2018 Year in Review: Predictable and Remarkable
Photo: One of the hallmarks of 2018 was the Association’s continued partnership with local high school and community college programs that will help combat our ongoing labor shortage and provide opportunities in our industry to young adults. To that end, Past President Michael Turner visited with Skyline High School building trades students in November.
By Phil Crone, JD, CGP, GSP
Executive Officer
When I write this column each year, I look back on the prior one to see how my predictions held up. A year ago, I predicted that affordability would become an even larger challenge thanks to the “three L’s” of lumber, labor and local regulation. I was hardly going out on a limb, but after record years those factors have brought us to a foreseeable shift in the market.
While making great “clickbait,” national stories on the forthcoming demise of the Dallas housing market are greatly exaggerated. Our job market remains the envy of the nation and those jobs need rooftops to sleep under each night. We’ve added more than 800,000 jobs since 2010 along with nearly a million people. Unemployment is near historic lows at 3.2 percent and new home and lot inventory remains below equilibrium despite our best efforts to keep up.
There are challenges though. Since 2010, median new home prices have risen from $197,800 to $331,000 according to Metrostudy. Compare that 56 percent jump to wages, which have only increased 23.8 percent over the same time. Rising interest rates, political uncertainty and more tariffs are added concerns going into 2019. While not immune from these national issues, the economic fundamentals of our market are rock solid and we are better equipped to handle them than anyone.
Here at the Dallas BA, we believe that everyone deserves a roof over their head and an affordable place to call home. This is the banner under which all of our advocacy battles are fought. Those battles will be more important than ever in 2019. Regulation is the part of the affordability crisis we have the most control over. In 2019, cities that welcome new communities with diverse incomes, ages and ethnicities will succeed. Those that don’t will deservedly fail.
That’s a great segue from what is predictable to what is remarkable. Thanks to our member volunteers and our tremendous staff we’ve accomplished so much this past year. Certainly, more than I can recall off hand or have room to mention in this column. Here are a few of the highlights.
Picking up where I left off on advocacy, we fought challenges to affordability head on and worked proactively. This produced results in Dallas on sidewalk waiver and drainage regulations. Our proposals also became part of the city’s parkland dedication ordinance.
On the heels of the tree bill we helped pass last legislative session, we worked with several municipalities to update their ordinances in a conforming manner. Eventually, Dallas will get there too!
Regionwide, we continued our work on the Regional Codes Coordinating Committee to ensure that building codes across DFW are implemented consistently and sensibly. This included defeating numerous proposals that threatened to add thousands of dollars to the cost of every home. We represented members in countless discussions concerning code interpretation and inspection practices. Most notably in the City of Celina, where our input overcame crippling disruptions for many of our members.
The old saying in advocacy is that “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” Starting with a successful advocacy reception early in the year and continuing through dozens of meetings with state, local and federal officials, we kept our industry’s rightful place at the table. In the wake of the recent elections, we are working hard to foster new relationships and strengthen existing ones.
No one does this better than our Government Relations Director, David Lehde. David is one of those rare, albeit odd, people who enjoys working with politicians and navigating the bureaucratic malaise needed to get the job done.
We came into this year with the expectation that our Association’s membership would grow along with our market. In prior years we had struggled to do this, but this year we knocked it out of the park with our “Swing for the Fences” membership drive in May.
That month, we added 96 members as membership recruiters worked in teams to introduce new companies to the Dallas BA. The appropriately named Team Alcobolics stumbled across the line in first place, while recruiting hall-of-famer Past President T.W. Bailey Sr. won the MVP Award.
Our Board of Directors stepped up to the plate over the entire year, meeting their pledge to recruit 115 new members. Staff Director of Membership Blair Calvo and the Membership Committee have even bigger plans for the drive this coming May. With her continued good work and support from our member volunteers, we will continue to grow in 2019.
Thanks to strong leadership from their respective presidents, chairmen and boards along with Director of Member Services Misty Varsalone, our Divisions and Councils continued to meet the networking and organizational needs of our membership. Metro East continued to do incredible work in our community, raising more than $60,000 for Lone Star CASA with their annual Cars for CASA event, which featured hundreds of cars. Metro North held a successful bowling tournament and significantly increased their average attendance.
The Dallas Division continues to offer incredible programming, and members participated in numerous community outreach efforts including a clean up of White Rock Lake. Not to be outdone by our Divisions, the Multifamily Builders Council raised $8,600 for the Samaritan Inn and served dinner monthly at the Collin County shelter for temporarily homeless families and individuals.
Our special events performed well in 2018 starting with the State of the Industry Summit. The second annual event drew nearly 300 attendees. The ARC and McSAM Awards each exceeded expectations in 2018 thanks to hard work from Misty and the event committees. McSAM turns 40 in 2019 and there are sure to be a lot of surprises in store for the party that night.
The Dallas Builders Show continues to grow. This year’s event was redesigned for a more streamlined set up and the education that accompanied it was impeccable. More than 100 students from area building trades programs attended and we are looking forward to having them more involved in 2019.
In total, 174 companies partnered with the Dallas BA in 2018. Accounting Manager Becky Warner provided me those numbers and others throughout the year. Becky played an integral part in the establishment of new investment policies and she also led us through the sea of paperwork associated with a banking transition. Becky and Treasurer Steve Puckett’s proactivity helped us make these key changes and finish another strong budget year.
Our education program held 33 successful classes thanks to strong leadership including staff director Sheena Beaver. More than 733 industry professionals attended at least one class, up from 571 last year. We developed and launched the successful “Cracking the Codes” series, developed new homegrown seminars specific to our market, and held a building science seminar with more than 100 attendees. Our education program is poised for future growth next year with a revamped “Building a Better House” series that will feature courses held on the job site.
We are blessed with outstanding people in the Association who are among the best that our industry has to offer. The Hugh Prather Trophy, the Association’s highest annual honor, went to John Todd of Elite Remodeling. With a servant’s heart and amazing intellect, John has enriched our education program and our community through his charitable efforts.
In November, Past Dallas BA and TAB President George Lewis was inducted into the Texas Housing Hall of Honor. Harvard and Princeton educated, George went from negotiating contracts in the early days of the Air Force’s “Star Wars Program” to pioneering the tear down rebuild concept in the Park Cities. George’s legacy is an indelible part of the housing industry. His induction was a very special evening befitting of an incredibly special person.
A personal thank you from every member is owed to your 2017-18 President, Alan Hoffmann. Alan loves a challenge. He’s no stranger to them in the prior property rights battles he fought and won for his clients. Alan approached his presidency in much the same way.
His leadership helped establish a committee in the City of Dallas dedicated to improving the city’s development process (not a small task). Alan leveraged his relationships to help us find the resources needed to overhaul and launch six new websites this past year. He played an integral part in setting up the Housing Industry Insurance Program, which promises to help members find affordable health care solutions for their employees.
Alan continued to grow our partnerships with local high school and community college programs that will help combat our ongoing labor shortage and provide opportunities in our industry to young adults. In 2018, the Dallas BA worked with Collin College to establish their new construction management program. The program began with nearly 20 students enrolled for the 2018-19 school year, but it is poised to grow significantly between now and the time it moves into the technical campus now under construction in Allen.
Being President of the Dallas BA while running a home building company requires a tremendous amount of organization in addition to the time commitment. I’m eternally grateful for Alan’s time, passion and leadership that created lasting results. I’m also personally thankful for his daughter Alison. While she’s certainly well experienced at telling him what he should be doing and where he needs to be, those skills were very useful this past year.
Yes, you read that correctly before. We launched six new websites in 2018! DallasBuilders.com was completely overhauled to serve consumers looking to find Dallas BA builders and remodelers along with information about the home building and buying process. The member-centric site was redone in a similar manner and moved to DallasBuilders.org while individual sites were created for the Parade of Homes, Dallas Builders Show, McSAM and the Green Built Texas program.
Check out any of these on your desktop or mobile device and hopefully you can appreciate the massive amount of work that went into them. They are professional, modern and easy to use. Because of them, we are relevant and members are receiving calls from interested consumers.
Almost every day, we receive a media inquiry. We’ve contributed significantly to every single large local publication, several national ones, and even a couple in China and Japan.
Again, I can’t understate how large of a task these websites were, how many decisions went into them, and how many challenges had to be overcome to deliver. This was, in very large part, the handiwork of staff Communications Director Barcie Vilches and Administrative Assistant Holly Pemberton.
Barcie’s attention to detail and dedication to get the job done right continue to lead us to new heights. She is the one our staff looks to for guidance and wisdom. Rightfully so, because she’s one of the most intelligent people I know. Her wisdom and experience combined with Holly’s enthusiasm, and propensity to acquire new skills is an extremely effective combination. Holly does so much more for us than her title could ever indicate. Most notably, many of the website projects and the revamped Home of the Week feature are products of the new skills she’s acquired while working for us.
Our enhanced relevance allowed us to bring back the Parade of Homes™ in 2018. After nearly decade, the Dallas BA’s signature consumer event returned with a new format. Five recently-built luxury homes in Dallas held simultaneous open houses on a frigid Saturday in April. With help from our staff and volunteers, many of whom spent hours in blustery weather, the revamped event greatly exceeded expectations.
One of the most memorable parts of 2018 was hearing the excitement of Parade attendees happy to see it finally return and seeing the pride of our volunteers and staff who pulled it off so incredibly well. A huge thanks to Misty Varsalone and Past President Michael Turner for going above and beyond to get us back in the Parade business and having us poised to build on our success in 2019.
While we gained quite a bit in 2018, we experienced a serious loss with the passing of Honored Life Director Leslie Blandford Akins. Leslie was very involved in our Home Aid/Home Builders Care charity over the years. She lived to help others and was an immediate friend to everyone she met.
Our partnership with Operation FINALLY HOME continues to do wonderful things that I know Leslie would be proud of. OFH is our preferred charity that builds mortgage-free homes for combat wounded veterans and their families. In May, we completed our sixth OFH project thanks to Hillwood Communities and Plantation Homes for U.S. Army Specialist Daniel Dumas and his family. The project was completed just in time as he and his wife welcomed their second child just days after the dedication. Our seventh project began in Irving this summer in partnership with the City of Irving who donated the lot and Matt Walls with Winston Homes who is nearing completion of the home for U.S. Army Major Eric King.
What happened to our market in 2018 was predictable; what occurred at the Dallas Builders Association was remarkable. Remarkable people are a prerequisite to remarkable achievements. Thanks to current President Matt Robinson, our staff, volunteers and all of the members who comprise the Dallas Builders Association, I’m certain that 2019 will be a great year.
A huge thank you is owed to all who helped us get to where we are now. Especially our Industry Investors: StrucSure Home Warranty, Johnson Supply, Hotchkiss Insurance Agency, Fox Energy Specialists, The Thompson Group at Classic Chevrolet, DowDuPont, Inc., Stellar Home Theater and Beyond and The Bath and Kitchen Showplace.