Green Act The Right Approach for Affordable, Sustainable Homes, Says NAHB

In testimony before Congress on June 11, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) praised H.R. 2336, the GREEN Act of 2009, which sets new green building and sustainability benchmarks for properties that get financial assistance from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.But NAHB President Jerry Howard also left members with a warning: H.R. 2454, the other major piece of climate change legislation now before Congress, includes requirements that conflict with H.R. 2336 - making the GREEN Act obsolete before it's even signed."I am hopeful that this Subcommittee will be able to restore the balance necessary to truly incentivize green building and preserve affordability as the debate over climate change continues," Howard said. "It would be terribly disappointing to see the good faith effort and collaborative work on the GREEN Act displaced with unworkable federal mandates as envisioned in H.R. 2454."Howard told lawmakers on the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity that the association's members agree with the bill's approach, which will ensure cost-effective energy-efficiency improvements to HUD-financed homes.In accompanying written testimony, Howard detailed the strides NAHB members have made toward the creation of more sustainable housing stock and the education, certification and training programs the association has launched to further that growth."We have a major role to play in the manner in which energy efficiency and sustainable technologies are introduced into the housing stock," Howard said. "Despite the downturn, NAHB has not wavered in its commitment to promoting green building and energy efficiency in a manner that is affordable and effective, and legitimately improves energy efficiency for the next generation of housing."Howard asked Congress to rework some sections of GREEN Act's text: It is unclear in the current draft whether new efficiency requirements apply to Federal Housing Authority-financed home purchases as well as to direct subsidy programs or competitive grants."The scope of the GREEN Act and the new programs that it creates is ambitious, but the intent is thoughtful and NAHB hopes that the resources will ultimately be available to develop the programs into effective tools to promote sustainable principles," he said.Source: NAHB.org

Only 16 Days until the St Jude Dream Home Giveaway!!

Don't miss your chance to win this years gorgeous home located at 1515 West Gaslight Drive, in the Lions Gate Subdivision. This years home was built by the HBA Charitable Foundation with construction coordinated by Sam Bradley Homes and is valued at $375,000. This four bedroom, three bathroom, 3,384 square foot home features a "Women-Centric" designed floor plan. With this in mind, there is plenty of storage, an open floor plan for easy entertaining, laundry on each floor so you don't have to carry it up and down the stairs, a coffee bar in the master bathroom and an outdoor kitchen!

Today's feature is the living room! This gorgeous living room, is open to the front foyer, the kitchen, and has access to one of the two screened in porches for easy entertaining. It also has a fireplace and a built-in flat screen television that remains with the house. Special thanks to the subs that made this gorgeous living room possible: Wood floor supplied by Vermillion and installed by Keith's Flooring; Stair Handrails by Specialty Stairs & Rail; Fireplace from Missouri Insulation; Fireplace stone front provided by Acme Brick, installed by Rosalles Masonry; Fireplace mantle, interior columns and carpentry by J&M Custom Carpentry; Central Vac from Central Cleaning Systems; Stairway cabinetry from Cabinet Concepts by Design; TV and surround sound system from Stereo One; Interior trim and crown molding from White River Hardwoods; Interior paint from Sherwin Williams, painted by PHD Painting.

Please come visit the MSU Men's Basketball team and Boomer, the mascot, this Saturday, at the house, from 10:00-11:00 a.m. The HBA Parade of Homes will be next Friday, June 19th - Sunday, June 21st and Friday, June 26th - Sunday, June 28th. You can see more of the St. Jude Dream Home on the HBA Parade of Home tour by going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZgq-FRiBjs.

As well as the home, you could win a prize valued at $1,000 or more! These great prizes include: a $1,020 gift certificate courtesy of Touch and Flame Steakhouse and Wine Bar, Custom iron piece courtesy of Carnahan White, $1,000 Visa gift card courtesy of Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realtors, $1,000 shopping spree at Hancock Fabrics, $1,000 gift certificate at San Francisco Oven, Custom Black Widow Archery Bow courtesy of Black Widow Custom Bows, $1,000 worth of gift certificates courtesy of Back Yard Burgers, Area rug courtesy of Flooring America, $1,000 gift certificate for Metro products courtesy of Metro Builders Supply, Photography package courtesy of Vicki Byerley Photography and a storm shelter valued at $4,500 courtesy of Missouri Storm Shelters, Inc.

As the ticket count is now up to 2,930, please don't wait to buy your tickets, as we are looking forward to a sell-out of 6,500 tickets. You can purchase your tickets at Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realtors, Hancock Fabrics, Family Pharmacy, San Francisco Oven, www.stjudedreamhome.org, 800-870-2980, or at any of the open houses. The Springfield Dream Home is now open every Saturday 9-5 and Sunday noon-5 until June 21st. Winners of the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway and other prizes will be drawn during the St. Jude television special on KSPR on Sunday, June 28, 2009.

Special thanks to our sponsors: HBA Charitable Foundation, Sam Bradley Homes, Lions Gate Subdivision, KSPR, KTTS 94.7, Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realtors, Family Pharmacy, Hancock Fabrics, San Francisco Oven and Epsilon Sigma Alpha.

Please feel free to send this to all your friends, family and partners!

Event conducted by ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Proceeds benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

BREAKING NEWS - Pending Home Sales Up Three Months In A Row

RISMEDIA, June 2, 2009-Record low mortgage interest rates boosted pending home sales for the third consecutive month, with some benefit now from the first-time buyer tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in April, rose 6.7% to 90.3 from a reading of 84.6 in March, and is 3.2% above April 2008 when it was 87.5.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said buyers are responding to very favorable market conditions. “Housing affordability conditions have been at historic highs, but now the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit is beginning to impact the market,” he said. “Since first-time buyers must finalize their purchase by November 30 to get the credit, we expect greater activity in the months ahead, and that should spark more sales by repeat buyers.”
The Pending Home Sales Index in the Northeast shot up 32.6% to 78.9 in April and is 0.8% above a year ago. In the Midwest the index rose 9.8% to 90.4 and is 11.1% above April 2008. The index in the South slipped 0.2% to 93.0 in April but is 3.5% higher than a year ago. In the West the index rose 1.8% to 94.8 but is 2.9% below April 2008.
NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said there are numerous buyer assistance programs around the country. “Some states are offering bridge loans that allow first-time buyers to use the tax credit for downpayment and closing costs, but there are many other local government and nonprofit programs available to buyers, depending on location,” he said.
“Just last week, HUD announced that qualifying buyers can use the tax credit for closing costs on FHA loans, to buy down the interest rate or make a larger downpayment. Buyers who are wondering about their options should contact a Realtor®, who can advise consumers on the housing assistance programs and resources available in a given area.”
NAR’s Housing Affordability Index is in record territory. The affordability index rose to 174.8 in April from an upwardly revised 171.9 in March, and was the second highest monthly reading on record after peaking at 176.9 in January of this year. The HAI is a broad measure of housing affordability using consistent values and assumptions over time, which examines the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income; tracking began in 1970.
A median-income family, earning $60,900, could afford a home costing $296,800 in April with a 20% downpayment, assuming 25% of gross income is devoted to mortgage principal and interest. Affordability conditions for first-time buyers with the same income and small downpayments are roughly 80% of that amount. The affordable price was well above the median existing single-family home price in April, which was $169,800.
Yun cautions that the reporting sample for pending home sales is smaller than that of existing-home sales, so it is subject to greater variability. “In addition, the relationship between contracts on pending home sales and closings on existing-home sales is taking longer than in the past for several reasons,” he said. “Mortgage processing time has increased, it is taking many months to close on those homes requiring short sales with lender approval, and some sales are falling through at the last moment.”
The total number of existing-home sales is expected to improve but with dramatic local market variation in the timing of recovery. “The market has already bottomed in some areas, but this is an unusual housing cycle with some areas improving rapidly while others languish or decline,” Yun said.
For more information, visit http://www.realtor.org/.

Keeping You Updated on the Market

MARKET RECAP

The future came sooner than many of us expected last week. We've been prodding, possibly even importuning, over the past few weeks for borrowers to lock in rates, and now it appears with good reason. Interest rates across the board spiked last week. Depending on who you asked and when, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose as much as one percentage point. Officially, Bankrate.com has the national average at around 5.5%, but its survey was conducted before the full brunt of the increase.
Various explanations were given for the spike in interest rates. Impending inflation was at the forefront, with one particularly animated pundit claiming U.S. inflation could approach Zimbabwe levels. Fact is, most people are already expecting some inflation down the road, so inflation alone was an unlikely reason. A more plausible explanation is that the Treasury Department has been issuing so much debt lately, $101 billion worth last week alone, that it simply swamped demand, so bond prices fell and the interest the Treasury had to pay to attract buyers rose.
At any rate, it's not the end of the world. Over the past 25 years, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has averaged around 7.8%. In 2007, the average rate was around 6.3%. And even last year, the average rate was around 6.2%. We wouldn't be surprised to see some easing in rates this week, but we still think the longer term trend will be higher; therefore, we still think now is as good a time as any to lock in that loan.
The big concern with last week's rate spike is that it could put downward pressure on home prices and sales. It's a legitimate concern, to be sure, given that existing home sales rose again in April to an annual pace of 4.68 million units, with about 45% of April's sales attributable to foreclosures and short sales. Meanwhile, new home sales continue to make positive strides, albeit slight, with sales rising to 352,000 units annually.
The good new is that homes remain affordable, at least when vetting the national numbers, which, admittedly, aren't always applicable to the local scene. That said, the median price for an existing home in April was $170,200, while the median price for a new home was $209,700.

Maintaining A Healthy Optimism !

There are a couple of reasons why we tend to accentuate the positive in these newsletters: one, the bad news is already thoroughly accentuated in the media; and two, the bad news is much more impactive to the human psyche than the good news. Science proves it. Daniel Kahneman won the Nobel Prize for his work on Prospect Theory, a key component of which is “myopic loss aversion.” Simply stated, humans have an asymmetric risk-reward utility curve, meaning the pain of losses looms much larger than a comparable potential gain.
Nassim Taleb explicated the relationship in Fooled By Randomness. The problem, according to Taleb, is that people are simply overwhelmed by what he calls “noise,” often the bad news. Taleb quantifies the pain by assuming, like Kahneman, that losses are felt greater than pain. Indeed, Taleb notes that some psychologists estimate the pain of loss is 2.5 times the pleasure of gain.
Imagine if you were to examine the news and it was split 50/50 between good and bad (which it isn't, but we'll assume it is for argument's sake). If you were to examine the news each hour over 12 hours, you would receive six hits of good news offset by six hits of bad news. Even though the news was evenly split, you'd be feeling 2.5 times more displeasure than pleasure. For that reason alone, we think we are providing good, logical balance. But for even more balance, it might be worthwhile at times to turn off the news altogether.

Keeping You Updated on the Market for the week of May 26, 2009

MARKET RECAP
As the economy sputters and putts along, many economists continue to look for signs the housing market is climbing out of the chasm dug by the subprime mortgage meltdown. Given the sentiment from homebuilders, some may say the housing market is finally making progress on scaling the chasm's often-slippery walls.
On that front, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose by two points (to 16) in May, reflecting greater confidence in the newly built residential housing market. The fact that the May index continued to tick up from April’s five-point increase provides confirming evidence that the improved confidence level was no fluke.
Despite growing optimism in the new-home market, many economists remain less sanguine on the prospect of an overall housing-market recovery, given that the number of new housing starts declined 12.8% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 units, the lowest pace on records dating back 50 years. But it is worth noting that much of the decline was concentrated in apartment construction, which tumbled 46.1%. On a brighter note, single-family home construction actually climbed 2.8%.
Mortgage-market trends, on the other hand, offer a promising, tangible sign that a sustained recovery is possible. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of purchase applications, though falling slightly last week, continues along a higher long-term trend, thanks to investors and home buyers taking advantage of lower home prices and stable, historically low mortgage rates. On the latter, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remains near record lows reached at the end of March.
Not to repeat ourselves on one theme too often, but mortgage rates are unlikely to go significantly lower. Many of the government's recent economic stimulus initiatives have increased the odds of more inflation down the road. And that's not just us talking: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser said prices may rise 2.5% in 2011, a rate well above central bankers’ preferred range, and cautioned against complacency on inflation – another reason we remain convinced that there is no time better than the present for getting a mortgage or for buying a home.

Bad News as Good News
There has been no shortage of media coverage on the foreclosure market over the past six months. In fact, the foreclosure market seems to be the only growth market left in the country, if you listen to some accounts. The bad news is that foreclosure activity is up 32% from last year, with one in every 374 US housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in April, the highest rate yet seen by RealtyTrac, which has tracked activity since January 2005.
The good news is that demand for these homes is growing. Indeed, Housingwire.com ran an article that basically stated foreclosed homes are becoming the “hot-ticket” item in real estate. In a survey by Trulia.com and RealtyTrac, 55% of survey participants indicate they are at least somewhat likely to consider purchasing a foreclosed home in the near future, compared to the 47% who said the same in November 2008.

Home Buyers Can Use $8,000 Tax Credit For Downpayments on FHA-Insured Loans

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan's decision to allow consumers to use the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit to help cover their downpayment and closing costs on FHA-insured mortgages will be a big boost to the housing market, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)."The biggest obstacle for first-time buyers is coming up with a downpayment," said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. "We commend Secretary Donovan for acting decisively to enable buyers to access the tax credit at the time of closing. This will help to stimulate home sales, stabilize housing and get the economy back on track."The measures announced by HUD would allow FHA-approved lenders; federal, state and local government agencies; and FHA-approved non-profit organizations to supply home buyers short-term or "bridge loans" up to the amount of the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit.Longer term loans secured by second liens can also be used by government agencies and FHA-approved non-profit organizations to facilitate home sales. Several state housing finance agencies have introduced such programs and a number of agencies are considering that possibility. More information about these programs can be found on the National Council of State Housing Agencies Web site at www.ncsha.org/section.cfm/3/34/2920.Previously, the home buyer would have been unable to access the tax credit until they filed their next annual tax return or an amended 2008 tax return and received the refund from the IRS. Robson and others NAHB leaders discussed this matter and other housing-related issues with Secretary Donovan last week."Secretary Donovan shares our view on the need for a housing and economic recovery," said Robson. "We appreciate his leadership in moving swiftly to help first-time home buyers to access the tax credit up-front at the time of closing. The timing could not have been better as we are in the midst of the crucial spring home buying season."The next step is to see how FHA-approved lenders use HUD's new guidelines to actually monetize the tax credit for first-time home buyers and structure the payback provisions of the loans. NAHB encourages lenders to act promptly to put these provisions into place. To qualify for the tax credit, first-time home buyers must actually close on their home purchase by Dec. 1, 2009. Buyers can take the credit on their 2008 or 2009 income tax return.For further information about the tax credit - including a detailed question and answer section and a number of home-buying resources for consumers - log on to NAHB's consumer Web site at http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/.Source: http://www.nahb.org/

Vote for St. Jude in Target's Bullseye Gives campaign

Thanks to a special Target promotion, Bullseye Gives, Facebook users have a new opportunity to help the kids of St. Jude. Target has earmarked $3 million to be distributed to St. Jude and other charity partners, and Facebook users will determine how much of the $3 million each charity receives.
Here’s how it works: For two weeks starting May 10, Target will feature St. Jude and nine other national charities on the Target Facebook page. Facebook users who visit www.facebook.com/target can vote once a day for the charity of their choice. All votes and the dollars allocated for each charity will be updated in real time on the Target Facebook page during the campaign.
On May 26, Target will announce the final donations to each charity, based on the percentage of the vote each charity received. So if St. Jude receives 50 percent of the votes, the Target gift to St. Jude would be $1.5 million.
Since 1946, Target Corporation has donated 5 percent of its income to support charities in communities throughout the nation. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.
The Bullseye Gives promotion runs from May 10-25 ... go to www.facebook.com/target every day to cast your vote for St. Jude. Tell a friend and help the kids of St. Jude.

May 2009