At NAHB’s urging, a bipartisan group of 47 Senate lawmakers has sent a letter to Sec. Jennifer Granholm urging the Department of Energy (DOE) not to move forward on its proposed rule to regulate energy conservation standards for distribution transformers because it will exacerbate an already acute supply chain shortage. Senators said that between 2020…
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In a major victory for NAHB, builders, developers and property owners, the Supreme Court on May 25 issued a unanimous decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency that will force the Biden administration to overhaul its “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule and ultimately provide builders and developers more certainty in the federal permitting process. “The decision…
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Stabilizing mortgage rates and a lack of resale inventory provided a boost for new home sales in April, even as builders continue to wrestle with rising costs stemming from shortages of transformers and other building materials and a persistent lack of construction workers. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in April increased 4.1% to a…
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In a move that will raise housing costs, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are proposing to increase the stringency of energy codes for the new construction of HUD-insured and USDA-insured housing. Under current law, builders constructing new single-family and multifamily housing…
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A pilot program focused on mental health issues in the residential construction industry recently confirmed the need for a more deliberate and permanent effort to reduce the stigma of discussing mental health within the construction industry. Leaders in the construction industry are encouraged to share or solicit personal stories of challenges with mental health issues…
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