6 days Ago
The adage of “careful what you wish for, it might come true” is playing out for senior staff at the National Association of Home Builders. Getting to know many builders from around the country in my 20 years of national engagement, it is certain national membership voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. The adage of “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face” also comes to mind.
At an online postelection debriefing for members Wednesday, senior vice presidents of advocacy, lobbying, federal government affairs, and state and local government affairs spent an hour tallying perceived victories and expressing concerns about damaging industry effects from Trump’s two key issues: tariffs and immigration. They also were clear that local builders and developers are responsible for getting housing built by advocating on political issues in their own state and local jurisdictions. Victories seem Pyrrhic and somewhat irrelevant to Santa Fe builders.
The much-ballyhooed talk of excess regulations adding double-digit costs to homes came down to: NAHB staff was optimistic about the so-called tax cliff — the expiration of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts that would automatically raise taxes. They hope congressional renegotiations will protect good stuff for the industry while not increasing budget deficits. That’s a square peg trying to get into a round hole.
The worry, and faint hopes, are whether Congress and homebuilder lobbyists can bring a transactional case to the new administration and find consensus on across-the-board tariffs and deporting immigrant workers. Like, don’t do it. Staff noted immigrants, legal and otherwise, make up 30% of the national homebuilding workforce, and the industry is already short more than 400,000 workers.
In southern red states from Florida to Arizona, the immigrant worker percentage is certainly higher. They also noted how dependent American homes are on imported products, including a fast-growing segment from China. They concluded with the obvious: Homebuilding is local.
They urged builders to push for land donations from their cities and counties. They urged zoning changes to end one home per lot on large lots. They said more trades education is needed.
All good ideas, and Santa Fe should commit to all three. I would add industrial revenue bonds (not paid by taxpayers) for public infrastructure in Tierra Contenta, the midtown campus and Santa Fe Estates; trades education for adults in Spanish for new immigrants and incarcerated nonviolent offenders; and developer offsets for building affordable and first-time buyer homes. Santa Fe has local regulations adding costs to new homes, but they are inviolate.
It’s not going to — and should not — eliminate green building codes, affordable housing requirements, water rights purchases, early neighborhood notifications or design standards. But because those add costs, it needs to put its money where its mouth has been and get real on its stated commitment to get more houses built..
