ANNUAL BMHBA

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS AND MEMBERS FOR SUPPORTING OUR 2023 ANNUAL BANQUET!

On Thursday, January 19 the BMHBA gathered at the Heritage Center in Bismarck for our 64th Annual Banquet. The new BMHBA directors, Rory Anderson (Verity Homes), Shane Gaffaney (American Roofing Supply), and LeRoy Thomas (J.E. Homes) were sworn in along with the 2023 BMHBA President, Joe Hillerson (Boulder Homes). We are excited to have Rory, Shane and LeRoy join our board! We also said goodbye to three of board members, Greg Meidinger (Aspire Homes) and Bill Schmid (Townsquare Media) Amy Larsen (Apex Homes). We thank you for the support!

A check was presented to two Bismarck State College Carpentry students that were each awarded a scholarship on BMHBA’s behalf. We had a Smart TV Raffle where members could purchase tickets for the chance to win a Samsung 55" and Sono Portable Bluetooth Speaker/Radio. Proceeds from the raffle will go to the Bismarck State College Carpentry Scholarship Fund.

The BMHBA would like to extend our gratitude to our generous sponsors and members! We couldn’t host these events without you.

Dinner Sponsors Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

CENTURY 21 Morrison Realty has agents that fluently speak Spanish, Russian and Ukrainian. Our Bismarck office holds a top 20 ranking out of over 2500 CENTURY 21 offices throughout the United States. We have six offices in six communities throughout North Dakota. We also have experience on our side; CENTURY 21 Morrison Realty is comprised of 122 agents from 5 generations of all different backgrounds ranging from 20 to 85 years old.

Treat your business like a real job, and you will find it the most challenging work you will ever love. If you focus on relationships, success in your business will always follow. This business is about people, not about properties.

Each day you can expect something different. There will never be a day that you don't learn something new. Who you are when things are difficult will make you stand out from others in the industry. Selling real estate will grow you personally and professionally.

We would be in another industry where we can help others. Our purpose is to help our agents grow and make a difference in the lives of their clients. The vehicle we have chosen for this is real estate. What else is there?

We look forward to the continued growth in all our markets, the personal and professional development of our Century 21 Morrison Realty family, and to growing richer relationships within the communities in which we serve. We will always strive to inspire and positively influence the real estate industry.

As a 2nd generation family business, CENTURY 21 Morrison Realty has always been locally owned and operated. We are passionate about assisting our agents in achieving their goals and helping clients build wealth and a lifestyle through home ownership. We are inspired to continue a tradition of extraordinary experiences.

The power of our brand is our people. CENTURY 21 Morrison Realty agents embody true professionalism, have a strong desire to learn and have the perseverance to do the right thing even when it is hard. They are focused on personal and professional growth and keep their clients first and foremost above all things. As a brokerage, we provide more support to our agents and clients through our non-competing brokers and staff, technology, marketing, real estate tools, and systems.

Growing Relationships. Changing Lives. This is why we are here; it is our purpose. We are passionate about helping people obtain their dreams.

CENTURY 21 Morrison Realty believes in giving back. Each year we gather as a family to raise money for different organizations, including Pride's Manchester House, Salvation Army, Helping Hands, Easter Seals and Goodwill of North Dakota, and many more. Within the last few years alone, we have raised over $100,000 for local charities and have volunteered countless hours.

In North Dakota, we are lucky to experience all four seasons. Winter reminds us that a time of renewal is always on the horizon. Just like people, we have the opportunity to renew each day.

c21morrison.com

@century21morrison

@century21morrison

Advanced Mechanical, Inc.

Anderson Custom Cabinets

Big River Builders, Inc.

Bisman Remodel Pros, LLC

Bismarck Heating & Air Conditioning Inc.

Bismarck Title Company

Bismarck-Mandan Home Builders Association

Blue Hawk Audio Video

Builders FirstSource Choice Bank

Cottingham Insurance Agency, DDC Inc.

COUNTRY Financial

Dakota Community Bank & Trust

Dakota Supply Group

(formerly Western Steel & Plumbing)

Decorating Den Interiors

Design that Sells

Dusty Barn Designs

Erica G. Thune

Fabricators Unlimited

FrankieSue Pierson with Verity Homes

Front Street Millwork & Lumber, Inc.

Haider Glass Specialties

Hallmark Homes, Inc.

House of Color, Inc.

Interior Finish & Remodel Inc.

Knife River is a full service aggregate-based construction company, providing ready-mix concrete aggregate sales and delivery and concrete construction services. We provide services throughout North Dakota for public, private and commercial construction projects.

Interiors by Design

Joe Vetter Construction, Inc.

Keller Hearth 'n Home Products

Knutson Homes, Inc.

Magi-Touch Carpet One Floor & Home

Mattress Firm

Myhre Concrete Design, Inc.

Northern Plains Plumbing, Heating & Air

Northwest Contracting

Organize with Lexi

Paramount Builders, Inc.

Professional Touch Cleaning

Redford Signature Homes Inc

River + Ranch Magazine/Bismarck Magazine

Rivers Edge Plumbing and Heating, Inc.

Security First Bank of ND

Silver Ranch

Spiffy Biffs

SPS Companies, Inc.

Starion Bank

Superior Window Coverings

T&M Electric

The Painters, Inc./Precision Wood Finish Inc

The Title Team

Tobias Marman Construction

What a great first year of our Birthday club! Congratulations to all our winners from 2022!

If you want to be included in our Birthday Club, please email your birthday to Jennifer Patera at jennifer@bmhba.com. You will receive a celebratory email the day of your birthday and be entered into a drawing for a dozen donuts from Bearscat Bakehouse during the month of your birthday.

As the Federal Reserve continues to fight inflation, mortgage rates increased rapidly in 2022, starting the year at 3% and rising above 7% before dropping back to roughly 6.5% at the end of the year. How do rapidly rising mortgage rates affect housing affordability?

The difference between a slightly more than 3% mortgage rate and a 7% mortgage rate adds roughly an additional $1,000 mortgage payment to a typical, new median-priced single-family home and prices 18 million U.S. households out of the market for the home.

This means that a mortgage payment on a $450,700 home would have increased from $1,925 in January 2022 to $2,923 in late October when mortgage rates topped 7%.

And while mortgage rates fell back modestly to a level of 6.42% at the end of the year, the monthly mortgage payment on the same home increased from $1,925 in January when rates were just above 3%, to $2,740 in December when rates doubled, adding more than $800 to the cost of the home loan.

Higher mortgage rates have clearly worsened housing affordability as home prices remained high in 2022. As the charts below show, each 100-basis-point rise in mortgage rates requires roughly an additional $10,000 in household income to qualify for a similarly sized mortgage loan, and prices approximately five million additional households out of the market for a home at the same or similar price level.

Violations of safety rules on jobsites are now more expensive as the Labor Department late last week announced its annual cost-of-living adjustments to OSHA civil penalties for 2023. The new penalty amounts are effective Tuesday, Jan. 17.

OSHA’s maximum penalties for violations will increase from $14,502 per violation to $15,625 per violation. The maximum penalty for willful or repeated violations will increase from $145,027 per violation to $156,259 per violation.

Visit the OSHA Penalties page and read the final rule for more information.

The safety of residential construction workers is a top priority of NAHB and should be the top priority of every builder, remodeler and contractor. The most common types of construction site injuries are fall injuries. This aligns with OSHA’s most-cited violations on jobsites.

Top OSHA violations for fiscal year 2022:

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements: 5,260 violations

2. Hazard Communication (Chemicals): 2,424

3. Respiratory Protection: 2,185

4. Ladders: 2,143

5. Scaffolding: 2,058

6. Lockout/Tagout: 1,977

7. Powered Industrial Trucks: 1,749

8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements: 1,556

9. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection: 1,401

10. Machine Guarding: 1,370

The U.S. Department of Labor recently published a proposed rule updating the test for determining whether a worker is an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or an independent contractor. NAHB last week submitted formal comments opposing the proposed rule, which is intended to combat employee misclassification, and would alter the test for independent contractor status under the FLSA as last articulated by the prior Administration.

The executive summary of the proposed rule notes: "[Workers who] are in business for themselves ... play an important role in the economy and are commonly referred to by different names, including independent contractor, selfemployed and freelancer. This proposed Rulemaking is not intended to disrupt the businesses of independent contractors who are, as a matter of economic reality, in business for themselves."

However, NAHB, and many other groups, argue that the language of the new test introduces new, undefined, vague terminology, and would reclassify legitimate independent contractors – including those with their own businesses –into employees, and threatens to impact many industries that rely on the subcontractor business model, including residential construction.

The proposed rule attempts restore a "totality-of-the circumstances" analysis, setting forth six non-weighted factors to consider when determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The test's ultimate inquiry is whether, as a matter of economic reality, the worker is economically dependent on the employer (and thus an employee), or in business for themself (and thus an independent contractor).

The six factors include:

1. Is the work performed an integral part of the employer's business?

2. Does the worker's managerial skill affect the worker's opportunity for profit or less?

3. Is the relationship between the worker and employer permanent or indefinite?

4. What is the nature and degree of the employer's control?

5. Does the worker use specialized skills to perform the work, and do those skills contribute to businesslike initiative?

6. Are investments by a worker capital or entrepreneurial in nature?

The independent contractor rule that went into effect in early 2021, which NAHB supported, provided much needed clarity, uniformity, and simplicity to the independent contractor analysis and accounts for the realities of the modern workplace.

NAHB and more than 200 business groups, including the Associated Builders and Contractors and Associated General Contractors of America and many state and local Chambers of Commerce, call on the Labor Department to withdraw the proposal.

"Not only does the Proposed Rule ignore the realities of how businesses and independent contractors work together in 21st century America, but in so doing, it ignores the preference many workers have to remain independent contractors," the groups state in the comment letter.

NAHB has been engaged in the rulemaking process from the beginning and will continue to monitor and provide updates as the rule moves forward. Importantly, this proposed test will not impact tests by the IRS or other federal agencies.