MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

WMA Member Honored By The Heritage Foundation
James and Melisha McAlister

WASHINGTON, May 5, 2016—James and Melisha McAlister, part-owners of the Clem Lumber and Distributing Co. in Alliance, Ohio, have been honored with The Heritage Foundation’s “John Von Kannon Patriot Award.”

Read more


ALERT!  HOTEL POACHING ADVISORY
Beware of solicitation from unauthorized hotels and housing agencies

There are hotel booking and housing agencies contacting World Millwork Alliance members and exhibitors claiming to represent WMA; stating that the convention hotel, the Sheraton Grand Phoenix Hotel, is sold out and offering to book hotel rooms for the WMA Annual Convention & Tradeshow in Phoenix, Arizona, this October.  Attendees and exhibitors who may be subject to inappropriate solicitation from hotels or third-party housing agencies should be aware that these solicitors are not affiliated with the WMA Annual Convention & Tradeshow.

Poachers may offer a lower hotel rate than the rates offered in our official block. Consequently, the reserved rooms may be of significantly lower quality, cancellation polices are often intolerant.

WMA goes to great lengths to ensure that every aspect of your convention and tradeshow experience is of the highest quality and value. Poachers do not have your best interests in mind, nor are they committed to providing a high level of customer service.

WMA convention host hotel is the Sheraton Grand Phoenix Hotel located next to the Phoenix Convention Center. Always refer to the WMA website for hotel room night availability or contact WMA directly.

We encourage you to book your accommodations through the official WMA Annual Convention hotel block directly through the WMA website when you register for the convention.

Any offers from other housing agents or agencies and/or hotels not listed in our block are not endorsed by WMA. Please report any unauthorized solicitations to WMA at Mail@worldmillworkalliance.com or by contacting WMA directly (727) 372-3665.


CODES & STANDARDS NEWS

New Overtime Rule Take Effect December 1st

NAHBNow reports that the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) “blasted the Department of Labor (DOL) after it issued its final overtime rule, stating that the regulation will hurt the workers it is intended to help while also causing major harm to the nation’s small business owners.”

Read More at NAHB


HOUSING INDUSTRY
 
OSHA Overreach: Do New Rules Go Too Far?

Workplace safety is clearly something the door and window industry takes seriously. A current poll on our website shows that more than 90 percent of respondents work for a company with a safety plan in place. That’s the good news. The bad news? Those safety plans will soon be tested by new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules.

Read more at DWM


Hurricane Season Approaches

Hurricane season officially starts on June 1. And officially, this month marks a new record for the United States, reported CNSnews.com: It has been “127 months since a major hurricane has made landfall in the continental United States, according to statistics compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Hurricane Research Division, which keeps data on all the hurricanes that have struck the U.S. since 1851.” (see: ” Season Approaches: U.S. Hits Record 127 Months Since Major Hurricane Strike,” by Barbara Hollingsworth)

Read more at JLC


Federal Reserve: Mortgage debt rises to 4-year high

The amount of money that Americans owe to mortgage lenders rose to the highest level in more than four years during the first quarter, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The New York Fed’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, released Tuesday, showed that the nationwide total of mortgage debt rose by $120 billion from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016, to a total of $8.37 trillion.

Read more at HOUSINGWIRE


Over 20% of Home Builders Have Already Used Aerial Drones

Results from a recent NAHB survey of single-family builders show that a majority of them (66 percent) are aware that unmanned aerial vehicles (i.e., drones) have been used on construction sites, and 22 percent have already used a drone in their own construction business at least once (including cases where they may have hired a third party to do so).

Read more at NAHB Eye On Housing


Lending Standards on AD&C Financing
Continue to Ease, but at a Diminished Pace

According to NAHB’s Survey on Acquisition, Development & Construction Financing, builders and developers again reported easing credit standards for acquisition, development, and construction (AD&C) loans. However, the pace of easing continues to slow from previous periods.

Read more at NAHB Eye On Housing


Existing-home sales top expectations in April

Existing-home sales managed to pull off a 1.7% increase in April in spite of ongoing inventory shortages and faster price growth, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Total existing-home sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million, compared to an upwardly revised 5.36 million in March. That’s 6.0% ahead of April 2015.  Single-family home sales rose 0.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million in April from 4.78 million in March, and are now 6.2% higher than year-ago levels.

Read more at HBSDEALER


The rise of the million-dollar home in today’s hottest markets

Unlike the rest of America’s million dollar homes that only witnessed a slight increase in price, there are niche markets where seven figure homes are now normal, particularly in the nation’s hottest housing markets.

Read more at HOUSINGWIRE


Rental surge: Why more people are opting
out of homeownership

Has the Great Recession launched a new era of renting versus buying that will eventually result in a nation where more people rent their homes than purchase them? Or is the increase in renters these days due to an “over-correction” in the market? According to the latest “State of the Nation’s Housing” report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, the U.S., in less than a decade, lost all its homeownership gains of the last 20 years.

Read more at HOUSINGWIRE


Multifamily Production: 1st Quarter 2016

An elevated market share for rental multifamily homes is holding typical new apartment size below levels seen during the pre-recession period. However, as multifamily developers build more for-sale housing units in the years ahead, the average size of multifamily homes is likely to rise. The recent pattern of change in the size of new multifamily units stands in contrast to the post-recession increase in the size of typical new single-family homes.

Read more at NAHB Eye On Housing


BUSINESS & ECONOMICS NEWS
 
Ten steps employers can take
now to prepare for the final overtime rule

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed overtime regulations are one step closer to becoming a reality for the American workforce.

On March 14, 2016, the DOL submitted their final version of the regulations to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, signifying the last step in the regulation becoming law.

Once the rule is finalized, an estimated five million “exempt” workers will become eligible for overtime. Employers need not wait to prepare for the impending changes. You can and should be proactive in evaluating the impact of the new rules, engaging your finance team with budgeting for the changes, and training management at all levels.

Read more at HBSDEALER


WMA ASSOCIATION NEWS
 
Ron Taylor Award Nominations Being Accepted

World Millwork Alliance is seeking nominations for the 2016 Ron Taylor Award (RTA). Do you know a WMA member who gives freely without reservation, has had a positive effect on others and contributes above and beyond; who is supportive and has been active in the World Millwork Alliance and their community?  Why not recognize that individual by nominating them for the RTA?  Nominate a WMA Member.

rta


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