Congress Should Encourage Home Energy Efficiency with Tax Cuts and Incentives

RISMEDIA, April 28, 2009-The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) called on Congress to ensure that legislation intended to make homes more energy efficient focuses on measures that provide the greatest environmental benefit without putting housing affordability at risk.

NAHB Construction, Codes and Standards Committee Chair Dwight “Sonny” Richardson, a home builder in Tuscaloosa, Ala., made several recommendations to the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment when he testified at a hearing on the American Clean Energy Security Act.

First, legislation must be flexible and include not just the savings achieved from insulated doors, windows and wall cavities, but also energy-efficient heating and air conditioning systems - or a combination of insulation and appliance requirements depending on the home’s location or market preference. “Don’t modify codes and standards so that they can’t accommodate every state’s climate demands simultaneously or equally,” Richardson said.

Second, Congress should “extend, or make permanent” the tax credits passed earlier this year that incentivize the purchase of energy-efficient windows, additional insulation and other improvements in existing homes - where the greatest gains in energy efficiency are most likely to be realized, he said.

The funding available to encourage home owners to make these improvements should also be available to home buyers to help them pay for the additional costs associated with very efficient new homes, Richardson added.

Finally, “Congress must embrace the broadest possible green building policy and provide consideration for homes that comply with standards approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI),” which federal law gives preference over private guidelines and rating systems, he said.

As an example, Richardson pointed to the ICC-700 National Green Building Standard for residential construction, remodeling, and land development. “ANSI recognition of the National Green Building Standard is important because energy code targets by themselves cannot accommodate the more robust sustainability framework of green building, which achieves greater environmental performance as a whole over energy efficiency alone.”

And in all cases, Congress must acknowledge the need for housing affordability - not just to make it less expensive for consumers to live in homes with these improvements, but also to avoid pricing them out all together. “NAHB hopes that Congress will not impose policies that increase costs for newer, more energy efficient homes in a manner that relegates lower and moderate-income families to less-efficient older housing stock,” he concluded.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Crud Cruiser
The City of Southlake participates in a household hazardous waste disposal event sponsored by the City of Fort Worth called the Crud Cruiser. When the Crud Cruiser comes to town, Southlake residents have the opportunity to dispose of certain types of household hazardous waste.


The Crud Cruiser is coming to Southlake! The Crud Cruiser will be here in Spring 2009, date to be determined.

What is Accepted?


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Acids, aerosol cans, antifreeze, batteries (all kinds, including car batteries), brake fluid, cooking oil, craft chemicals, degreasers, drain cleaner, fertilizer, fluorescent light bulbs, herbicides, household chemicals, motor oil, gas and old gas cans, paints & stains, paint thinners, pest strips, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, photo chemicals, pool chemicals, oil filters, solvents, transmission fluid and varnish. Latex Paint is not considered a hazardous waste.


What is not Accepted?


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Ammunition, asbestos, building materials, butane cylinders, computer components, electronics, explosives, medical waste, PCBs, propane cylinders, radioactive material, smoke detectors, tires and TVs.


Need More Info?


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If you have questions about a specific waste not listed above call the City of Fort Worth Environmental Collection Center 817-871-5276 to find out if it's accepted. For assistance, questions, or more information on proper handling and disposal of household hazardous wastes, contact Deputy Chief Bryan Thomas with the Southlake Fire Services at 817-748-8146.


You Should Also Know


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Under a contract with the City of Fort Worth, Southlake residents also have the option of delivering household hazardous waste products to the Environmental Collection Center, located at 6400 Bridge Street. Residents should call 817-871-5257 for days and hours of operation. During the recorded message, you will hear the operator tell you to check with your city to see if you need a voucher. Southlake residents don't need a voucher, but do need to take a current copy of their water bill to prove their residency. This ensures that the Collection Center will charge the city, not you, for your participation.


Please keep in mind that the City pays $46 per drop-off regardless of the volume of items being delivered. As a result, the city urges residents to limit their trips to the drop-off center, or to combine their household hazardous waste products with those of their neighbors to make a single visit. For more information, visit the center's website .

SPIN INTO SPRING

The SPIN into Spring Garden Tour will take place Sunday, April 19, 2009 from 10am to 4pm. Tickets are available for purchase at Calloway’s Nursery and the Recreation Center Office at Bicentennial Park. For more information please go www.KeepSouthlakeBeautiful.com or call 817.748.8019.

Homeowner’s Security Survey

If you are interested in making your home more secure AND saving
money on your homeowner’s insurance rates, we offer another free
service to residents:

For Safety - The Security Survey is an inspection conducted on
your home by a certified Crime Prevention Officer. The officer
checks the interior and exterior of your home and discusses how
better to secure the premises. The officer draws up a plan specific to
your home, making recommendations about subjects such as locks,
lighting, landscaping, etc.

For an Insurance Discount - Texas law allows for a 5% insurance
rate discount if the residence meets certain basic requirements. If
your home meets these requirements, the Crime Prevention Officer
submits a report to the Texas Insurance Board for your rate reduction.
If your home fails to meet the requirements, the officer gives you a
report indicating how to bring it up to the insurance standards.
That same Texas law allows for a 15% discount if the residence
meets the basic requirements as well as certain advanced requirements.
This level requires a monitored alarm system connected to specific
windows and doors in the home.

For further information on this service, contact Corporal Mike
Bedrich at 817.748.8137. Corporal Bedrich will get forms to you
to fill out in advance and set an appointment to meet at your home
for the inspection. Please be aware that the insurance discount is not
immediate - this is one government entity dealing with another!
Colleyville Police Department can also provide this service.
Please contact Officer Bill Hudgins at (817) 503-1230 or by email
at hudginsb@ci.colleyville.tx.us

Best regards,

Rhonda Moore
Lieutenant, Community Initiatives Unit
871.748.8349
Southlake DPS

http://www.kencemedia.org/www.peelinc.com/newsletters/0704TM.pdf

A New Year, a New Statistic - Home Prices Plunge 19%

RISMEDIA, April 2, 2009-While the new year is a time for many to start over, a report released yesterday on U.S. housing prices may encourage many to start house shopping. Prices of single-family homes in the U.S. dropped a drastic 19% for the year from January 2008 through January 2009, according to Standard & Poor’s S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, one of the leading measures of U.S. home prices.

According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, 13 out of the 20 metro areas across the U.S. saw record rates of annual decline, while 14 areas reported declines in excess of 10%, compared with the rates in January 2008. Following the lead of the 14 metro areas, the 10-City Composite and the 20-City Composite also set new records, with annual declines of 19.4% and 19.0% respectively.

“Home prices, which peaked in mid-2006, continued their decline in 2009,” says David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index committee at Standard and Poor’s. “There are very few bright spots that one can see in the data. Most of the nation appears to remain on a downward path, with all of the 20 metro areas reporting annual declines, and nine of the MSA’s falling more than 20 percent in the last year. Indeed, the two composites are very close to that rate and have been reporting consecutive annual declines since October 2007. The monthly data follows a similar trend, with the 10-City and 20-City Composite showing thirty consecutive months of negative returns.”

As of January 2009, average home prices across the U.S. are at similar levels to what they were in late 2003. From the peak in the second quarter of 2006, the 10-City Composite is down 30.2% and the 20-City Composite is down 29.1%.

While all 20 metro areas reported negative monthly and annual rates of change in average home prices, seven metro areas and the 20-City Composite recorded a record monthly decline in January. Seven metro areas reported declines in excess of 4% in January, with Phoenix leading at -5.5%. On a somewhat positive note, Cleveland, Los Angeles and Las Vegas reported a relative improvement in home prices in year-over-year returns, in terms of lesser rates of decline than the previous month’s values.

In terms of annual declines, the three worst performing cities are Phoenix (down 35%), Las Vegas (down 32.5%) and San Francisco (down 32.4%), while Dallas, Denver and Cleveland had the best results in terms of annual decline: 4.9%, 5.1% and 5.2%, respectively.

Looking at the data from peak-thru-January 2009, Dallas is the least hurt (down 10.8%), while Phoenix is down 48.5% from its peak in June 2006. The rate of decline from the individual heights of each marketplace show how much each market has taken back in terms of the gains they earned within the past 10-15 years. All 20 metro areas are in double digit declines from their peaks, with nine of the MSA’s reporting declines greater than 30% and five of those (Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Diego) in excess of 40%.

For more information, visit www.standardandpoors.com.