Welcome to the Athens Area Home Builders Association
The Athens Area Home Builders Association is a non-profit professional trade association made up of member companies, representing residential and light commercial builders, subcontractors, suppliers, and many other service providers to the building industry throughout Athens-Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Hart, Madison, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Stephens, and Walton Counties. Together we are the foundation for the local home-building industry - building pride in our community through interaction, commitment, professionalism, education, community service, and environmental responsibility.
NAHB Now
- Where Is Home Building Employment Most Concentrated?Despite nationwide job losses, residential construction remains a significant source of local employment in many markets, particularly in rural areas.
- Pro Builder Accepting Nominations for 2026 Young Guns & Legends AwardsPro Builder recently announced it is accepting nominations for the 2026 Young Guns & Legends Awards, which honor rising stars and career legends in the residential construction industry.
- Labor Market Cools While Construction Industry Faces HeadwindsThe U.S. labor market lost momentum in June, with total nonfarm payroll employment rising by just 57,000 — the smallest gain since February’s outright decline.
- Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to End TPS for Haiti and SyriaA 6-3 Supreme Court ruling on June 25 cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian and Syrian nationals in the U.S.
- Estimating Tools to Efficiently Plan and Increase ProfitabilityWith building material prices on the rise, now is a critical time for project managers to refine their estimating strategies to optimize each build.
Upcoming Meetings & Events
New Members
Eye On Housing
- Mortgage Activity Flat in June, ARM Share DecreasesMortgage applications stalled in June as higher mortgage rates dampened market activity. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, a measure of total mortgage application volume, stayed relatively unchanged with a marginal decrease of 0.3% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis. The decline was driven by a 2.5% decline in refinancing applications, which offset […]
- Characteristics of Homes in Age-Restricted Communities In 2025, approximately 47,000 homes were built in age-restricted communities, representing 3.45% of all housing starts. According to the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction, roughly two-thirds of these homes (30,000) were single-family units, while the remaining 17,000 were multifamily units. In 2009, during the depths of the housing downturn, builders started only 17,000 homes in age-restricted communities. The volume of construction increased steadily until reaching 60,000 age-restricted starts (roughly evenly split […]
- Residential Construction Employment Concentrated in Rural and Smaller-Market CountiesResidential construction employment continued to soften in recent months, reflecting elevated interest rates, ongoing affordability challenges, and slower home building activity. Over the last 12 months, residential construction employment has shed a net of 48,800 jobs, marking the fifteenth consecutive annual decline and the longest stretch of annual losses since the Great Recession. Despite these […]
- Top Ten Builder Market Share Falls in 2025The top ten builders accounted for 43.6% of all new U.S. single-family home closings in 2025, down 1.2 percentage points from 2024 (44.8%), based on BUILDER magazine data. The 2025 share constitutes 295,959 closings out of 679,083 new single-family houses sold in 2025. However, closings by the top ten builders only represent 29.5% of new […]
- Mortgage Rates Increased in June as Markets Weigh Inflation and Fed PolicyMortgage rates continued to increase in June as markets priced in a rate hike due to high inflation and stronger-than-expected labor market. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.49% in June, up 8 basis points (bps) over May. Since the conflict in the Middle East began, the 30-year mortgage rate has increased […]
