Home Builders Lobby Against Energy Proposals

Washington, DC, Aug. 7, 2009--The National Association of Home Builders is sounding the alarm about proposed legislation regarding home energy efficiency that it says could price many home buyers out of the market.

Under a measure approved by the House and being considered by the Senate, new homes would be required to have more insulation, more-efficient doors and windows, and heating and cooling systems that consume less energy.

The changes would cost $4,000 to $10,000 a home, and price more than 1 million people out of the market, Bill Killmer, a vice president of the National Association of Home Builders, estimated.

President Barack Obama’s goals of reviving the economy and saving energy clash in the new standards, according to appliance-maker General Electric Co. and the homebuilders association.

Builders are concerned that Congress would raise builders’ costs at the bottom of the worst housing market since World War II.

Housing starts climbed 3.6 percent in June from May to an annual rate of 582,000, a seven-month high, the Commerce Department said on July 17. Starts remained 74 percent below their 36-year high of 2.27 million in January 2006.

The climate bill passed by the House in June would require states to adopt building codes that increase the energy efficiency of new homes by 30 percent one year after passage and 50 percent by 2014. Builders would have to disclose how efficient their homes are. Renovations of existing homes would have to meet the codes when building permits are required for the work.

The Senate plans to draft its version of the legislation next month.

The homebuilders association has lobbied lawmakers in both congressional chambers, asking that the 30 percent reduction not take effect for two to three years.

Killmer says its data show that for every $1,000 increase in the price of a home, 250,000 people become unable to get a mortgage to buy the property.