VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2023
New Home Sales Up But Market Weakness Remains
While new home sales posted a modest gain in December, elevated mortgage rates and higher construction costs continue to hinder housing affordability and dampen consumer demand. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in December increased 2.3% to a 616,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a downwardly revised reading in November, according to newly released data by HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. New home sales were down 16.4% in 2022 compared to the previous year. A new home sale occurs when a sales contract is signed or a deposit is accepted. The home can be in any stage of construction: not yet started, under construction or completed. In addition to adjusting for seasonal effects, the December reading of 616,000 units is the number of homes that would sell if this pace continued for the next 12 months. New single-family home inventory remained elevated at a 9 months’ supply (of varying stages of construction). A measure near a 6 months’ supply is considered balanced. The count of homes available for sale, 461,000, is up 18.5% over last year. The median new home sale price in December was $442,100, down 3.7% from November. But it is still up 7.8% compared to last year due to higher construction costs. Regionally, on a year-to-year basis, new home sales fell in all four regions, down 8.2% in the Northeast, 22.1% in the Midwest, 13.0% in the South and 23.5% in the West.
Greetings fellow Gold Coast Builders Association Members and Potential Members, I’m Frank Coppola and I am proud to serve GCBA as President. If you attended our Installation of Officers and Awards event, you know just how passionate I am about leadership and challenging each and every one of you to be the best you can be. During our event I challenged everyone to become involved, literally roll up your sleeves and accept responsibility to serve with and for fellow members. Many of you accepted that challenge. For those of you who either did not attend our Installation and Awards event or have not taken my message to heart, it’s time for a recap. GCBA offers an awesome opportunity in three areas; business development, personal growth, and a chance to move our industry. To reap these rewards my message is simple: If you provide value to others then you are entitled to a piece of it. Pretty easy, right? All three components go together. Don’t get me wrong. You can focus on one area and achieve moderate success. However, if you consistently work towards helping others grow their business, celebrate the success of others, all in concert with benefiting our industry as a whole, THEN exponential growth is possible. You see, one item without the other two is like a three-legged stool on which hyper-successful people sit and are happy. Each item (stool leg) supports stable success that leads to great rewards. Getting involved, by accepting responsibilities within GCBA puts you, your services, and products in front of many people who share your goal of being successful. Ask any of our members what makes them winners and they will point to being involved in our communities; in their church or a civic organization; in our organization. Accepting responsibility and serving others. The add-value component is critical. Remember when I warned in my speech against becoming the energy-vampire in the room? When you are involved and bring value with you, you will leave with even more value because sharing value is contagious. When you share value, others want to share with you. Collaboration is a form of currency. The more you can help someone solve a problem, suggest a solution, have a “what about this” positive input, the more you will expand your knowledge and be set to reap rewards. It really is a win-win scenario for everyone. And that is my last point. Look at EVERYTHING as a win-win. I like winners. Then again, who doesn’t? In business many think it takes a mixture of win-win and win-lose to succeed. This is a false narrative. It’s complete nonsense! Think about it for a minute. One can advance in business, short term, with the win-lose mindset. However, if you look back on the MOST successful relationships in your life, be it business or personal, I am confident that they are win-win relationships. I know with constant daily practice your ability to create more love and money will increase exponentially if you look for and create win-win scenarios. Think big! Make decisions that are not only good for you, but good for our community, our great state of Florida, and our country. Not only will you win, but you will surround yourself with winners! By becoming win-win conscious and win-win doers, we are creating not just a philosophy for what we do but we create who we each are from this point on – we are winners! What you do once you do always, so let’s stay focused on winning. After all, winning really is a simple process. Accept responsibility. Add value. Reap rewards. Respectfully yours, Frank R. Coppola, III GCBA 2023 President
GCBA President’s MessagE FEBRUARY 2023
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Executive OFFICERS PRESIDENT Frank R. Coppola lll, Coppola Brothers 1ST VP Michael Nunziata, 13th Floor Homes 2ND VP Jon Long, Ryan Homes VP FINANCE Steve Karp, Karp PA ASSOCIATE VP Anthony Macaluso, Integrity Development Group 2nd Assoc. VP Ethan Nelson, NelStone Consulting and Repair, LLC IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Rafael Roca, D.R. Horton Homes Board of Directors Builder Members Mark Richards, Stock Custom Homes Mark Kruger, Hierromat Development Mark Welsh, Lennar Homes Herb Tremble, Master Contractor and Subcontractor Association of Florida Matt Ellish, Ellish Custom Homes Michelle Mockenhaupt, D.R. Horton Associate Members Mark Anderson, U.S. Bank Sam Yates, Yates & Associates Rick Baxter, Palm Beach Post Andy Wyman, Wyman Legal Solutions Executive Officer: KT Catlin Director of Member Services: Andrea Flores Bookkeeping: Kathy Bass Design: Gregory J. Del Deo
February – NAHB Career & Technical Education Month February 10 – Coffee & Conversation – 8:30AM March 3 – Coffee & Conversation – 8:30AM March 8 – Meet the Builder Speed Networking 3-5PM, 5-6PM drinks/networking March 16 – Quarterly Board Meeting – 4PM March 20-22 – FHBA Spring Leadership – All Day April 7 – Coffee & Conversation – 8:30AM April 26 – HHHH – 5:30 PM May 5 – Coffee & Conversation – 8:30AM May 19 – Annual Golf Outing – 8AM June – Annual Homeownership Month June 6-10 – NAHB Spring Leadership – All Day June 14 – GCBA Quarterly Board Meeting – 4PM June 21 – Hurricane Preparedness – 9AM July 7 – Coffee & Conversation – 8:30AM July 19-20 – SEBC – All Day August 4 – Coffee & Conversation – 8:30AM September 1 – Coffee & Conversation – 8:30AM September 6 – Quarterly Board Meeting – 4PM September 12 – PRISM – 6PM September 19-21 – NAHB Fall Leadership – All Day October 18 – Annual Meeting – 5PM October TBA – FHBA Fall Boards – All Day November 3 – Coffee & Conversation – 8:30AM November 9 – Annual Chili Cook-Off – 5:30PM December 1 – Coffee & Conversation – 8:30AM December 6 – Board Meeting & Full Strategic Planning for Next 5 Years 12-6PM December 13 – Holiday HHHH – 5:30PM
GCBA 2023 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
GCBA 2023 Leadership List
If you are interested in serving on the Board and/or Becoming an Office please contact KT at 561-228-6137 or KT@GCBAFlorida.com
Welcome to our Newest Members!
Contact Us - FHBA Private Insurance Exchange Phone: (800) 282-8626 Fax: (904) 212-2058 Address: FHBA Member Benefits 10739 Deerwood Park Blvd. Suite 200-B Jacksonville, FL 32256
MEMBERS SAVINGS & REBATE PROGRAMS
ASSOCIATES 84 Lumber Co. Sean Peterson sean.peterson@84lumber.com 561-841-2584 Arciero Drone Services Dean Arciero info@arcierodroneservices.com 561-284-6159 Greenspoon Marder Elizabeth Adler info@gmlaw.com 954-491-1120 Integrity Development Group (IDG) Anthony Macaluso tmacaluso@teamidg.us 561-262-1002 IOA (Insurance Office of America) Nick DiBattisto nick.dibattisto@ioausa.com 561-296-5910 Magellan, Inc. Real Estate & Relocation Kimberlie Barrett Max Granite LLC Fernanda Monteiro fern.monteiro11@gmail.com 1-561-451-6971 Palm Beach Xterior Matt Howard Rainstar Capital Group Ben Groenevelt The John Morgan McLachlan Agency, Inc. Karen Adamsbaum karen@insuranceagent.com 908-526-4600 X207 VanDyk Mortgage Corporation Thecia Maurone-Toth ttoth@vandykmortgage.com 954-560-2885 AAV GContractors Inc. Alvaro Velasquez aavgcontractors@gmail.com 954-660-0153 BUILDERS Atlantic Home Stuart MacGregor stuart@atlantichomefl.com 561-322-8270 CMax Construction, LLC Chuck Maxwell EG Homes LLC Hunter Lancaster office@eghomesflorida.com 561-400-5528 Heritage Carpet & Tile, Inc. Colin McCabe cmccabe@heritageflooring.com 561-424-9090 If you sponsored one of these individuals please let KT know! We will be having year long contests and recognition for Recruiting & Retention!
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GCBA MEMBERSHIP NEWS FEBRUary 2023
GCBA 2023 TOP RECRUITERS Michele Mockenhaupt – 4 Frank Coppola – 2 Marc Kruger – 1 GCBA SPIKE CLUB Members reach the GCBA Spike Club once you recruit 5 or more members in the current year. GCBA Spike Club Members will be recognized at Board Meetings & more!
BUILD-PAC ENJOYS SuccesS In Competitive Races BUILD-PAC, NAHB's bipartisan fundraising arm, enjoyed real success in helping to ensure the new Congress supports pro-housing and pro-business policies. Increased investment from NAHB members allowed BUILD-PAC to disburse a total of $2.8 million to federal candidates and committees for these elections. BUILD-PAC contributed to 376 candidates, and remained active in 100 competitive or toss-up House and Senate races. Thanks to the PAC's involvement, 92% of supported campaigns won their races on Nov. 8.
NAHB Criticizes Biden Rental Plan The White House on Jan. 25 announced a plan to "protect renters and promote rental affordability," but NAHB called it "the wrong strategy" to confront the nation's housing affordability crisis. NAHB criticized the White House plan for focusing on rental protections instead of market solutions that will ease the nation's housing and rental affordability crisis by spurring production of badly needed affordable housing. NAHB believes policymakers should instead strengthen successful programs like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.
New Radon Rules for SomE MULTIFAMILY Properties The Federal Housing Finance Agency recently announced enhanced radon testing requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily properties with loan applications received after June 30, 2023. The enhanced testing at Fannie and Freddie-backed multifamily properties will include: Increasing the amount of required testing from 10% of ground floor units to 25% of ground floor units; requiring an environmental professional to oversee radon testing; and requir- ing the environmental professional to notify tenants of radon testing.
$1.2 Billion for Strict Energy Codes The Biden administration has launched several federal initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through programs designed to encourage state and local governments to update their building energy codes. Embedded in two recent pieces of legislation – the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 – was $1.2 billion in incentives specifically for states to update their energy codes for new homes.
New WOTUS Rule Muddies the Waters The Biden administration on Dec. 30, 2022, announced a final rule that will dramatically expand the definition of "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The final rule continues to rely upon a confusing theory of CWA federal jurisdiction known as the "significant nexus test" to potentially assert federal control over isolated wetlands, features that contain water only in response to rainfall events, and ephemeral streams that affect many activities.
Andy Wyman, Esq. is the founder of Wyman Legal Solutions in Boca Raton, Florida, and holds a Martindale-Hubbell rating of “AV-Preeminent” – the highest such rating for legal ability and ethical standards. An avid golfer, Andy resides in Boca Raton, Florida with his wife and two children. You can learn more about Andy at https://wymanlegalsolutions.com/about-us/. Email Andy at andy@WymanLegalSolutions.com with any thoughts you would like to share concerning this article.
A properly filed construction lien makes it more likely that you will get paid than anything else you can do. When you are owed money, getting a client to pay you can be difficult. Lawsuits are expensive and high-risk. Demand letters, texts, emails and phone calls are ineffective. They won’t stop an owner from delaying your payments. You may have to rely upon a properly filed and recorded construction lien to make sure you get paid. A construction lien secures your claim for payment with the owner’s property. When you have a lien, your construction attorney can force your customer’s property to be sold to pay you the money you are owed (think of it like a mortgage). There are strict rules that must be followed when filing construction liens in Florida that dictate: i) who can file a lien, ii) where the lien must be filed, iii) when it must be filed, and iv) how much can be included in the lien. The construction lien law in Florida is unforgiving. If you get it wrong, it can mean all the difference between getting paid and not getting paid. If you are contemplating filing a construction lien in Florida, you must speak to a construction law attorney. Your family lawyer doesn’t understand construction liens. Neither does the lawyer who prepared your will or the lawyer who helped you create your business. Lawyers who do not practice construction law every day like we do, do not understand construction lien law. If you have any questions about how construction liens work, or other ways our team can help you get paid on time every time, please call me at (561) 361-8700.
LEGAL ROUNDUP
USE CONSTRUCTION LIENS
Remodeling Sentiment Weaker in Q4, But Still Positive
The Cost of Rising Mortgage Rates As the Federal Reserve fights inflation, mortgage rates have increased rapidly, starting 2022 at 3% and rising above 7% before dropping back to roughly 6.5%. How does this affect affordability? The difference between a slightly more than 3% mortgage rate and a 7% mortgage rate adds roughly an additional $1,000 mortgage payment to a typical, new median-priced single-family home and prices 18 million U.S. households out of the market for the home. A mortgage payment on a $450,700 home would have increased from $1,925 in January 2022 to $2,923 in late October when mortgage rates topped 7%.
The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 66 for Q4 of 2022, a decline of 17 points compared to Q4 of 2021. The survey asks remodelers to rate five components of the remodeling market as “good,” “fair” or “poor”. Each question is measured on a scale from 0 to 100, where a number above 50 indicates that a higher share view conditions as good than poor. The Current Conditions Index is an average of three components: the current market for large remodeling projects, moderately sized projects and small projects. The Future Indicators Index is an average of two components: the current rate at which leads and inquiries are coming in and the current backlog of remodeling projects. The overall RMI is calculated by averaging the Current Conditions Index and the Future Indicators Index.
Fewer Planning Home Purchase The share of adults planning a home purchase in the next 12 months dropped to 13% in the final quarter of 2022, down from 15% in the previous quarter. The drop is not surprising, given that housing afford- ability worsened during this period, as mortgage interest rates surpassed 7% and reached levels not seen in nearly 20 years. The share of adults with plans to buy a home within a year changed unevenly across regions from the third to the final quarter of 2022, dropping in the Northeast (15% to 11%) and West (20% to 14%), staying flat in the South (at 14%), and edging up in the Midwest (9% to 10%).
GOLD COAST BUILDERS ASSOCIATION 2023 OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS SWORN IN DURING INSTALLATION AND AWARDS EVENT
The Gold Coast Builders Association recently swore in the 2023 Officers and Board of Directors during the organization’s Annual Installation and Awards celebration at Crazy Uncle Mike's in Boca Raton. Gold Coast Builders Association Executive Officers are: President: Frank R. Coppola III – Coppola Brothers, LLC 1st Vice President: Michael Nunziata – 13th Floor Homes 2nd Vice President: Jon Long – Ryan Homes Vice President of Finance: Steve Karp – Karp PA Associate Vice President: Anthony Macaluso – Integrity Development Group 2nd Associate Vice President: Ethan Neilson – NelStone Consulting and Repairs, LLC Immediate Past President: Rafael Roca – D.R. Horton Homes The Board of Directors for the Gold Coast Builders Association is comprised of Licensed General Contractors and other professionals, Associates, who provide superior services to the construction industry. Builders: Mark Richards – Stock Custom Homes Mark Kruger – Hierromat Development Mark Welsh – Lennar Homes Herb Tremble – Master Contractor and Subcontractor Association of Florida Matt Ellish – Ellish Builders Michele Mockenhaupt – DR Horton Associates: Mark Anderson – U.S. Bank Rick Baxter – Palm Beach Post/LocalIQ Sam Yates – Yates & Associates Tom Corona – SwellFi LLC Andrew Wyman – Wyman Legal Solutions “I'm proud to serve GCBA, as President alongside such a strong board of directors in 2023,” said Frank Coppola, president, Coppola Brothers Construction and Project Management. In addition to being sworn in as the GCBA’s new President, Coppola was honored with the Remodeler of the Year Award. The Remodeler of the Year Award was presented by outgoing GCBA President Rafael Roca. “This award is presented each year to recognize a Builder in the specific area of remodeling who has contributed to the success of our association and industry. I am proud to present this award to Frank for his untiring efforts and success,” said Roca. Other Awards for GCBA Members included: The Paul Denier-Stephanie Glaser Membership Award -- Michele Mockenhaupt of DR Horton Homes. The Spirit of the GCBA Award -- Sam Yates of Yates & Associates Public Relations The Distinguished Service Award -- Kevin Ratterree from GL Homes The Founders Award – Jeff Spears of the Spear Group The Freshman Award – David Burnstein of Atlantic Pacific Insurance The Outstanding Industry Contribution Award -- Robert Wienroth former Mayor of Palm Beach County The Lifetime Service Award -- Scott Worley of Northstar Building Management, LLC The Associate of the Year Award -- Tony Macaluso of Integrity Development Group The Builder of the Year Award -- Rafael Roca of DR Horton Please take a moment to reach out to congratulate our new Officers, Board Members, and Award Winners. The Gold Coast Builders Association Mission is to promote the home building, development and remodeling industry in Palm Beach and northern Broward Counties. To accomplish its mission, GCBA provides exceptional service to our members through strategic planning, governmental affairs, education, and sales and marketing, while fostering business relationships wherein our members work with other members. We urge you to become involved with the GCBA activities and events. The rewards are tremendous!
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Construction Defect Legislation Makes First Committee Stop
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On Thursday, Jan. 26, HB85 made its first committee stop with the House Civil Justice Subcommittee. This bill will define materiality per the Florida Building Code and reduce the statute of repose from ten years to seven. HB 85 passed out of committee with a 15-3 vote and will now move on to the Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee. Meanwhile, the Senate Companion, SB360 was filed last week by Senator Travis Hutson (R-Jacksonville). Mike Keesee, FAIBD, CPBD, CGP, CAPS, founder of Total Solutions Group in Maitland represented FHBA during the Subcommittee meeting and was among those who testified on behalf of the bill.
With the launch of the new FHBA Member Portal, registration for the 2023 Spring Legislative Conference is OPEN! Don't miss your opportunity to represent your business, community and industry at the State Capitol this March 20-23. We will once again return to the AC Marriott hotel located at 801 South Gadsden Street. Rooms should be booked before Feb. 21- but with the city buzzing during session, reservations should be made sooner than later! Don't wait, register for spring conference now! As a reminder, you will need to follow the instructions above to set up your new account on the new FHBA member portal to register for this event.
Enter Your Projects In The 2023 Aurora Awards
The 2023 Aurora Awards are open for entry! Sixty categories, spanning projects of all types as well as sales and marketing efforts will honor the best of the best this July in Orlando. New this year: All entries have gone digital. Click the button below to get started today with the new Aurora Awards Entry Portal!