National News
Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Help Increase Output of Transformers
Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Help Increase Output of Transformers Jan 19, 2024 With the strong backing of NAHB, Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), along with several other senators, introduced legislation to help ease the severe shortage of distribution transformers that is delaying home building projects and raising housing costs. The Distribution Transformer…
Read MoreNearly 7 out of 10 Households Can’t Afford a New Median-Priced Home
Nearly 7 out of 10 Households Can’t Afford a New Median-Priced Home Rising home prices and interest rates are taking a terrible toll on housing affordability, with 87.5 million households — or roughly 69% of all U.S. households — unable to afford a new median priced home. In other words, seven out of 10 households…
Read MoreConstruction Labor Market Remains Tight The construction labor market remains tight, with the number of job openings in the industry rising year over year. The job openings rate in construction edged down to 4.3% in December, with 337,000 open positions in the sector, following a historic high (445,000 openings) in October 2021. The December rate…
Read MoreSupreme Court Blocks OSHA Vaccine Mandate for Large Employers
Supreme Court Blocks OSHA Vaccine Mandate for Large Employers The U.S. Supreme Court today voted 6-3 to block the Biden administration from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine or testing mandate for employers with at least 100 workers. In issuing its decision, the Supreme Court stated that “OSHA has never before imposed such a mandate. Nor has…
Read MoreEPA Declares Pre-2015 WOTUS Rule Now in Effect
EPA Declares Pre-2015 WOTUS Rule Now in Effect Following the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona’s ruling on Monday to remand and vacate the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), which defines the “waters of the U.S. (WOTUS),” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) released a…
Read MoreAs Cases Surge, NAHB Calls for Another COVID-19 Safety Stand Down
As Cases Surge, NAHB Calls for Another COVID-19 Safety Stand Down Halt Work for 10 Minutes January 11-15, 2021 to Cover COVID-19 Safety Procedures NAHB encourages members and all other residential construction companies to halt work for at least 10 minutes the week of Jan. 11-15, 2021, for a COVID-19 Jobsite Safety Stand Down to remind…
Read MoreLumber Prices on the Rise – Again
Lumber Prices on the Rise – Again After drifting lower from mid-September to mid-November, lumber prices are on the rise again. Prices peaked at an all-time high of roughly $950 per thousand board feet in September before gradually moving down to around $550 per thousand board feet last month. However, prices have been moving upward…
Read MoreCommerce Department Cuts Lumber Tariffs from 20% to 9%
Commerce Department Cuts Lumber Tariffs from 20% to 9% With lumber prices experiencing extreme price volatility this year and harming housing affordability, a final determination of the first administrative review by the U.S. Commerce Department to reduce duties on shipments of Canadian lumber into the United States by more than half is good news for…
Read MoreIRS Says Businesses with Forgiven PPP Loans Cannot Deduct Expenses
IRS Says Businesses with Forgiven PPP Loans Cannot Deduct Expenses Businesses that get their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans forgiven will not qualify for some valuable deductions, according to IRS guidance that reiterates its position taken in April. In addition, companies that have “a reasonable expectation that the government won’t require them to pay back…
Read MoreIBSx Registration Now Open
IBSx Registration Now Open Virtual event to be held online February 9-12, 2021 While the 2021 NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS) has indeed transitioned to a virtual event, the incredible and exclusive IBS opportunities that attendees have come to expect from the in-person event, will still exist and even expand to connect the home building…
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