NAHB State Representative Report

Key NAHB Issues

1. Top Policy Priorities in 2025: NAHB has sent a detailed list of housing priorities to the transition team of President-elect Donald Trump. Key areas include tax policy, regulatory reform, workforce development, and fixing building material supply chains.
2. A Quick Start Out of the Gate. NAHB has made solid progress in advancing our housing policy objectives less than one month into the new Congress and administration.
3. Trump Tariffs Will Raise Construction Costs. President Trump on Feb. 1 announced an across-the-board tariff of 25% on Canadian and Mexican goods coming into the United States, and these tariffs on building materials will raise construction costs and harm housing affordability.
4. Suit Against HUD Energy Codes Mandate: NAHB and 15 states have filed a joint lawsuit seeking to stop the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture from adopting the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 as the minimum energy-efficiency standards for certain single-family and multifamily housing programs.
5. Immigration reform. While the need for safe and secure borders is paramount, NAHB believes that mass deportation is not the answer because any shock to the labor force would have an adverse impact on housing costs and supply.
6. Housing Market Update: For 2025, amid a persistent housing shortage and ongoing solid economic conditions, NAHB forecasts a slight gain for single-family home building to a 1.05 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. Multifamily construction should stabilize later this year as lower short-term interest rates improve the financing outlook for apartment development.
7. Beneficial Ownership Reporting: The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a statement on Jan. 24 putting a halt to small business reporting requirements.
8. Matching Campaign: NAHB has launched a matching campaign to support rebuilding efforts in communities hit by natural disasters. NAHB will match dollar-for-dollar all donations made Nov. 1, 2024, through March 1, 2025, to the Home Building Industry Disaster Relief Fund — a recognized 501(c)(3) charitable organization — up to $500,000.
9. Housing Market Snapshot: Single-family housing starts, new home sales, existing home sales and multifamily production all posted gains in November. Meanwhile, builder confidence in December moved one point higher to a reading of 47.

A Quick Start Out of the Gate

NAHB has made solid progress on advancing our housing policy objectives less than one month into the new Congress and administration.

• President Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office that seeks to lower the cost and increase the supply of housing. The president noted that regulatory requirements alone account for 25% of the cost of constructing a new home.
• The House has already passed the Fix Our Forests Act (H.R. 471), legislation that would contribute to better forest management practices, help strengthen the nation’s housing supply chain and promote affordable housing opportunities for all Americans.
• The Senate has introduced the CONSTRUCTS Act, bipartisan workforce development legislation from Sens. Jackie Rosen (D-Nev.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) The bill addresses the lack of workers in the housing sector by expanding opportunities for residential construction training programs at community colleges and technical education schools.
• On the codes front, bipartisan legislation was introduced in the House (the Promoting Resilient Buildings Act) that would help jurisdictions preserve local control over the building code adoption process while also encouraging communities to take positive steps to withstand and recover from extreme events.
• Congressional resolutions were also introduced in both chambers of Congress that seek to block the Biden administration’s recent attempt to ban natural gas water heaters.
• Our solid start to 2025 was built on a strong foundation that we laid last year where we laid the groundwork to make housing a top priority at all levels of government.
• You can learn more about NAHB's advocacy team wins for our Federation in 2024 at nahb.org/advocacy/advocacy-overview