Message from Doug

Housing Affordability and Regulation

With home appreciation on the rise, and the cost of new homes increasing, out come the predictable cries for affordable housing.

But fear not, local groups have come to the rescue with “solutions” to the affordable housing crisis. In a recent Atlanta Business Chronicle article, along with an op-ed piece in Georgia Trend magazine, solutions to the problem have been identified.

One suggestion is to offer more down-payment assistance for first-time affordable buyers. That sounds similar to what happened prior to the housing collapse and the Great Recession.

Another is to issue a $250 million bond for housing, with some of that money providing short-term and emergency solutions for people facing evictions. It that a long-term solution?

The Atlanta Business Chronicle article said that a housing task force visited Seattle for a peer exchange. In Seattle, they approved a special levy of property taxes to go towards housing affordability. Will that “rob from the rich and give to the poor” scheme be proposed for Atlanta?

Throughout all of these talks and grandiose solutions, has anyone bothered to talk with actual developers and homebuilders? Have any of these think tanks invited the Greater Atlanta Homebuilders Association to the table? That association is filled with some of the best building minds in the Southeast. Have their opinions been asked?

Have the people that actually build the houses been consulted on the subject of housing affordability?

If they had been consulted, Metro Atlanta homebuilders would have easily identified one big factor that contributes to the overall cost of the house: government regulation.

According to an NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index report, government regulation of some form or another accounted for six out of the top nine significant problems builders faced in 2017.

In a recent study by NAHB/NMHC, regulation imposed at all levels of government (local, state and federal) accounts for 32.1 percent of the cost of an average multifamily development. One-fourth of the time the cost can reach as high as 42.6 percent.

For single-family homes, government regulations account for, on average, 24.3% of the final price of a new single-family home.

When you apply the percentages from NAHB’s studies to Census data on new home prices between 2011 and 2016, it shows that regulatory costs for an average single-family home went from $65,224 to $84,671 – a 29.8% increase.

By comparison, disposable income per capita increased by 14.4% in that same five-year span. So, the cost of regulation in the price of a new home rose more than twice as fast as the average American’s ability to pay for it. That is certainly a big factor in housing affordability.

I was recently told by a local developer that it can take three years to convert raw land into vacant developed lots in Metro Atlanta, primarily due to regulation and red tape.

Everybody wants affordable housing, just not in their backyard. Residents and local jurisdictions say they want affordability. Then, they put strict guidelines on lot size and density. This forces the builder/developer to build larger houses on that property.

If we really want to address housing affordability, let’s ensure that those that actually build the homes have a voice in the process. Only then will real progress be realized.

To Your Success,

Recent Referrals - Thank You!

As we welcome the cooler temperatures, the changing of the leaves and football season, we also want to recognize our Herbert Construction clients who refer us to their families, friends and business associates. We appreciate your kind words, and your recommendations help continue to grow our business. THANK YOU!!!

David Goldschmidt, DiG Architects – Architect   www.DiGArchitects.com

Chip Aaron, Skywark Engineering – Engineer   www.SkywarkEngineering.com

Vince Longo, Vincent Longo Custom Builders – Builder   www.LongoCustomBuilders.com

Game On!

With college football season bringing out the fans, cookouts and the posturing that goes hand-in-hand with bragging rights, we have compiled a few interesting facts to get you through those commercial interruptions and half-time breaks.

¨ The Oklahoma Sooners hold the record for the longest winning streak in college football. The streak lasted 47 games, from 1954 until 1957.

¨ College football fields were originally 120 yards long and 100 yards wide.

¨ The most popular names for four-year college mascots are Eagles and Tigers.

¨ The white stripes on a college football are designed to help the receiver see the ball better.

¨ According to studies, it is estimated that 30% of tailgaters never make it inside the stadium.

¨ The longest field goal in college football was a 69-yarder by Ove Johansson of Abilene Christian in 1976.

¨ Goal posts were moved to the rear of the end zone in 1927. Before that, numerous injuries occurred when players would accidentally run into them.

¨ The record for most consecutive games without being shutout belongs to BYU (361 games over 28 years).

¨ In 1895, the North Carolina Tar Heels became the first college team to utilize the forward pass.

¨ Miami Hurricane quarterback Vinny Testaverde became the first (and only) player to win the Heisman, the Maxwell, the O’Brien and be selected first overall in the NFL Draft (1987).

¨ Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson was the first Heisman Trophy winner not to play an offensive position. The award, handed out since 1935, did not go to a defensive player until Woodson won it in 1997.

¨ The first college football game took place in 1869 between Princeton and Rutgers University. Each team had 25 players on the field, and no forward passing was allowed. Rutgers won by a score of 6 to 4.

¨ The oldest football still in existence, which is thought to have been made circa 1550, was discovered in the roof of Stirling Castle, Scotland, in 1981. The ball is made of leather (possibly from a deer) and a pig's bladder.

Herbert Construction Company Becomes First Certified Foundation Company in Georgia

This article originally appeared

in Concrete Facts Magazine

on May 29, 2018.

Mt. Vernon, Iowa – Concrete foundations constructed in the state of Georgia will now be produced by the state’s first CFA certified foundation company, Herbert Construction Company based in Marietta, Georgia.  “Certified Residential Foundation Company” is a program rating established by the Concrete Foundations Association, headquartered in Mount Vernon, Iowa, www.cfawalls.org, offering third-party quality assurance for professional concrete foundation companies.

Recognizing the need for a national program to establish a consistent base of knowledge and quality assurance for the cast-in-place concrete foundation industry, the Concrete Foundations Association™ of North America (CFA) created the Certified Residential Foundation Company over a decade ago. The program recognizes certified companies in the states of Missouri, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio and now Georgia.

“The Certified Foundation Company program was an ideal extension of the Certified Residential Foundation Technician that is offered through the American Concrete Institute,” states Jim Baty, Executive Director for the CFA.  “Introduced in 2007, the technician program established a grueling examination of the knowledge base for understanding the codes and standards that shape the minimum requirements for today’s residential concrete foundations.  However, having a person on staff or even multiple project managers that knows the important sections of code documents was just the start.  This industry needed a recognizable standard for operation of a quality foundation company.”

Herbert Construction became involved early on in the program as company President, Doug Herbert, participated in the formation of the market development package offered to companies achieving the benchmark.  The aggressively growing economy set the wheels in motion for the company to follow up on its original intent to become a certified company. “It became increasingly important and eventually essential for us to show our region that we are serious about our foundations and this program,” states Doug Herbert.  “I became an ACI/CFA Certified Technician several years ago and all along it has been my intent to have the company follow suit.  This shows our current and future customers that we are committed to being the best company that we can be.  We’ve put in a considerable effort to become a Certified Residential Foundation Company.  Our employees are what makes this certification possible, and we believe this will set our company apart from other construction companies as we continue to hire great people to join our company.”

Company certification was the obvious next step in Herbert Construction’s consistent involvement in the CFA. From their multiple awards in the CFA’s annual Projects of the Year competition, to their leadership and involvement in the association’s Board of Directors. That was instilled in the second generation, family-run company early on from founder and CEO, Barry Herbert, his daughter and V.P. for the company, Amanda Morris and now Doug Herbert. A member of the CFA since 1992, the process to become a certified company forced the family to look deeper into their processes, understanding their safety culture and identifying new ways to step forward in their commitments.  “Certified companies must prove their safety programming, commitment to workforce safety and performance, financial stability and quality of relationships,” states Ed Sauter, CFA Manager for Certification Programs.

“I’m quite proud of the statement this certification makes to our company culture and to our customers,” states Barry Herbert.  “Our goal has always been to commit ourselves to leadership through our processes, our relationships and our performance.  We are very pleased to have been through this process as it demonstrated just how much we already knew about our company but also some new ways to improve our processes and our commitments.”