June 2024
Higher Mortgage Rates Dampen April New Home Sales
Mortgage rates that averaged above 7% since mid-April per Freddie Mac data acted as a drag on new home sales in April. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in April fell 4.7% to a 634,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a downwardly revised reading in March, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales in April is down 7.7% from a year earlier. A new home sale occurs when a sales contract is signed, or a deposit is accepted. The home can be in any stage of construction: not yet started, under construction or completed. In addition to adjusting for seasonal effects, the April reading of 634,000 units is the number of homes that would sell if this pace continued for the next 12 months. New single-family home inventory in April remained elevated at a level of 480,000, up 12.1% compared to a year ago. This represents a 9.1 months’ supply at the current building pace, which has been supported by the ongoing shortage of resale homes. Completed, ready to occupy inventory (97,000 homes in April) is up 42.6% from a year ago. However, that inventory type remains 20% of total inventory. The median new home sale price in April was $433,500, down 1.4% from March, and up 3.9% compared to a year ago. Regionally, on a year-to-date basis, new home sales are up 22.4% in the Northeast, 22.3% in the Midwest and 14.0% in the West. New home sales are down 10.5% in the South.
NAHB recently warned of phishing scams targeting associations. It has come to our attention that there has been a surge in attacks using seemingly harmless PDF files. What's happening? These emails contain an unprompted Request for Proposal (RFP) in the form of a PDF. When the PDF is clicked, it redirects the user to a SharePoint log-in site and prompts for credentials. Once entered, these credentials are stored and subsequently used to gain unauthorized access to your accounts. What should you do? It is strongly advised that you refrain from opening any unsolicited PDF attachments, especially those purporting to be RFPs. If you receive an unexpected or suspicious email, even if it appears to be from a known contact, please exercise extreme caution. If you know the sender, call them directly to verify the legitimacy of the email. Since much of the Home Builders Association information is sent via email with PDF attachments, please check your junk/spam file for messages you may have missed. And make thse addresses safe senders: dcrotty@hbagc.org wvhomeshow@hbagc.org info@hbawv.org
UPDATE ON PHISHING SCAMS
Common warning signs of phishing attacks include: A text message or email that you didn’t expect or that comes from a person or service you don’t know or use. Spelling errors or poor grammar. Mismatched links (a seemingly legitimate link sends you to an unexpected address). Often, but not always, you can spot this by hovering your mouse over the link without clicking on it, so that your browser displays the actual destination. Shortened or odd links or addresses. An email request for your account number or personal information (legitimate providers should never send you emails or texts asking for your password, account number, personal information, or answers to security questions). Offers or messages that seem too good to be true, express great urgency, or are aggressive and scary. Strange or mismatched sender addresses. Anything else that makes you feel uneasy.
This year's recipient of the Henry E. King Scholarship is Matthew Rucker, civil engineering major at WVU. The scholarship is administered by the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation and is open to companies who have been HBAGC members for at least one year. Owners, employees and their immediate family members can apply for this scholarship to attend a college, university or trade school.
Jonathan Clark, REPCO II was Low Senior at the 105th WV Amateur Championship at the Greenbrier. Well played!
Mike King, Water Boy Water Solutions Susan Perdue, In & Out Home Detailing Steve D'Emidio, Ferguson Enterprises Wesley Jordon, Sherwin Williams
Rob Stepp, Creative Kitchens won a Cadillac after hitting a Hole in One on hole 12 at Guyan Golf and Country Club. Wow!
REGISTER HERE dcrotty@hbagc.org 304.744.2200
Upcoming Events July 16 HBAGC Board Meeting August 20 Membership Mixer WesBanco September 17 HBAGC Board Meeting September 23 HBAGC Golf Tournament Membership Dinner Sleepy Hollow Golf Club October 4 HBAGC Cruise-in Builders FirstSource November 12 HBAGC Membership Dinner Election of Officers Holiday Inn & Suites South Charleston November 19 HBAGC Board Meeting December 10 HBAGC Christmas Party Ferguson
2024 Board of Directors Officers President - Welford Haines* Ferguson Enterprises Vice President - Zach Crede Crede Lawn & Landscaping Associate Vice President - Matt Aldridge* IKO Industries Treasurer - Jason Staats* Rollins, Cleavenger & Rollins CPAs Secretary - Barbara Rucker Summit Community Bank Builder Member-at-Large - John Lee Secure Construction Immediate Past President - Bob Ritenour* Bob's Basic System Directors Brad Cunic House Doctors Tim Cunningham* Cunningham Electrical Service Robert Dorsey* L.R. Dorsey Inc. Jack Grimm Garlow Insurance Cindy Hale* Nitro Carpet Outlet & Design Center Roger Harper 84 Lumber Shannon Hudnall Truist John Kopyscianski* Builders FirstSource Connie Marshall* Encova Insurance Steve Michael* Quality Construction Michael Moore Elk River Design Dale Oxley* Modern Home Concepts Greg Paxton* Mr. Handyman of Kanawha Valley Stephanie Ramsey TTLC Merchant Solutions J.D. Stricklen* Stricklen Realty Steve Zubrzycki East Coast Tees *Life Director Donna Crotty, Executive Officer
Consider hosting an event in 2025. Now is the time to schedule your date.
NAHB Offers New Resource on Streamlining Development
In the evolving landscape of housing development and urban planning, the adoption of pre-approved housing plans has emerged as a useful tool for increasing the efficiency and speed of the housing approval process. NAHB’s newest report, From Blueprint to Reality: Harnessing the Power of Pre-Approved Housing Plans with Real-World Examples, explores this topic with the goal of spreading awareness of this tool. Pre-approved housing plans are architectural designs and construction blueprints that have already received approval from municipal authorities or regulatory bodies. These plans adhere to local building codes, zoning regulations and other standards, ensuring compliance with local requirements. By providing a pre-approved framework for residential construction, these plans expedite the development process, and promote efficiency, consistency and regulatory adherence. Explore this and other effective planning and housing tools at NAHB’s Land Use 101 Toolkit.