a home
builder from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “Meanwhile, many continue to report
that problems with inaccurate appraisals, competition from the large number
of distressed properties on the market, and tight consumer lending
conditions are causing them to lose potential sales.”
“Today’s report reflects single-family home builders’ concerns about current
and future economic conditions and about the increasing hesitancy they are
seeing among potential home buyers,” added NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.
“It also reflects the frustration that builders are feeling regarding the
effects that foreclosed property sales are having on the new-homes market,
with 87 percent of respondents reporting that their market has been
negatively impacted by foreclosures.” Even so, he noted, NAHB continues to
project that modest job gains, historically low mortgage rates and pent-up
demand will ensure a better housing market in the second half of 2010 than
in the first half.
Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for more than 20
years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions
of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six
months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate
traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to
very low.” Scores from each component are then used to calculate a
seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more
builders view conditions as good than poor.
Two out of three of the HMI’s component indexes fell in August. The
component gauging current sales conditions declined one point to 14, while
the component gauging sales expectations for the next six months declined
three points to 18. The component gauging traffic of prospective buyers held
unchanged at 10.
Meanwhile, three out of four regions posted HMI declines in August. A
six-point decline to 18 in the Northeast partially offset a big gain in that
region in the previous month, while the South and West each posted one-point
declines to 13 and 8, respectively. The HMI for the Midwest held even at 15
in August.
Please visit www.nahb.org/hmi for tables, historic data and details.