The entire NAHB leadership team would like to thank everyone who helped make National Membership Day such an energetic, fun and successful event on May 25. The NAHB headquarters in Washington were transformed into a superhero "hotspot," where our "Membership Defenders" carried out their extremely important mission. We had a great time hearing from our membership committees and ace recruiters across the country, and we sincerely appreciate the tremendous effort that everyone made to push our membership campaign into overdrive. When the smoke had cleared and the final tally was in, nearly 4,400 new members and council members had been recruited — an encouraging result in light of today's economic climate.  Every new member makes a difference, and we appreciate the efforts of all those who helped bring in new lifeblood to our Association this month. Whether your HBA rounded up 100 recruits or even just 1, congratulations are definitely in order. Of course, a little friendly competition doesn't hurt, and we know you want the run-down on who out-achieved all the over-achievers this time around. So here are the early results, just in:


Top 10 States    Member Pledges
North Carolina    448
Tennessee          341
South Carolina   333
Virginia                 333
Washington         275
Texas                    268
Florida                  264
Oregon                 202
Michigan              112
Wisconsin           111

Top 5 Local Associations
Hilton Head HBA
Memphis Area HBA
HBA of Greater Columbia (South Carolina)
MBA of King & Snohomish Counties
HBA of Raleigh & Wake County

NAHB Council Top Performers
NAHB Remodelers
National Sales & Marketing Council
Women's Council  

Please read the June 1 edition of Nation's Building News for complete National Membership Day coverage and an expanded list of winners. Contact: Gabrielle Alahouzos, 800-368-5242, x8351.

NAHB's work with members of Congress to address the housing production credit crisis has led to the introduction of new legislation that would alleviate the severe lack of credit for acquisition, development and construction financing. Introduced by Reps. Brad Miller (D-NC) and original cosponsors Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Joe Baca (D-CA) on May 26, the Residential Construction Lending Act would create a new residential construction loan guarantee program within the Treasury Department to provide loans to builders with viable construction projects. Designed to unfreeze credit for small home building firms, the measure would expand the flow of credit to residential builders on competitive terms. Moving on several fronts, NAHB is now urging Congress to act quickly to advance this bill. We have already activated our grassroots network, encouraging NAHB members to call, visit or email their representatives while those officials are in their home districts for the week-long Memorial Day congressional recess. NAHB's Legislative Alert sent out through our BuilderLink channel asked builders to call on their members of Congress to co-sponsor H.R. 5409 to help restore the flow of credit to housing, provide jobs and give a meaningful lift to the economy. NAHB has also sent letters to every member of Congress with this request, noting the legislation's critical importance to the housing industry and designating support for the bill as a "key co-sponsorship" — the same priority term given when the association calls for a "key vote" on other crucial housing measures. In addition, an NAHB press release sent out on May 27 applauded Reps. Miller, Maloney and Baca for taking the lead to address the housing production credit crisis in a meaningful and effective way. Stay tuned to this report and Nation's Building News for all the latest developments. For more information on the bill, contact Scott Meyer, 800-368-5242, x8144. For more on our grassroots efforts and Legislative Alert, contact Nicholas Gentile, x8542. 

A newly issued draft interpretive rule from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that changes the definition of "shower heads" to "shower valves" has sparked significant concern among NAHB members, members of the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute and other groups. The problem is that this change in definition, which was published in the Federal Register on May 19, may conflict with the applicability of current water conservation standards for showerheads, and could therefore effectively lead to a ban on multiple outlet shower systems such as hand showers, body sprays, gang showers and others that have become very popular in some market segments. Although DOE has labeled its showerhead rule as an "interpretive" rule (which could be implemented without public comment), NAHB believes that the proposed definition rule is substantive in nature and should therefore be subject to the traditional notice-and-comment rulemaking procedures set forth in the U.S. Administrative Procedures Act. That said, NAHB's legal affairs, regulatory policy and codes and standards experts are now evaluating the notice in preparation for filing our comments to DOE by the June 18 deadline. For more information, please read DOE's draft of the interpretive rule and the Federal Register notice. Comments to the DOE can be emailed directly to the agency at: Showerhead_Guidance_Comments@hq.doe.gov. Your NAHB contact is Larry Brown, 800-368-5242, x8565.

Now that the home buyer tax credit program has ridden into the sunset, it's important to emphasize to today's consumers all of the great reasons that are still out there to purchase a new home. With this in mind, NAHB's popular virtual brochure for consumers, titled "Opportunity Knocks," has been refreshed and updated for your use. The brochure highlights the federal tax benefits of owning a home, the difference that even a small increase in interest rates can make on a monthly mortgage payment, and the solid value of homeownership over the long-term. It's available as a PDF file that NAHB members can download for free at www.nahb.org/homebuyerbrochure. NAHB members and HBAs are encouraged to post this resource to your websites, and to print it for distribution in your sales offices and home shows. It's also a great information source to provide to your local newspaper. If you have questions about the brochure or how to use it in your local media or public relations efforts, contact Gwyn Donohue, 800-368-5242, x8447.

Newly released data from the federal government on May 26 confirmed that new-home sales surged for a second consecutive month in April as consumers rushed to beat the deadline for expiring home buyer tax credits. After a nearly 30% gain in March (from a dismally low number charted this snowy February), new-home sales rose another 14.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000 units in April. That was the strongest pace of sales activity we've seen since May of 2008. According to NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe, "It stands to reason that this activity will level off over the next few months, as sales that would have occurred during that time were likely pulled forward to meet the April deadline." However, he said, today's favorable home buying conditions (including exceptionally low mortgage rates), the recovering job market and reviving consumer confidence should help take the place of tax incentives to generate buyer demand going forward. Meanwhile, the latest surge in buying activity has helped thin standing inventories of unsold new homes to near-historic lows. As of April, that inventory was pegged at 212,000 units, its slimmest measure since October 1968. This amounts to a modest five-month supply at the current sales pace. Read our press release or the government's report online for more.  

Fifteen builders, remodelers and other housing professionals were honored for their outstanding acheivements in the field of green building at the recent NAHB National Green Building Conference in Raleigh, N.C., this May. Below is a list of winners in each category; please see our press release for more information. Congratulations to all of our honorees!  Contact: MondayMorningQuestions@nahb.org.

Project of the Year Awards
Single Family-Custom/Luxury: Cunningham Quill Architects, Washington, DC
The Charity Works Greenhouse

Single Family-Custom/Affordable: J.R. Construction Building & Design LLC, Petoskey, MI
The Cottage Project

Single Family-Production/Luxury: New World Home, for a home constructed in Marrietta, GA
Model NOMG4
 
Single Family-Production/Affordable: Mungo Construction LLC, Columbia, SC
Rosewood Hills

Multifamily Luxury: Crescent Resources LLC, Washington, DC
Circle at Concord Mills in Concord, NC

Multifamily Affordable: Gundaker Commercial Group, Inc., for a project in Shiloh, IL
Wingate Manor

Development:  Newland Communities, for a residential subsdivision in Lithia, FL
Fishhawk Ranch

Remodeling — Green Street Development, Phoenix, AZ

Advocate of the Year Awards
Green Remodeling Advocate — Philip Beere, Green Street Development, Phoenix, AZ
Builder Advocate — Michael Chandler, Chandler Design-Build, Chapel Hill, NC
Corporate Advocate — Pardee Homes, Los Angeles, CA
Individual Advocate — John Barrows, Wainscott, NY
State/Local Government Advocate — Platte County, MO

Program of the Year Awards
Green Program — Green Home Builders of the Triangle (NC) 
New Green Building Program — HBA of Delaware

NAHB offices will be closed for the federal holiday on Monday, May 31. Of course, we'll be right back to business on Tuesday, June 1, which is also when the next edition of Nation's Building News will be published — so stay tuned for that. Until then, we hope all of our readers have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.