Construction workers see a solid employment future with the signing of the bill.
The National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) signing by the White House has brought only good news to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and its members, as they depend on that program for their jobs.
The bill was signed with strong support from both Barbra Boxer, the Democratic leader, and Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe. According to President Obama, “This bill will keep thousands of construction workers on the job rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure.” Congress agreed to extend the program through until September 30, 2017. The bill passed by a vote of 373 to 52 in the House, and a Senate vote of 74 to 19
Previous lapses in the flood insurance authorization had caused serious disruption in the real estate as home buyers had to delay their searches and closings had to be cancelled because mortgages required coverage that was not available without the program.
These flood insurance coverage lapses also caused builders to have to cease or delay construction.
The result of these authorization lapses caused serious complications, unnecessary delays, job losses, and complex reworking of time lines for projects.
Home builders have always struggled with mortgages that were federally backed for homes in areas prone to flooding. The NFIP has been causing notable uncertainty in this area as it has fought its way through a long string of 18 extensions for short term periods. Furthermore, over the last four years, it was further held back by a lack of federal long term reauthorization.
Should the home renovation and construction industry face another similar struggle, it could cause some buyers – critical to the slowly improving health of the real estate market – to lose their ability to obtain federally backed mortgages in areas that are at risk of flooding. This would be devastating to the market in those areas.
Now that the flood insurance program has been extended for another five years, this can encourage much greater confidence in the marketplace as a whole, and will ensure that construction workers will have a place to work throughout that time.
