NAHB Mourns the Passing of Former Chief Economist David Seiders

NAHB is mourning the passing of David Seiders, who served as the association’s senior vice president of economics from 1984 to 1993 and as its chief economist from 1993 until the beginning of 2009. He was 82.

During his quarter-century tenure at NAHB, Seiders was recognized as one of the leading authorities on housing’s role in the economy. While he served as a strong housing advocate and key spokesperson for the industry, Seiders was known within the housing policy arena for his high degree of credibility and data-driven housing and economic forecasts and policy papers.

During his time at NAHB, Seiders led the development of several housing market indexes, including the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) that measures builder confidence in the single-family market. The monthly HMI report is a bellwether indicator used by scores of economists to gauge the health of the housing market. The HMI index also draws large media exposure across the nation from major news and financial outlets, including CNBC, the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal and Fox Business News.

“Dave’s stature as a top housing economist helped to raise the profile of NAHB with Washington policymakers and within the housing community,” said NAHB CEO Jerry Howard. “He was a close friend and colleague, and his economic expertise and insights were instrumental in helping our association and industry to weather tough economic times and take advantage of strong periods of economic growth.”

“While Dave was recognized as a leader in his field, he was also a great mentor who selflessly provided advice, encouragement and support to me and the other economists who worked with him at NAHB,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “He will be sorely missed.”

Prior to joining NAHB, Seiders served as a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Board, then as chief policy analyst for housing finance with President Ronald Reagan’s commission on housing.

He is survived by Jean, his wife of 56 years, three children and four grandchildren.