Market-Driven Solutions Will Keep Homes Resilient and Affordable

Codes and Standards
Published

NAHB today urged Congress to factor in housing affordability when seeking solutions to build more resilient communities that can withstand and recover from natural disasters.

Testifying before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke said any efforts to improve or increase the efficiency or resiliency of the U.S. housing stock should focus on cost-effective, market-driven solutions.

New homes built to modern codes are efficient, safe and resilient, which makes increasing code stringency on a tri-annual basis unnecessary, Fowke told lawmakers.

“Evidence from FEMA and others support this fact and demonstrate that modern building codes have been very effective in preventing the destruction of homes due to various storms, fires and earthquakes,” said Fowke. For example, after Hurricane Michael hit Mexico Beach, Fla., in 2018, studies showed that homes built post-2000 remained standing, while older homes did not.

A full 130 million homes out of the nation’s housing stock of 137 million are not subject to the new building codes now in effect before they were built before 2010. “Therefore, it is imperative that Congress focus on improving the older homes, structures and infrastructure that are less resilient to natural disasters,” said Fowke. “Federal incentives, tax credits, grants and other assistance programs would go a long way to facilitate and help fund the upgrades needed to ensure our homes and communities are ready for the future.”

Fowke also stressed that state and local governments must retain authority over land use and their code adoption processes so they can continue to direct community development and implement the codes that best fit their jurisdictions. “Model codes are intended to be flexible,” he noted. “What is best for Florida is not necessarily what is best for Nevada.”

“Relying on existing building codes, heeding the expertise of state and local governments, focusing on improving the existing housing stock and providing incentives is the best way to encourage greater resiliency in the nation’s housing stock,” Fowke added. “This approach will mitigate the effects of future natural disasters and also preserve housing affordability for new and existing homes.”

Learn more about NAHB’s efforts on resiliency at nahb.org.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Trends

Oct 29, 2025

Do Consumers Want Two-Story Foyers?

Nearly a quarter of new homes were built with a two-story foyer in 2024 — a number that has been trending downward over the past eight years. Though the national decline continued, regional patterns were mixed. See where this feature is hot — and where it's not.

Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) | Education

Oct 29, 2025

How to Market to and Design for the Aging-in-Place Client

NAHB will host three webinars (open to members and non-members) in November to teach the technical, business management, and customer service skills necessary to complete modifications for aging-in-place.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Oct 29, 2025

The Fed Cuts amid Partly Cloudy Conditions

With the government shutdown limiting the quantity of economic data available to markets and policymakers, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) enacted a widely anticipated 25 basis point cut for the short-term federal funds rate.

Economics

Oct 28, 2025

Home Price Growth Slows

Home prices in August grew at the lowest annual rate in over two years, according to the recent release of the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index (seasonally adjusted – SA).

Economics

Oct 27, 2025

Two-Story Foyer Trend Stabilizes in 2024

In 2024, nearly a quarter of new homes were built with a two-story foyer, virtually unchanged from 2023, according to data obtained from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) and tabulated by NAHB.