Footings: May/June 2013

Footings

BI-MONTHLY INSIGHT INTO THE RICHMOND NEW HOME INDUSTRY

May/June 2013

About HBAR…………………………………………………………………………………… 3 President’s Message…………………………………………………………………………….. 5 From the CEO…………………………………………………………………………………... 6 Special Feature: Gumenick Properties………………………………………………………….. 8 Associate Member Spotlight……………………………………………………………………. 10 Events in Review……………………………………………………………………………….. 11 Parade of Homes 2013………………………………………………………………………….. 12 Upcoming Events……………………………………………………………………………….. 13 HBAV Update…………………………………………………………………………………… 14 New and Renewing Members…………………………………………………………………… 15 Member Announcements………………………………………………………………………… 18 NAHB Member Benefits……………………………………………………………………….. 19 New Home Market Analysis…………………………………………………………………….. 20

THE NEWS OF HBAR VOLUME 17 MAY/JUNE 2013

Home Building Association of Richmond Page 2

This Issue’s Contents

Home Building Association of Richmond (HBAR)

ABOUT US We are a non-profit trade association affiliated with the Home Building Association of Virginia and the National Associ-ation of Home Builders, and we represent our members in the building industry. Service to our members is our primary emphasis, which includes offering resources that will allow our members to con-duct their business with confidence and professionalism. We support the growth of the building industry and the quality of our communities through active involvement in community affairs and advocating concern for the environment, while maintaining a positive climate for growth.

SHARED VALUES Conforms to high professional standards of conduct and exercises the discipline prescribed by moral principles. A grow-ing and respected leader in the community and industry with good growth in membership. Having a clear sense of pur-pose— a mission—which it commits to and uses to evaluate all its results and activities. Making a worthwhile contribu-tion to our communities and meeting the needs of individual members.

Having a sense that the mission is meaningful. An organization where friendly and informal relations through network-ing opportunities are provided.

Supplies the necessary resources, training and expertise to understand industry and legislative issues and how they may affect the success of individual members.

VISION To champion housing and community.

MISSION Provide leadership to develop innovative programs that enable our community to thrive. Using research, education and public relations, we will be a credible resource, building a strong coalition for the current and future benefit of our asso-ciation and community.

FOOTINGS NEWSLETTER

Footings is a published bi-monthly newsletter by the Home Building Association of Richmond for its members.

To receive future publications, email [email protected].



Craig Toalson

Chief Executive Officer

[email protected]

Victoria Moody

Director of Special Events

[email protected]

400 N. Ridge Road Richmond, VA 23229

(804) 282 - 9866 FAX

(804) 282 - 0400 MAIN OFFICE

WWW.HBAR.ORG

Crystal Valle

Director of Membership and Marketing [email protected]

HBAR PERSONNEL

CONTACT US



Has the tide turned? Is our industry finally beginning to rebound and lead this coun-try out of the worst recession since the great depression? I ask myself this daily during my travels between jobsites in New Kent, Henrico, Louisa, and Chesterfield. As a custom builder I spend a lot of time on the road be-

tween job sites. My phone is starting to ring more and more. So much so that I just bought a new phone with

blue tooth to help me respond to all my calls in the truck.

So is this it? Are we headed back? According to the Long and Foster Market Conditions Re-port, the median sales price of a home is $185,750, an in-crease of 9% from 2012. Total active inventory in the month of March 2013 was down to 6,437 units, a supply of only 6.4 months. One year ago the month’s supply sat at 7.4 months. Because there fewer inventory, it’s becom-ing more of a seller’s market. In March 2013 the average sales price as a percent of list price was 97.8%, the highest in over 2 years! These market conditions are helping the new home market recover in the Richmond Metropolitan Area. Prices are up, making buyers more willing to purchase than rent. Buyers are finally taking advantage of the low interest rates and are confident that their purchase will appreciate in value. Buyers are also more confident that they can sell their home, allowing them to build. With record low in-ventory, buyers are turning to new construction. In many instances, buyers are looking for move in ready homes. Amazingly, builders that have inventory are in a good spot. The economy depends on our industry to lead us out of this great recession. Home Building has an economic ben-

efit to the local, state, and federal government. Elected officials are beginning to see why. With each home that’s built, our industry creates 3 jobs and touches 55 local businesses during the first year. We generate local tax revenue from day 1 of construction. Though most of the news is positive, we continue to have challenges. Appraisals continue to be a problem, the building code is getting more stringent making homes more expensive to build, cost of materials are going up, and simple things like water and sewer connection fees are going up. This is why we have HBAR, HBAV, and NAHB. They are our watchdog and voice to elected offi-cials and regulatory bodies. As President I’m seeing first-hand what they do to save us money on each house. So is the tide turning? I say yes and want to be one of the builders that help put America back to work and lead our country into the future.

Rob Carter HBAR President 2013

Southern Traditions

President’s Message... Turning Tide



HBAR will be holding its spring membership drive this month. This year’s drive will be a One Day Phone-A-Thon Recruitment en-deavor held on Wednes-day, May 22. HBAR suc-cess is contingent on a strong membership recruit-ment and retention program. For that we turn to our mem-bership committee and you, the member, to help us ful-fill our mission. Why do you join? Why are you a member? What do

you get out of it? Yes we can continue to lists the benefits that everyone has heard: Leg-islative, Regulatory, Networking, Education, and Dis-counts. Your national, state, and local associations have an incredible track record defending the building indus-try’s interested in front of elected officials and regulatory bodies. HBAR provides networking events each month, along with multiple council and committees to fulfill the networking membership benefit. NAHB offers valuable education courses and webinars for its members, many free of charge for members. Members also receive a sub-stantial savings on their Verizon wireless phone bill, along with the savings and discounts offered through NAHB (www.nahb.org/ma). And don’t forget the member rebate program that many builders take advantage of to put mon-ey in their pocket with each house they build. But are these the true benefits that encourage you and pro-spective members pay your dues year after year? For many these are the true benefits of your association, but for the majority the answer is no. The majority choose to continue their membership for the simple benefit of Cama-raderie. Camaraderie is defined as is the quality of afford-ing easy familiarity and sociability. The word refers to the spirit of goodwill and fellowship that exists between friends. It can also be defined as the easy familiarity be-tween those who know each other. Being a part of some-thing and having a “sense of us.” This is the number one

benefit that you and your fellow members receive for your membership dues to HBAR, HBAV, and NAHB. How do we sell Camaraderie as a member benefit? To sell Camaraderie, HBAR needs to be “the organization” for those related to the building industry (single family, commercial, multifamily, remodeling, restoration) to join. People need to be dying to be a part of our organization to help them make the decision to join or renew. How do we do it? First, every member needs to be encouraged to get in-volved by talking about HBAR programs and services to potential members. Consider yourself encouraged. Please come to a meeting, call a council/committee chair to give them suggestions, or even meet with HBAR staff or board members one on one. I can’t put into words how much it would help HBAR if every member got involved and re-cruited or retained one member. Lastly, HBAR leadership and staff needs to make HBAR be FUN. People can’t turn down FUN. People want to be part of the FUN. In the next several months, HBAR will be unveiling new membership marketing materials for you to use when re-cruiting members to HBAR. HBAR will also be focusing on Camaraderie as the number one member benefit when communicating and hosting events. Ask your colleagues to come and ‘be one of us. HBAR is on its way to becom-ing the largest, most important business organization in the Richmond area. Please join the FUN and help HBAR.

Craig Toalson Chief Executive Officer

HBAR

From the CEO... Be a Part of Something



804.925.8883



Gumenick Properties is an award-winning real estate development and proper-ty management company with operations throughout the Southeast. Founded in the late 1940s by Nathan Gumenick, the Henrico County-based company enjoys a well-established reputation for providing quality homes, delivering excellent customer service and engaging deeply in the communities where it does business. Gumenick Properties began building apartment communities in the Richmond area immediately after World War II to meet the housing needs of returning veterans. Eventually, the company started developing for-sale homes. Nathan Gumenick clearly foresaw the post-war housing boom and successfully created a number of apartment and for-sale communities. His business acumen allowed him to see opportunities that others overlooked. For example, he built 50 years ago the first high-rise apartment building in Miami Beach. Southgate Towers remains in the company’s port-folio and now is undergoing a major renovation that will allow the community to flourish for decades. Today, Gumenick Properties continues to pursue sound real estate ventures. It now has two for-sale luxury communi-ties – Grayson Hill and Monument Square – under construction in Henrico. During the past two years, the market-place up-tick and a steady focus on sales have produced strong consumer interest, sales and ongoing construction at

both neighborhoods. Significantly, Grayson Hill (pictured left), located at Patterson Avenue and Gaskins Road, is in its third phase of construction. It now has about 220 attached units. These homes can be custom-ized to fit all needs and to give residents the relaxed life they want. Grayson Hill offers two-level luxury homes and the ability to accommodate owner suites upstairs and downstairs. Grayson Hill boasts a pool and luxurious clubhouse with a fitness center, a large meeting room and wonderful accommodations. Monument Square, located at Willow lawn and Monument Ave-nue, provides no-maintenance, one-level condos as well as no-maintenance attached townhome condos. This community gives residents the option of living in a home with elevator access as well as one-level living or three-level living in our newly de-signed townhomes. Monument Square has a beautiful state-of-the

-art clubhouse that is getting rave reviews from residents. Amenities include a saltwater pool, interior and exterior gas fireplaces, a gathering room with large screen TVs, and workout facilities with men and women's locker rooms. Monu-ment Square combines an unbeatable combination of location, amenities and no-maintenance living that offers buyers luxury and a tremendous value unavailable anywhere else. Gumenick Properties soon will start construction on the largest revitalization project in Henrico’s history. Staples Mill Centre is located on 80 acres of land once occupied by apartments. Now cleared, the site along Staples Mill Road will feature a mixed-use neighborhood with a county library, office and retail space, 994 for-sale homes and 1,096 apart-ments for lease. Gumenick Properties plans to open the first retail shops and offices here in 2015 and to locate its offic-es there. Continued on page 9...



Special Feature Gumenick Properties: Past, Present, and Future

Continued from page 8… In recent months, two organizations have committed to opening operations at Staples Mill Centre. Southern Season of Chapel Hill, N.C. has announced plans to open a 49,000-square foot gourmet food store there. The store will be a “culinary mecca,” of-fering a wide variety of gourmet foods, an extensive wine selection, hard to find grocery items, housewares, cookware, candy, cut flowers, coffee shop, ice cream shop, tasting stations, take-out pre-pared food, cheese, gifts and a bakery. The store will also feature a full-service restaurant and cooking school. In addition, Henrico County announced plans in June to build a new public library in the community to re-place the current Dumbarton Library. The new three-story library will be located next to a two-acre lake with a fountain, creating an attractive gathering place surrounded by residences and shops. The library, which will have 50,000 to 60,000 square feet of floor space, is expected to be under construction in mid-2014 with an opening slated for summer 2016. Gumenick Properties donated the land for the library.



Associate Member Spotlight



Zoila Sedlak

Loan Officer

Brand Mortgage Group

zsedlak.brandmortgage.com

(804) 839-8620

Tell us about your business. Brand Mortgage Group owned by a private bank that is 107 years old. Giving us products that are privately held, such as 80/10/10's and 80/15/5's. Mortgage Banking the sensible way from grant funding to construction perms.

What has been your best business decision? Joining the Home Builders Association, new friends and business associates were developed. Great group of peo-ple working for a great America cause, being a homeown-er.

Your worst decision? Not making the time to meet more of our members.

Biggest challenge/opportunity in the next 5 years? The economy/ the economy. Even though the economy took a toll in our industry it is now our best opportunity to regain some our losses. For many of us it is our next up tick before we retire, so we must take advantage of it and work together to strength our industry.

What are your hobbies? Gardening and enjoying a good glass of wine.

Family: Married for 26 years and a dog named Abby .

What’s your dream vacation? Taking a month off and still maintaining my business.

Building Codes Seminar April 16 — VHDA Housing Center

More than 115 HBAR members participated in the annual HBAR Building Codes seminar hosted by the Associates Coun-cil. The seminar featured two separate panels. The first included local building officials from the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, and the City of Richmond. The second panel focused on the implementation of the 2012 Building Code. Panelists included Bill Dupler from the International Code Council, Emory Rogers from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, and Chuk Bowles from EarthCraft Virginia.

A special thanks to our booth sponsors: Mosaic Tile, City of Richmond Natural Gas, Premier Insurance, Huber Engineered Wood, Angler Environmental, Builders First Source, Monarch Mortgage


Builder Bash May 2 — Rocketts Landing

HBAR’s annual membership picnic was a huge success with over 850 attendees. Fun was had by all with live entertain-ment by Flat Elvis, the view of the James River, and especially the outstanding support from our sponsors.

Welcome Sponsors: Richmond Public Utilities; Rinnai America

Beer Truck Sponsors: Monarch Mortgage; Ruffin & Payne, Inc.

Booth Sponsors: AmeriGas Propane; Builders FirstSource; Chase; Carousel Signs & Designs; Costen Floors, Inc.; Fergu-son Enterprises, Inc.; George Mason Mortgage, LLC; Premier Insurance Agency; Revere Gas; RJ Smith Companies; The Stockner Group; Thos. Somerville Company

Builder Sponsor : First Capital Bank

Band Sponsors: Columbia Gas of Virginia; Dominion Virginia Power; Village Bank; ProBuild; James Hardie Building Products; Union Mortgage Group; Watson Electrical Construction Co.

Cash Sponsors: Luck Stone/Charles Luck Stone Center; New Home Star; R-CI Builders, LLC; Winchester Homes

HBAR Events In Review


The 62nd annual scattered site new home and remodeled home showcase will be held the weekends of October 5, 12, and19 from 12:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. Entries will be featured in an attractive, shelf-like magazine, Parade of Homes Plan Book, as well as RichmondParadeofHomes.com. This equates to 15,000 - 20,000 magazines circulated, mostly through Martin’s and Kroger supermarkets, over 7,000 visitors to the website, and an extraordinary marketing and adver-tising campaign to drive traffic to your featured product. Entry deadline is May 23, 2013. HBAR would like to take this opportunity to thank the following members for their generosity in being this year's com-munity weekend sponsors:

Main Street Homes at Westerleigh

Gumenick Properties at Monument Square and Grayson Hill

Viniterra Realty at Viniterra

For those of you interested in advertising opportunities, the Parade of Homes Plan Book will feature full color ads as follows:

Inside Front Cover $2300 First Page $2300

Center Spread $3000 Inside Back Cover $2300

Back Cover $2750 Full Page $1995

Half Page $1495

Remember, the BEST and most EFFECTIVE, INEXPENSIVE way to target consumers looking to buy or remodel a home is to participate in this show! “Parade of Homes was the original reason for me joining HBAR. 15 years ago Main Street Homes was a new company with 3 peo-ple and building 8 homes a year. The Parade of Homes helped put us on the map in 1997 and generated interest in our new homes and neighborhood. The benefit of marketing and focus on new homes far outweighs the cost. Homebuyers and the public at large have come to expect and enjoy this event annually. I cannot imagine not entering multiple homes in the annual Parade of Homes.”

Vernon McClure, Main Street Homes

“Best marketing for the money… 2012 had 300 visitors, two lot sales and a contract to build a new custom home within two weeks of Parade of Homes… pretty good for a small Builder.”

Mike Dumont, Dumont Homes LLC

Contact: Victoria Moody at (804) 282-0400, ext. 2 or [email protected]

Parade of Homes® 2013



HBAR Upcoming Events

MAY

May 14 Multifamily Council 11:30am HBAR Office

May 15 Remodelers Council 8:00am Better Kitchen & Baths

May 15 Associates Council 9:00am HBAR Office

May 16 SMC Executive Committee 9:30am HBAR Office

May 22 Membership Drive (all day) 8:30am HBAR Office

May 23 Board of Directors Meeting 4:00pm HBAR Office

JUNE

Jun. 6 Membership Committee 9:00am HBAR Office

Jun. 11 Multifamily Council 11:30am HBAR Office

Jun. 12 Associates Council 8:30am HBAR Office

Jun. 13 High Performance Homes Council 8:30am HBAR Office

Jun. 19 Remodelers Council 11:30am HBAR Office

Jun. 20 SMC Executive Council 9:30am HBAR Office

More information about all HBAR events is available online at www.hbar.org/events.



2013 HBAV Legislative Agenda Approved by Governor

House Bill 2275, by Delegate Chris Peace. Condominium Act; Declarant Control. Expands the respective declarant control period, at the request of the declarant, provided that (i) a special meeting is held prior to the expiration of the initial period of declarant control; (ii) at such special meeting, the extension of such time lim-its is approved by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the unit owners other than the declarant; and (iii) at such special meeting, there is an election of a warranty review committee consisting of no fewer than three persons unaffiliated with the declarant. The bill details the notice that must be provided prior to any vote on the exten-sion of declarant control and the authority that may be exercised by the warranty review committee. Effective Date: April 22, 2013 House Bill 2190, by Delegate John Cosgrove. Stringency of Local Stormwater Management Ordinances. Establishes a procedure for state review of the stringency of local stormwater ordinances. The bill requires lo-calities within 30 days of the adoption of a more stringent stormwater ordinance or requirement to submit a letter report to the Department of Conservation and Recreation. The letter report is to include an explanation as to why the more stringent ordinance or requirement is necessary. In addition, within 90 days of the ordinance's adoption, a landowner or his agent can request the Department of Conservation and Recreation to determine whether the ordinance or requirement meets the standards of the state law. The Department has 90 days to make such a determination. Effective Date: July 1, 2013 House Bill 2239, by Delegate Danny Marshall. Cash proffers. Provides that cash proffers shall not be used for any capital improvement to an existing facility that does not expand facility capacity or for any operating expense of an existing facility such as ordinary maintenance or repair. Effective Date: July 1, 2013 House Bill 2238, by Delegate Danny Marshall. Recorded Plats and Final Site Plans. Provides that a site plan shall be deemed final once it has been reviewed and approved by the locality if the only requirements re-maining to be satisfied in order to obtain a building permit are the submission of any other administrative doc-uments, agreements, deposits, or fees required by the locality in order to obtain the permit. The bill also amends a 2012 act by adding an enactment that clarifies the validity of previous extensions of valid plats and site plans. Effective Date: July 1, 2013 House Bill 2265, Delegate Barry Knight. Cash proffers. Provides that a locality (Hanover County) may waive certain written notice requirements in order to reduce, suspend, or eliminate outstanding cash proffer payments for residential construction calculated on a per-dwelling-unit or per-home basis that have been agreed to, but unpaid, by any landowner. Effective Date: July 1, 2013

HBAV 2013 General Assembly Wrap Up



Company Name Member Type

Alcova Mortgage Associate

Blazer Heating and Air Conditioning

Associate

Boral TruExterior Trim Associate

Buhl Electric Company Associate

CR Phillips Electrical Associate

NEW MEMBERS Fulton Mortgage Associate

GKY & Associates Associate

H T West Contracting Builder

Kempsville Building Materials

Associate

Security 1 Lending Associate

TerraForge Communites Developer

The Gits Group Associate

Thank You! Please join me in thanking our members who have either recently joined as a new member for renewed their membership

with HBAR. Our Association depends on your membership and we look forward to doing business with our members.




A & R Waterproofing Associate

Alarms, Inc./Ping NuTechnologies

Associate

Austin-Davidson Builder

BBSG of Virginia-New Home Warrenty

Management

Associate

Blue Ridge Custom Homes

Builder

Boyd Homes Builder

Bradco Supply Corp. Associate

Brand Mortgage Associate

Builders FirstSource Associate

Capital Tristate Associate

Capitol Granite & Marble

Associate

Commonwealth Land Associate

Coyner Construction Builder

Creative Home Concepts Builder

CTR-Cross Timbers Roofing

Associate

CVA Builders Builder

Dept. of Correctional Division of Education

Associate

Eagle Construction of Va Builder

Elevation Advertising Associate

Elite Countertops Associate

Falcone Custom Homes Builder

Geo-Solutions Associate

Gray Land and Development Co

Associate

Hanson Building Products Associate

Hermitage Roofing Co. Associate

Hirschler Fleischer Associate

Homeplaces, Ltd. Builder

James Hardie Building Products

Associate

LifeStyle Builders & Developers

Builder

James River Exteriors Associate

Ken Broadwater Homes Builder

LeClair Ryan Associate

Loyal Termite & Pest Control Co.

Associate

Mosaic Tile Company Associate

RENEWING MEMBERS

Creative, Engaging, and Results Oriented

804.354.0964 | www.cpgroupllc.com

Branding

Graphic Design

Public Relations

Marketing Strategy

Website & Social Media

Government Relations

Marketing Solutions That Drive Sales for Home Builders




Moseley Electronics Associate

Napier Realtors ERA Associate

New Home Star Associate

Nolde Company Builder

Old Dominion Floor Co.

Associate

Plumbing Systems Associate

PrimeLending, a PlainsCapital Company

Associate

Prosource Wholesale Floorcoverings

Associate

R-CI Builders Builder

S. Page Allen &

Associates Associate

Southern Traditions Builder

Stock Building Supply Associate

Structural Technologies

Associate

Sycamore Building Builder

Virginia Shower Door

Associate

Youngblood Properties

Builder

Youngblood Tyler & Assoc.

Associate



Member Announcements

Commonwealth Partnerships Group Wins Marketing Award with HBAR

Commonwealth Partnerships Group won a Hermes Creative Gold Award for its work with HBAR publi-cizing the association and the new home industry in Richmond. Hermes Creative Awards is an annual international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing, and design of tradi-tional materials and programs, and emerging tech-nologies.



NAHB Member Benefits



New Home Market Analysis by Integra



Documents

Footings: May/June 2013