During the turmoil of World War II, when rationing was in full swing and building materials were in short supply, the housing industry needed an advocate. Proving that positive can come from adversity, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) was born to do just that.

In 1942, the National Home Builders Association and the Home Builders Institute of America joined forces to create the NAHB as the unified voice of the housing industry. By 1952, the membership grew to 15,000 but their goal of speaking as one was still a priority and the association believed it required more movement in this direction. This led to the creation of the Membership Bible to guide local chapters and staff in retaining and growing membership.

A membership survey of 1959 revealed that the greatest challenges facing the industry were eerily similar to those builders struggle with today: “available land and reasonable price,” availability of mortgage financing and the high costs of construction. Perhaps most shocking, however, is that the majority of home builders were selling homes for a mere $13,000 to $20,000.

Today, NAHB serves as a federation of more than 800 state and local associations and more than 200,000 members, one-third of who are home builders or remodelers while the other two-thirds are working in related fields in the industry such as mortgage finance and building products and services. Impressively, NAHB members construct about 80 percent of the new homes built each year in the Untied States. With a staff of 300 in the nation’s capital and a board of directors of more than 2,800, the association’s senior officers set the agenda for NAHB.

How They Serve

The various groups of NAHB address the most pressing issues in the industry through various avenues: analyzing policy issues, telling the industry’s story to the media, monitoring and working for improvement in the housing finance system, and analyzing and forecasting economic and consumer trends. Particularly in today’s economic climate, this is important and necessary work.

Their Political Action Committee, BUILD-PAC, is the tool with which they make sure the relevant policy issues and interests are kept on law makers’ desks and that the industry is considered when laws and policies are passed. Mortgage finance, codes, and the environment are only a few of these areas of focus.

Like most associations, the NAHB has an annual convention, the International Builders’ Show or ISB, the largest of its kind for the residential and light commercial sectors of construction. NAHB’s 20 Clubs Program is an opportunity for builders and remodelers from non-competing markets to meet several times a year to share their wisdom and learn new ways to improve their operations and increase their bottom lines. From financial information to advise on increasing profit ratio, these clubs are an important resource for all NAHB members, allowing them to improve their performance.

The association also has two important Affiliates, the NAHB Research Center and the Home Builders Institute. The first works to develop and test new materials and standards to improve technology and affordability in America’s housing industry. The Builders Institute is NAHB’s workforce development sector that provides a range of educational and job training programs. Included in these educational programs are conferences, audio seminars and webcasts, classes, and the NAHB University of Housing which offers classes, events, and professional development opportunities.

NAHB even has its own non-profit organization, the Home Building Industry Disaster Relief Fund (HBIDRF), which was created to facilitate rebuilding in communities struck by disaster.

On Today’s Agenda

At the forefront of the association’s agenda today are issues such as green building, energy, safety and legal issues. Perhaps most pressing is the affect of the federal stimulus package members. You don’t need to be in the construction industry for the economy to be posing problems and NAHB has elevated this issue to help members adjust and address the issue and its implications. They have even developed options for local and state governments to create their own sort of stimulus that would aid local businesses at the grass roots level.

The association’s wealth of knowledge on all issues in the construction industry, from new environmentally-friendly tools and materials to legal resources, leaves no stone unturned. Members and chapters are represented well by this unified voice, serving the interests of the entire industry.