Introduction
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is an agency that unites thousands of innovators, artisans, and other experts who want to improve house affordability in the United States. In general, the NAHB functions can be limited to building homes, enriching various communities, and changing the lives of individuals with the help of physical, political, and educational means. The organization tries to achieve its goals at local, state, and federal levels to address the problem in its entirety.
Membership
The NAHB is attractive for those individuals and legal establishments that are concerned with the low affordability of houses in the USA, and that can contribute to improving the situation. The association provides its members with a few significant benefits. Firstly, they obtain essential political support on Capitol Hill because the NAHB tries to protect the interests of its members. Secondly, this organization serves as a platform that unites multiple fellow thinkers, and it opens networking and cooperation opportunities. Finally, NAHB members obtain unique discounts on products and services in the construction industry.
Policy Development
As has been mentioned, the NAHB tries to influence national politics. One can say that the organization takes action to make the performance of individuals and firms in the construction industry more productive. That is why the association addresses multiple issues, including “tax codes, federal housing programs, regulatory relief, environmental laws, building codes,” and others (National Association of Home Builders, 2019a, para. 3). When these interests are achieved, the NAHB considers them significant success because it results in essential benefits for the organization members.
Conferences
Since the organization addresses multiple spheres of interest, it is not a surprise that it organizes various conferences to accumulate the necessary knowledge and develop a practical course of action. The Association Management Conference is a useful event that gathers Executive Officers and NAHB members to discuss the present challenges and identify possible solutions. This association conference is a productive tool for its members to share the knowledge that can be further applied in practice. Thus, the 2019 NAHB Legislative Conference is a suitable example because its participants met with their congressional delegations on Capitol Hill.
The Conference addressed many essential issues, including creating new careers in the home building industry, ending tariffs on imports of construction materials, establishing credit floors, and others (National Association of Home Builders, 2019b).
Watchdog Functions
In addition to that, the NAHB performs a few watchdog functions to ensure that the government takes action to solve home-building industry issues. For example, the association monitors building codes governed by local and state laws and ensures that they meet the interests of home builders. Furthermore, the given organization draws attention to the National Flood Insurance Program and makes sure that its provisions are available for individuals.
The Draw to Become a Member
The information above has demonstrated that there are many reasons for individuals to become NAHB members. Firstly, it relates to membership benefits, including expertise, networking, and advocacy benefits. Secondly, the association provides its members with an opportunity to participate in conferences, where they can gain and share data to address some home-building problems. Finally, the NAHB serves the interests of the population without any attention drawn to party identification.
Summarizing Success
If one wants to evaluate the effectiveness of the association, it is necessary to consider figures. In 2019, the National Association of Home Builders (2019c) saved approximately $5,500 per housing start (para. 1). The importance of this achievement becomes even higher when it comes to the fact that numerous political improvements support the financial benefits. Thus, there is no doubt that the present association does its best to make the home building industry better.
References
National Association of Home Builders. (2019a). Advocacy. Web.
National Association of Home Builders. (2019b). Housing for all. Web.
National Association of Home Builders. (2019c). Victories. Web.