STATE NEWS Connecticut’s Fiscal House is Falling Apart. Let the Residential Construction Industry Fix it. By Jim Perras, CEO of the HBRACT On September 12th, I conducted a short presentation before a joint meeting of the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Eastern Connecticut and the Eastern Connecticut Realtors Association (HBRAECT/ECAR). In attendance at the meeting were 20 area candidates vying for various state senate and state representative seats to our General Assembly. My message to these candidates was a simple one. Connecticut government must unshackle our industry by freeing us from burdensome regulations and counterproductive land use laws that act as barriers to development. By doing so our industry will help raise Connecticut out of its fiscal calamity. How is this possible you ask? Simply put, “Housing starts are a leading economic indicator”. This short yet meaningful statement cannot be over stated. A healthy housing industry can pull a sluggish economy out of a recession. On the flip side, a lethargic housing industry can strangle an otherwise healthy economy. We need not look further than our own backyard to see a glaring example of this economic truth revealed. Nationally, housing has enjoyed a boom cycle in recent years and the economy has been chugging along. Conversely, in Connecticut, single family housing starts have remained at recession levels since the bottom fell out in 2009. As reported by Census.gov, single family housing starts have hovered just under 2500 annually since 2009. In a healthy economic climate our industry should be producing around 9500 homes a year in our state. During this same time Connecticut has suffered from a shrinking population, an anemic economy and falling home prices. When the next General Assembly begins its work in January it will be facing a $2 billion dollar deficit in the first year of the biennium alone. If our industry was currently building at pre-recession levels of around 9500 homes a year, we would: • Create 31,730 jobs annually; • • Generate $2.8 billion in wages annually; and Produce $447 million in tax, fees and charges. Our industry could help to cure what ails our state government. The new governor and legislature can clear the way to a revival of our industry and consequently a more stable and fiscally sound state government by: • • • • • Ensuring adequate and affordable financing for developers; Reforming our arcane and counterproductive land use laws; Reducing permitting times and burdensome regulations; Providing for municipal property tax relief for homes under construction; and Aiding with workforce development. Connecticut’s budget chief famously stated in 2015 that Connecticut finds itself in a, “permanent fiscal crisis”. Not much has changed since he made that statement. The home builders of Connecticut are here to say that Connecticut’s lagging economy does not need to be in a state of permanence. Our state economy and our housing market are intrinsically linked. As one suffers so does the other. As such, it stands, that one can lift the other. Help us fix Connecticut’s economy by creating an environment that our businesses can thrive and build in. Together we can remodel Connecticut’s fiscal house. 28 HBRA of Fairfield County | SEPTEMBER 2018
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