FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Sharon Couts
Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties
425.499.1723

REX/T-REX Awards of the Master Builders Association Wins National Award

Bellevue, Wash., October 25, 2016—The Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBA) was recently honored with a national Council Award for Demonstrating Remodeling Excellence (CADRE) award, Public Relations and Promotion category, in recognition of their Remodeling Excellence (REX) and Trade Remodeling Excellence (T-REX) awards program. The CADREs are presented each year by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Remodelers program.

The awards were announced October 6 during the annual NAHB Remodelers awards presentation at the 2016 Remodeling Show in Baltimore.

The MBA took home the honors in the public relations category of the CADREs for their work on their 30th anniversary Remodeling Excellence (REX) Awards event. Their efforts to improve the event resulted in an attendance increase of more than 100%, an 18% increase in award entry submissions, and triple the number of sponsorships from 2015.

The CADRE is the NAHB Remodelers' highest national award for work at the local level. To learn more about the REX/T-REX program, visit mbaks.com/rc

About the MBA

Founded in 1909, the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBA) has grown to become the largest residential home builders association in the United States. With 2,800 member companies, the MBA is dedicated to membership value, government advocacy, financial stewardship, and promoting the residential building industry in the Puget Sound Region. The Association and its members address many of the concerns and issues affecting the residential housing industry. If you are looking to buy, build, remodel, or maintain your home, trust the MBA for industry professional referrals and practical information to get the job done. mbaks.com

ABOUT NAHB

The National Association of Home Builders, or NAHB, is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 140,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB is affiliated with 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB builder members will construct about 80% of the new housing units projected in 2016.

###

USEPA photo by Eric Vance

LDC Inc. went to Washington, D.C. October 24 to advocate for sensible stormwater management regulations that lead to clean water for communities instead of mountains of paperwork.

Representing builders and developers who do business in Environmental Protection Agency Region 10, Clay White, principal planner, joined nine other NAHB members from across the country to meet EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and his top local enforcement officials.

NAHB members suggested several ways EPA could improve the process, including:

• A simplified permit process for small lots. EPA's compliance template for single-family homes in large subdivisions that could also serve as a streamlined permit: it's concise and written in "builder language" because NAHB helped develop it.
• A "find it, fix it" approach. Rather than penalize first-time violators, EPA inspectors should provide compliance assistance during site visits and allow builders to correct minor infractions so they can do it right the next time.
• Better coordination among regulators. Multiple visits from local, state and federal inspectors to the same site can result in very different observations and citations. The EPA needs to allow the states, and not themselves, to play the lead role in stormwater enforcement.
• Continued participation in EPA's "Smart Sectors" Program. Homebuilders were invited to participate this business community partnership to develop sensible regulations while protecting the environment and public health.

White was pleased at EPA's response. "It was tremendous to meet with Administrator Pruitt and the EPA team on issues that are impacting our building community. I believe that this meeting will result in positive outcomes for the builders in our region."

For stormwater management resources, visit the NAHB Stormwater Toolkit.

By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

The housing and economic indicators featured in this month’s Builders Bulletin reflect the state of the market just prior to the start of the COVID-19 crisis in the Puget Sound region. It shows housing inventories still very low in our two counties, with 1.17 months’ supply in King County and 0.93 months’ supply in Snohomish County. Data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Services also show median home prices holding steady in February—$615,000 in King County and $494,263 in Snohomish County. The February unemployment rate was a near record-low 2.6% for Seattle/Bellevue/Everett and statewide construction employment was 225,200.

The Builder's Bulletin is intended to provide a convenient way to track housing in our market and includes information from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, State of the Cities Data Systems, Office of Financial Management and the Washington State Employment Security Department.

Download this month's report: