GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
Te Industry Eye on State & Local Issues
2012 Rebuilding
By MAGGIE YANCEY, GHBA Government Affairs and Communications Specialist
You Have a Voice with GAC!
If you have questions about this article or would like to get involved on the Government Affairs Committee, call (281) 970-8970, ext. 142 or email Maggie at
myancey@ghba.org.
(NAHB), spoke to a room full of builders, elected officials and others with an interest in our industry. The meeting resulted in a wealth of information about the economic direction of homebuilding in Houston and the rest of the country.
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As we enter a rebuilding year, according to Crowe, there are many contributing factors leading to the Houston area’s success in the country. A deep understanding of these intricacies will better enable the building community to weather the burden of a struggling economy and lead to more success in the future.
Dr. Crowe stated, “The real underlying power behind housing…the secret, the reason to hold on…the reason you’re still here is because demographics will pull you out of this recession.”
“People have to have a place to live,” he said. “And there are a lot of people coming forward that need a place to live.”
A decline in divorce and the anomaly of the thirty- something-year-old still living at home are two contributing factors he discussed that are key in the decline of households.
He further explained how the economy is improving in small places, which is a key indicator of future growth. These little places, like North Dakota,
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n October 24, Dr. David Crowe, the chief economist and senior vice president at the National Association of Home Builders
are centers for growth which improve the overall national numbers.
Dr. Crowe determined that next year will be the rebuilding year and that will be the engine behind this recovery for housing. He said, “Houston will follow that same trend; your decline last year wasn’t that bad, and your increase next year will be a little better.” He assured the audience of the benefit of not digging holes as deep as everyone else, will benefit the industry next year.
Dr. Crowe’s presentation can be found on the GHBA website at
http://www.ghba.org/political- advocacy/
multimedia.html.
Call to Action H.R. 2112 Restores
FHA Mortgage Loan Limits
On September 30, 2011, Congress allowed the conforming loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to shrink. The failure of Congress and the Obama Administration to act on the loan limits extension is the beginning of an effort to greatly reduce the federal government’s role in housing.
Over the last few weeks, Congress has been hard at work crafting language to restore conforming loan limits. H.R. 2112 is an appropriations bill that allows the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage loan limits to be restored to their
DECEMBER 2011 | HOUSTON BUILDER | GREATER HOUSTON BUILDERS ASSOCIATION – BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE
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