Nov. Election Produces Wins for Nation’s Home Builders; NAHB Urges Congress to Act

Washington, D.C.—The November 4 election produced a number of victories for the nation’s home builders.In Arizona, NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) worked with the High Production Home Builders to defeat Proposition 201, which would have nullified certain provisions of NOR (Notice and Opportunity to Repair) legislation. The final tally was 22 percent in favor, 78 percent against the proposals.Signed into law in 2003, NOR requires homeowners to provide written notice to builders prior to filing a lawsuit claiming a construction defect. Contractors then have 30 days to propose to inspect the alleged defects, offer to settle the claim, or dispute it.In Nevada, under the passage of Question 2, the state constitution was amended so that the transfer of private property to another private owner is not considered a public use. The owner must be compensated at the “highest price the property would bring on the open market” if the state takes the property for a public use.In addition to these victories, NAHB launched a targeted voter mobilization campaign in five Senate races and 28 House districts to assemble the pro-housing vote. In all, 26 of the 33 NAHB-supported candidates won their races. To accomplish this, NAHB identified voters who work in housing-related fields, educated them on the issues and urged them to vote for the pro-housing candidates.BUILD-PAC, NAHB’s political action committee, contributed to 27 Senate races. Twenty-two of the BUILD-PAC-supported candidates won. The group also celebrated wins for 309 representatives, among the 337 to which it contributed.NAHB is currently urging Congress to address falling home prices and rising foreclosures during a lame-duck session next week by expanding the first-time home buyer tax credit and offering a government buy-down of interest rates on mortgages for those who purchase a home in 2009.