2024 President, Dave Lemnah: Year in Review

The HBA Annual Meeting was held Thursday, October 24th at Denver Marriott West. 2024 HBA Board President, Dave Lemnah, shared some thoughts about the state of the HBA and summarized key accomplishments in 2024.

"It is an honor to stand before you today as the 2024 President of the Homebuilders Association of Metro Denver.

I’d like to start with a question for everyone here:  what could you buy today for $3,600?  Maybe a high-end laptop, a new kitchen appliance, or a maybe make a monthly mortgage payment?  When our HBA was founded back in 1942, $3,600 wasn’t pocket change, it was the price of a brand-new home in Denver.   While the world has changed dramatically, one thing has stayed the same:  our commitment to building homes and communities that last.  For the last 81 years, the Metro Denver HBA has been at the forefront of supporting builders, developers, and industry professionals.   From advocating for housing-friendly policies, to ensuring that our industry thrives, the HBA has built a strong legacy of leadership, service, and community. Together, we’ve faced economic challenges, pandemics, legislative hurdles, and shifting market dynamics—but we’ve always come through stronger, unified by our commitment to building homes and communities.  We have truly earned our HBA tagline of #hereforgood.

As a board member since 2018 and a member of the executive committee since 2020 it’s been an honor to be involved in the Metro Denver HBA.  The HBA provides so many essential resources like workforce development, charitable projects through the Homebuilders Foundation, councils (such as the PWB, SMC, CB & Remodelers, and Young Leaders), safety programs, stormwater education, leadership development, and so much more.  I’ve personally witnessed our industry working together to overcome challenges we face and the HBA staff’s absolute commitment to serving our industry.   Throughout my journey with the HBA I’ve personally witnessed the HBA staff, board, and members work together to address the Marshall fire natural disaster, respond to Covid, fight unjust tax measures and thwart anti-growth initiatives just to name a few. 

Our HBA staff does an outstanding job in support of our mission.  Ted, Morgan, Connie, Toby, Steve, Katie, Paige, Corinne, and Rich – thank you all for your contributions to our HBA and for all your support throughout my journey – I’m grateful.

2024 in Review:

At last year’s meeting, I laid out a vision for 2024 focused on tackling some of the biggest challenges facing our industry including construction defect litigation reform, housing attainability, and advocacy.  I am proud to share that we’ve made significant progress on these fronts and still have much more work to be done. 

Construction Defect Reform.

One of the most significant victories this year was the progress of Senate Bill 106 (SB 106) to address Construction Defect Reform. 

SB 106 was designed to reduce the frequency and severity of construction defect claims, particularly for condominium projects, which have been stalled for too long due to excessive litigation risks. This bill would have not only lowered insurance costs but also create more opportunities for homeownership, particularly in affordable housing​. 

This bill was a bi-partisan housing affordability bill which received overwhelming support in the Colorado Senate, including the majority of Senate Democrats and all Senate Republicans.  While the bill did not ultimately survive the House, I believe it made it much further through the process than many expected and shows that we’re gaining traction for change to be made.

Ted Leighty, our Board, and our allies made a valiant effort, and I know these changes will ultimately occur with the momentum we’re gaining.  I appreciated the opportunity to stand on the capitol steps advocating for this effort, as well as being able to provide direct testimony in support of needed changes in the senate hearing.  Through witnessing testimony directly myself, it’s evident that we’re going to need to be more effective in how we message affordable housing.  The homeowners who need affordable housing the most are currently faceless, and we will need to use language like the “affordable housing bill” instead of “construction defect reform”.  We experienced first-hand the Trial Bar’s compelling arguments against defect reform including soliciting testimony from individuals who have been directly impacted by construction defects.  In response, we will need to adapt our messaging and communication strategies in the future to overcome these challenges.

Housing Attainability and Pro-Housing Advocacy:

In 2024, we strengthened our relationships with local governments through events like our Housing Affordability Bus Tour and the MHC Political Forum.  The HBA Housing Affordability Bus Tour is an event where we host elected officials on a tour of different housing development sites across the Denver metro area to gain firsthand insight into the challenges and opportunities related to building affordable housing in the region.  This event serves as a great way to share our understanding of the housing market and the issues surrounding affordability in the Denver area.  It was great to see our member builders including Boulder Creek, Maker Housing Partners, and Lokal Homes showcase their ideas and solutions and invite dialogue with elected officials.

At the MHC Political Forum, we were further able to facilitate builder and elected official collaboration with a discussion on Water Conservation for sustainable growth.  Morgan Cullen (Director of Govt. Affairs) deserves accolades for organizing such well attended and engaging events.

I know our housing advocacy and government affairs efforts will continue creating dialogue and communication between our members and our elected officials.  The HBA has done a great job promoting these efforts and I’m very happy to highlight the addition of Albert Bozoki who has joined the HBA staff as Government Affairs coordinator, doubling down on our government affairs efforts supporting members.

Other Successes:

The HBA did great work this year and I’m proud to highlight a few other key accomplishments.

Marshall Fire:

In Louisville, Superior, and Boulder County we lost 1,100 homes from the Marshall Fire.  The HBA provided much needed guidance and assistance to municipalities and homeowners as they navigated the rebuild process.  Board member Steve Erickson recently provided an update showing that 60% of these homes have already been rebuilt and a total of 83% have either been rebuilt or are in the construction/permit process – more than twice as fast as typical wildfire recovery.   Special recognition goes to HBA members Ascent Builders, Boulder Creek Neighborhoods, Homebound, Remington Homes, Sheffield Homes, and TRC Residential who stepped up to the challenge of rebuilding many of these homes.

Commerce City Fee Abatement:

Lastly, I know that many of you are also aware that Commerce City was attempting to retroactively recoup fee assessments that the city failed to disclose and charge in 2023.  In coordination with legal support, our HBA was able to advocate for our builders and abate these fees, saving our members $7M, a number 3.5x greater than the to drive such meaningful results.  Our HBA is truly an advocate for builders and a force to be reckoned with. 

As I stand before you today, I am reminded of the words of Ronald Reagan, which I shared last year: "There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers." This group has the answers, and this year we have proven that we have the courage to do what is right. Our work is far from over, but together we are building a brighter, more affordable future for Colorado homebuyers.

Thank you all for your unwavering support and dedication to our industry. I’m proud to have been able to help lead this organization in 2024 and I’m excited for what we will continue to accomplish together. 

Here’s to 2025 and the future of homebuilding. Thank you!"