June 2020 2020
June National Home Ownership Month New Members & Renewals Virtual Town Hall Meeting Red Cross Blood Drive Remodeling Economic Changes after Covid Webinar Lowe’s Memorial Day Observance Turning Point for the Labor Market AAHBA Sporting Clay Shoot August Membership Meeting – Jackson EMC Membership App Download
IN THIS ISSUE:
As I was thinking about this months’ newsletter I recalled something that became very clear to me in a new way this past weekend. My Sunday School class has been meeting via Zoom for several weeks now and apparently there was a glitch with the service this past weekend. Some of us were able to meet with a different system but we mostly just visited with each other instead of focusing on a particular devotional message or material. During the conversation I mentioned that, for the most part, my life over the past two or three months has not been that different. Sure, staff has taken more precautions in interacting with customers and other subs but we have continued to be out and about doing our regular jobs for the vast majority of the time. Many of my class members have had a very different existence since early March. Many of them have not been much further than the end of their driveway to get the mail. They have things delivered and stay isolated much of the time. Several are retired and have grandchildren but are not able to physically visit with them even if they are close by. My wife keeps our two year old grandson during the week and has continued to do so to allow our daughter and son-in-law to work. I get to feed him breakfast every weekday morning, play with him a few minutes and than hand him off for the rest of the day. I am truly blessed. Recent weeks and months have shown us how little we actually control of the things that go on around us every day. I have come to appreciate the birds welcoming the morning light as I have my coffee and take a few minutes to start my day off on the right foot. Let’s all pause for a moment of THANKS for the many blessings and the opportunities that we have to still be at work in this industry when many others are not so fortunate. There are individuals, families and other businesses who count on us for the talents and skills we bring to our jobs every day. TOGETHER… We are BUILDING great communities! ALAN CANNON, AAHBA President
TOGETHER.... WE ARE BUILDING GREAT COMMUNITIES!
The Hammer & Nail
newsletter from the Athens Area Home BUilders Association
With the outbreak of COVID-19 this spring, several states across the country issued stay-at-home orders, forcing most Americans to spend much more time in their homes than ever before. As a result, homes have taken on a new meaning as they became our new offices, playgrounds, sporting fields, entertainment venues and a safe refuge during this challenging time. The good news is the U.S. homeownership rate increased at the beginning of this year, according to a new analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS) shows the number of home owners rose by 2.6 million in the first quarter of 2020, bringing the U.S. homeownership rate to 65.3 percent.The number of home owner households has been climbing since the third quarter of 2015 and homeownership rates among all age groups increased in the first quarter 2020. The data reveals that millions of families were able to hunker down in a place they owned as the pandemic unfolded. As Americans are adjusting to spending more time at home, the role of the home is taking on a new meaning for many. And now, more than ever, homeownership is central to our lives. National Homeownership Month in June is an opportunity for consumers to reflect on the evolving role of the home and its importance in our lives. Home is now our office, our schools, our playgrounds and our sanctuaries. Owning a home continues to be a cherished ideal and a source of pride, accomplishment, social stability and peace of mind. Rest assured that during this unprecedented time the Athens Area Home Builders Association will continue to provide safe and affordable housing to you and your loved ones and our community. We are all in this together. The members of the Athens Area Home Builders Association will continue to provide jobs, support manufacturing and bolster the economy. Housing is a vitally important to local, state and national economies.Fully 15 percent of the U.S. economy relies on housing and nothing packs a bigger local economic impact than home building. Building 1,000 average single-family homes creates 2,900 full-time jobs and generates $110 million in taxes and fees for all levels of government to support police, firefighters and schools, according to NAHB’s National Impact of Home Building and Remodeling report. The residential construction industry also remains committed to complying with social distancing rules/requirements in Athens-Clarke, Oconee & surrounding counties, as well as other safety and health precautions during this challenging situation.
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211 Waste ABC Installations ABE Consulting, Inc ACC Dept of Building Inspections AgSouth Farm Credit All Bright Electric American Pest Control Athens Area Habitat for Humanity Athens Construction Group Athens Land Trust Athens Real Estate Group Athens Refrigeration & Appliance B & S Enterprises Bank South Bath Development Beam & Associates Bella Maria Bell-Harrison Custom Homes Blackburn Construction, LLC BMC Boswell Insurance Group Boyd Smith Construction Branch Electric Branch Environmental Brand Vaughan Lumber Builders First Source Bulldawg Builders Cappy's Custom Cabinets, Inc Carl Blount Insurance Agency Carson Plumbing Certified Clean Care Chastain & Associates Insurance Christian Roofing & Remodeling Coldwell Banker Upchurch Realty Commercial Truck & Van D & B Builders, Inc Dalton Carpet Devore & Johnson Fortson, Bentley & Griffin Gantt Construction & Maintenance Garland & Associates Georgia Power Grayson Realty, INC Gutter Solutions Harbin Lumber Hardeman-Hobson House Electric Imery & Co, LLC Imperium Drywall, LLC J H Barrett Properties J.W. York Properties Jackson EMC John McLeod Construction JOMA Construction Juturna K & G Installations, Inc. Karen B. Griffin Custom Homes Keith Porter Insullation & Fireplace Kemp Properties Keystone Custome Homes, LLC Lindsay-Mayflower Moving Make Mine Home, INC Manor Holding Mayne Tile, Inc Metro Water Filter Millstones Homes, INC MLW All Phase Construction Morgan Concrete Northpoint Mortgage Oconee Comfort Insulation Oconee State Bank Oconee Well Drillers Paul Davis Restoration Powell Home Builders Power Building Products Pridgen Enterprises Quality Concrete Block Quality Glass Company Quarterman, Hodson & Assoc Roll-Off Systems, INC Shoemaker Irrigation Supply Skywater Construction Southland Custom Homes Specialty Stone, LLC Superior Air Management Teri Harris Trucking, LLC Thompson Construction United Rentals W & A Engineering Walton EMC
WELCOME BACK to our renewing members!
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NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz will join host Vince Butler, CAPS, GMB, GMR, and other top remodeling analysts from Harvard University and John Burns Real Estate Consulting (JBREC) for a comprehensive review and economic outlook of the home-improvement industry. Todd Tomalak and Abbe Will — contributors to leading industry research forecasts, including theHarvard Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activityand theNKBA/JBREC Kitchen and Bath Market Index— complete the speaker lineup. Participants will hear essential remodeling insights to help them prepare as the economy reopens following COVID-19. The webinar will: Highlight the shift in remodeling trends due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Forecast remodeling market challenges and changes for the remainder of 2020. Identify product demand and design preferences for reopening and work-at-home environments. The following designations qualify for 1.0 hours of NAHB continuing education credits — CAPS, CGA, CGB, CGP, CGR, CMP, CSP, GMB, GMR, Master CGP, Master CSP and MIRM. This webinar is open and free to everyone, Thursday, June 25, 2-4 pm ET. Register now and don’t miss this opportunity. You will need your NAHB membership PIN. Contact local office if needed.
NAHB to Host ‘Remodeling Economic Outlook: Housing Changes After COVID-19’NAHB to Host ‘Remodeling Economic Outlook: Housing Changes After COVID-19’
THANK YOU to our members of LOWE'S Home Improvement- Epps Bridge for honoring our men and women who proudly served our country in all branches of service. Another great big THANK YOU goes out to Scott, Bill, Tim & their team for helping us to continue to build great communities!
Turning Point for the Labor Market In a surprisingly positive reading for the labor market, recent jobs data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate in May declined to 13.3%. The true unemployment rate is likely closer to 16% due to many who reported being “employed but absent from work” but who were most likely unemployed. However, even with this technical adjustment, the jobless rate came in well below the 20%-plus rate some analysts had forecasted. (NAHB’s forecast called for a 17.8% rate for the second quarter.) This forecasting miss by those predicting a much higher level of unemployment appears to have been based on somewhat unreliable state-level jobless claims data. The unemployment rate for construction workers is currently 15.2%. Moreover, a job gain of 2.5 million was reported for May; a striking contrast to what many analysts had predicted of a job loss of up to 8 million. Residential construction was among the top sectors in terms of the May turnaround. After posting a job loss of 422,000 in April, home builders and remodelers added 226,000 jobs last month, as housing demand improved. Getting the economy back on track will require additional hiring by employers, as well as a recovery for the labor force participation rate, a measure of people who hold a job or are actively looking for one. After declining 2.5 percentage points in April, the participation rate gained 0.6 points in May, rising to 60.8%. The reopening of the economy in most states has led to a rapid reversal for the jobs outlook and the prospects for the beginning of a recovery in the third quarter. Housing data indicate the industry will lead the way in such a rebound: For eight consecutive weeks, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association has shown weekly gains for home purchase mortgage applications, a sign of improving housing demand, particularly for the single-family market. In fact, the data from the last week of May and first week of June show applications are running higher on a year-over-year basis. However, risks remain as the recovery could be uneven. For example, recent NAHB analysis identified states with vulnerable labor markets due to exposure of high unemployment business sectors, including tourism and hospitality enterprises. Furthermore, we expect the economic crisis associated with the virus to accelerate existing geographic trends of home construction activity. The NAHB Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) found that in the first quarter, single-family construction expanded at a faster pace in small metros, small towns and rural areas than in larger metro areas. A similar pattern has been in place for apartment construction, with multifamily market share for less-dense markets having risen since the start of 2019. The impact of the virus, with people telecommuting more and seeking lower-density neighborhoods, will accelerate these existing trends. Challenges remain ahead for housing, but as the labor market improves, so too has the outlook for the housing market. And while a decline in listings of existing homes is holding back the resale market, home builders have benefitted in the short-run due to the corresponding decline in competition. However, on the whole, historically low interest rates and a more rapid than expected improvement in the labor market should set the stage for a V-shaped recovery for housing, which in turn will provide support for the overall economy as a rebound takes shape in the second half of the year. –NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz
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2020 Officers & Board of Directors Bill Bath Bath Development Associates Alan Cannon-President ABC Installations Stephanie Doerr-Vice President Make Mine Home, Inc. Spencer Frye Athens Area Habitat for Humanity Karen Griffin-Secr/Tres Karen B. Griffin Custom Homes Cindy Haddon-Assoc VP Walton EMC/Gas Mitch Hardeman Hardeman-Hobson Stephanie Johnson-Exec Officer AAHBA John Newland JOMA Construction Brad Stephens Manor Holdings, LLC J.R. Whitfield Harbin Lumber Company, Inc. Jared York J. W. York Homes
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June 16th–Tuesday Virtual Membership Lunch Meeting TOWN HALL w/Speaker Rep. Jody Hice August 11th-Tuesday Member Orientation Breakfast AAHBA August 12th-Wednesday Lead RRP Certification Course AAHBA Training Room August 18th- Tuesday Membership Lunch Meeting Trumps Ballroom Jackson EMC presenting August 28th- Friday Sporting Clay Shoot Old Hudson Plantation Sept 16-17th- Wed-Thurs HBAG Fall Conference St. Simmons, GA September 22nd-Tuesday Membership Lunch Meeting Trumps Ballroom Dalton Carpet One presenting October 6th– Tuesday Member Orientation Breakfast AAHBA October 13th-Tuesday Membership Lunch Meeting Trumps Ballroom Walton Gas presenting October 19th-Monday Fall Hard Hat Classic Golf Tournament Athens Country Club November 14th-Saturday Homes For Hunger 5K Run/Walk Oconee Veterans Park November 17th- Tuesday Membership Lunch Meeting Trumps Ballroom Georgia Power presenting December 10th- Thursday HO HO HOmebuilders Jingle & Mingle AAHBA
AAHBA 2020 Calendar of Events