$31,000 to the price of a new home while only minimally increasing the energy efficiency of the home. Meanwhile, a Home Innovation Research Labs study revealed that it would require up to 90 years for a home buyer to realize a payback on the added upfront cost of the home. That’s not a reasonable trade-off for a new home buyer and clearly would do very little to provide meaningful energy savings for residential homes and apartments. • Reduce local impact fees and other upfront taxes associated with housing construction. While some impact fees may be necessary to cover the costs of increased public services for new home developments, those fees must be imposed fairly with the cost to the home buyer in mind. • Make it easier for developers to finance new housing. Like home buyers seeking a mortgage, home builders and developers rely on banks for financing to build new homes and housing developments. • Update employment policies to promote flexibility and opportunity. Building a typical single-family home requires the skills and commitment of 11 to 30 independent specialty trade contractor firms. Subcontracting out large portions
of work has consistently proven to keep housing production costs low and provide opportunities for small businesses. But a builder’s ability to compete efficiently and optimally price a home depends on the degree to which overall costs are certain and predictable. The current patchwork approach for determining worker status (i.e., employee or independent contractor), calculating overtime pay and prevailing wages, and documenting employment status not only creates additional and unforeseen burdens, but also disincentivizes housing production. Employment policies and requirements must both recognize the common practices among regulated industries and be simple and economical enough for all-sized businesses to comply. The nation’s home builders are committed to doing their part to boost housing production to meet the needs of a growing population, make homeownership and renting more affordable, and elevate housing as a national priority. But we cannot do it alone. By implementing these practical solutions and reaffirming their commitment to housing, policymakers at all levels of government can help fulfill the promise of the Housing Act of 1949, which set a goal of “a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family.”
Learn more about each element of the plan at nahb.org/plan.
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