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MESSAGE from Nigel Hoss, President
Dear Members,
Asmanyofyoumayknow,affordabilityinthe marketplace is becoming somewhat challenging because as an industry, we are seeing municipal regulations and ordinancesincreasingthenewhomeprices,ultimately pricing out a huge piece of the market.
This is not just limited to one community; this is something we are seeing all throughout the nine county area. BAGI and the government affairs committee is working hard to come up with some solutions to help mitigate some of these issues.
NIGEL HOSS
The BAGI Board of Directors along with the government affairs committee are working to devise a plan which willdiminishsomeoftheseissues. Thatfactis,area demographics point out that only 23% of residents
in the nine-county area can comfortably qualify foramortgageamountof$250,000ormore. Yet, development costs and local regulations often prohibit homes under $250,000 from being built in local municipalities.
In order to meet the needs of the large demographic which exists in Central Indiana, we have to further open
Some of the issues we are seeing are zoning changes, regulations regarding uses of exterior materials and even changes to existing planneddevelopments. Incommunitiesaroundthearea,weregularly seeadditionalregulationsthatimpactbothbuildersandbuyers. In fact, recent national data has shown that regulatory costs such as impact fees, permits, environmental management, and construction codesrepresentabout25%ofthe nalcostofanewhome. AsBuilder Magazine frames it, what other consumer durable has upwards of 25% of its cost chalked up to government fees, regulations, obligations, taxes, and expense related to delays reaching the market?
the lines of communication with local municipalities and continue topleadourcase. AsImentioned,BAGIisworkingtocreateaplan ofaction. Weexpecttobecommunicateourplaninthenextcouple months. Ifyouwouldliketobeinvolvedinthegovernmentaffairs committee, please feel free to contact Kate Collins at BAGI.
Sincerely,
NIGEL HOSS, President
Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis
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