www.elpasobuilders.
com
New Construction Forecast
Labor and land shortages to crimp constuction nationwide this year
By Clare Trapasso | REALTOR•COM
Builders are expected to put up
more new construction in the year
ahead—but the rate of building is
likely to slow, according to several
housing economists who spoke on
Tuesday at the International Builders
Show. The show is hosted by the
National Association of Home
Builders in Orlando, FL.
About 653,000 newly built homes
will be sold in 2018, up 5.4% from
2017, predicts NAHB's Chief
Economist Robert Dietz. That may
sound impressive, but the growth
rate is down from 10.5% in 2017.
And those additional homes aren't
nearly enough to meet demand.
"There will be modest growth,"
Dietz said at the show. "We're going
to see some changes in the types of
homes that are being sold by
builders, with more lower-priced
offerings."
But "lower-priced" is in the eye of
the beholder—many cash-strapped,
first-time, and millennial buyers won't
be able to get in on the action. Dietz
defines this category as costing less
than $350,000. The national median
home price was $269,900 as of Dec.
1, 2017, according to the most recent
realtor.com® data available.
Why is new construction so
expensive?
New construction is so expensive
because the labor and land shortage
has put a crimp in building, materials
costs are rising, and it's become
harder for builders to obtain financing
for their projects. Local regulations in
certain parts of the country may also
A Real Texas Builder TM is a professional who invests in our
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National, State & Local
Building Industry News
2018: Issue 2
make it more time-consuming—and
therefore costly—to put up new
homes.
(A recent tariff on Canadian lumber
imported into the U.S. could raise the
cost of building a home by about
$1,300, Dietz said.)
The big wild card, however, is the
recent tax reform, Dietz said. If more
folks have more money in their
pockets as a result of the tax
changes, it could make it easier for
them to save up for a down payment.
But the recent changes to the tax
code, particularly capping the
mortgage interest deduction and
limiting local and property tax
deductions, may also make well-off
potential buyers more likely to shy
away from buying pricier new
construction. If that happens, builders
will put up fewer homes.
In addition, mortgage interest rates
are expected to rise by 0.25%
several times next year. This makes
home buying more expensive.
"Mortgage rates are going to go up
a bit more this year," David Berson,
chief economist of Nationwide Mutual
Insurance Company, said at the
show. "Inflation is going to be just a
tad hotter than it's been.”
What kinds of homes are likely to
be constructed in 2018, and where?
Urban villages are expected to take
hold, predicts Dietz. These are
larger-scale, very walkable
developments that often include a
mix of townhouses, condos, and
apartments along with shopping,
grocery stores, and entertainment.
They are located in cities, suburbs,
and even exurbs (the farther-out
burbs).
He expects to see more
townhouses go up, as they require
less land and are less expensive to
construct, and more teardowns—
razing one building to put up
another—to address the lack of land.
New-home sales are expected to
be highest in the South, particularly
in areas where the local economies
are doing well, said Frank Nothaft,
chief economist at housing data firm
CoreLogic, at the show. The region is
also attractive to buyers as home
prices, taxes, and the cost of living
are lower than on the coasts and
there are plenty of job opportunities.
Houston; Dallas; Phoenix; Atlanta;
and Austin, TX saw the most home
growth from fall 2016 through fall
2017, according to CoreLogic. Those
areas are expected to remain hot in
2018.
Clare Trapasso is the senior news editor of
realtor.com and an adjunct journalism professor. She
previously wrote for a Financial Times publication and
the New York Daily News. Contact her at
clare.trapasso@move.com Follow @claretrap
2 Builders Outlook 2018 Issue 2

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2018 Issue 2
President’s
Message
Let’s drive up membership!
The el Paso association of
Builders for those that don’t know
is a little bit mis-named. You see
it is for the home builders that it
was created back in 1946 but it
needed support by those clearly
affected by those builders. That’s
why our association, like all
others in the country, have a
larger pool of associates or non-
builders as members. Simply put
the associates outnumber
builders in the federation. Why do
i bring this up now? Because we
are getting close to critical mass
in membership, we need new or
returning members. on april 2
we will hold our first membership
training with the oliver group.
Who are they? Rob and Kate
oliver are experts in training
Builders Outlook
Edmundo
Dena
President,
el Paso association
of Builders
associations and groups how to
recruit members. in their
exclusive program we have seen
membership drives bring a
hundred or more new members
in during a two-day drive. While
we hope that this year we can
accomplish something like that i
think that we can easily bring in
fifty or more. i am asking you as
members to volunteer to
participate in the training and the
drive. not only is it good for us
but the tactics you’ll learn with
the oliver’s can be used in your
own business.
as of this column we are at
capacity for golf teams for our
april 18 tournament. What we
need is a commitment for tee box
signs, a simple way to support
3
*
PRINT & INTERNET
PUBLISHING
*
Social Media & WeBSiTe
conTenT ManageMenT
*
e-Mail neWSleTTeRS
coMMUnicaTion
STRaTegY
the association. $125 buys you
the spot, so let Margaret know
please.
of course, we also have our ediToRial SeRViceS
Parade of Homes with nine
builders ready to showcase
starting with the preview party on
april 6 and during the regular
show april 7 to 22. look for
information on the preview event
and opportunities to sponsor
different things. Thanks to doug
Schwartz for making artcraft
estates available and to all the
builders who are building in it.
Should be a really great show.
For now all i can say is make it
a good March. See you soon.
Get Creative. Make it Snappy.
915•820•2800
www.snappypublishing.com
4
Executive’s
Message
Ray Adauto,
Executive
Vice President
EPAB
Associations have a long history of
being asked that question and it’s no
different when we are recruiting
members or asking them to renew.
It’s a painful question because most
of the time it comes from people who
have either a bad experience or no
active experience with being a
member. In reality most
memberships whether they are for
and association, gym, or shopping are
sometimes never used or used so
sparingly that it seems like there’s no
value to it. Sometimes a membership
is the last item on your heavy
workload so you overlook it or worse
never use it.
It’s an age-old question of what
comes first, the chicken or the egg.
An association like ours has a very
specific reason to exist: advocacy for
the new home construction business
in El Paso. Some will wonder what
the word advocacy means. According

 
What’s in it for me?
Builders Outlook
“I like to say this about trade advocacy: it is an important part of
your professional life because together you have more strength than
trying to go it alone. “
to Wikipedia “Advocacy is an activity
by an individual or group which aims
to influence decisions within political,
economic, and social systems and
institutions. Advocacy can include
many activities that a person or
organization undertakes including
media campaigns, public speaking,
commissioning and publishing
research or conducting exit poll or the
filing of an amicus brief. Lobbying
(often by lobby groups) is a form of
advocacy where a direct approach is
made to legislators on an issue which
plays a significant role in modern
politics.[1] Research has started to
address how advocacy groups in the
United States[2] and Canada[3] are
using social media to facilitate civic
engagement and collective action.”
I like to say this about trade
advocacy: it is an important part of
your professional life because
together you have more strength than
trying to go it alone.
In membership there’s a lot of
different components including
advocacy, networking, fun, sharing
and much more. Some members
prefer to just join to say they are
members. Others are wanting to earn
some business from members, while
others like the fun part or the
networking. All of these are good
reasons to join or remain a member.
What isn’t good is to hear “I got
nothing from it”. Why? Because a
membership is only as good as you
use it. Heck many of us including me
belong to a gym membership. Rarely
or never use it but man o man I’m a
member and so therefore I’m in the
group. Seriously a gym membership
can only do you good if you use it.
So too with the Builders Association.
We have an opportunity to ask our
neighbors to join our trade association
and begin to help us advocate,
2018 Issue 2
D
n
o
A
c
T
T
P
motivate and join forces to keep this
industry healthy. On April 2 we begin
a training with Rob and Kate Oliver on
getting prepped for the upcoming
membership drive. The Oliver Group
is widely respected as one of the best
membership training companies in the
world. In the past we’ve used them to
increase our own membership. What
we find ourselves doing as well is
making our daily work activities better
because of what they show us. We
will have teams competing for the
right to claim the best of the best
membership recruiters in the EPAB.
There will be prizes for doing this as
well as an opportunity to get involved
in the association and making you a
better advocate.
Don’t wait to get invited, just reach
out to me and we’ll put you in a team.
I promise that it is nothing like you’ve
ever been involved with and the
training will last a lifetime.


  



 

 
!

!


  
"

  
  
 






 
 


 National
2018 Issue 2 Builders Outlook 5

Builder News

Home Builders Seek

Better Cooperation with
OSHA to Improve
Worker Safety
n The National Association of Home
Builders (NAHB) today called on the
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) to expand its small
business compliance assistance to help
home builders and other small business
owners to improve the safety of their
operations.
Testifying on behalf of NAHB at a House
subcommittee hearing on “a more effective
and collaborative OSHA,” J. Gary Hill, a
custom home builder from Greensboro,
N.C., and 2018 chairman of the NAHB
Construction Safety and Health Committee,
told lawmakers that reforming and
improving how OSHA operates is a top
priority of the housing industry.
“In recent years, OSHA has unleashed a
regulatory tsunami on the construction
industry,” said Hill. “The significant growth in
the number and scope of regulations, along
with the associated costs of these
regulations, has raised concerns from
NAHB members about OSHA’s heavy-
handed enforcement practices and
procedures.”
According to the Small Business
Administration, federal regulations cost
small businesses 60 percent more per
employee than it costs large businesses,
and compliance with these existing
regulations can average as much as $7,000
per employee.
“In our industry, a sizeable share of these
regulations comes from OSHA, and the
costs imposed by OSHA regulations are
financially onerous to every aspect of the
home building industry,” he said.
Though facing prohibitive regulatory
costs, Hill underscored that a top priority for
small home building firms is to create a
safe workplace environment for their
employees. It also makes good business
sense.
“It is no secret that safety saves lives –
and money,” he said. “We have learned that
the money saved through reduced workers’
compensation costs, lost time due to worker
injuries and less time spent on accident
claims and reports can be converted into
improvements in the way employers
operate their businesses. Moreover, a safe
jobsite is also the key to retaining good
employees and hiring new ones.”
Hill outlined three steps that OSHA can
take to improve operating procedures that
would make regulatory compliance more
cost-effective and make the agency more
user-friendly for small businesses. At the
same time, he noted that the following
actions by OSHA would boost housing
affordability and continue to improve the
safety of workers in the home building
industry:
Focus agency efforts on providing
employers with compliance assistance and
training for existing regulations and
standards so that OSHA is not needlessly
piling on regulatory burdens that small
businesses cannot effectively meet. By
pursuing a collaborative relationship with
trade associations and their members,
OSHA will better be able to inform and
educate employers of the responsibilities
specified in the agency’s standards and
regulations.
Develop new and innovative ways to
partner with employers to achieve
compliance. Small employers need help
understanding the complex OSHA
regulatory regime and want assistance in
identifying hazards that pose the greatest
risk of a worker being injured.
Modernize methods to disseminate
compliance assistance information to
include video-based education segments
and checklists viewable from computers,
tablets and smartphones.
“By pursuing achievable reforms and
leveraging the expertise of industry groups
such as NAHB, Congress and the
administration can succeed in making
OSHA more user-friendly for small
businesses while also improving worker
safety,” said Hill.
6 Builders Outlook 2018 Issue 2

2018 Star Awards

CALL FOR ENTRIES NOW OPEN

Online Entries:
8

3
January 19 - March 20
Early Bird Deadline: March 6
TABSTARAWARDS.COM

Sponsors (as of 1.24.2018): Expressions Home Gallery - Morrison Showroom, StrucSure Home Warranty,
Texas Home Builders Safety Group, TopBuild Home Services
2018 Issue 2
Economic
Forescast
Elliot Eisenberg
Economic & Policy
Blog
The Fed’s 2018 Interest Rate Plan
At the start of 2017, the Federal
Reserve anticipated raising interest
rates three times and shrinking its
large bond portfolio. Unlike in 2015
and 2016, where the forecasts made
by the Fed were overly optimistic,
the 2017 forecast was spot on.
Whether officials at the central bank
can pull off a repeat performance of
three rate hikes in 2018 will very
much depend on two conflicting
signals from the two variables that
matter most to the Fed: employment
and inflation.
Solid job gains have pushed the
unemployment rate to just 4.1% in
January, a 17-year low. If the
unemployment rate drops as much
in 2018 as it did in 2017 -- a 0.7
percentage point decline – it would
be at a low last seen in the late
1960s. Yet inflation, despite some
recent rumblings to the contrary,
remains stubbornly soft. Excluding
volatile food and energy, the core
inflation rate is just 1.5% -- quite a
distance from the Fed’s 2% target,
despite the very low unemployment
rate.
Initially, some at the Fed thought
the low inflation rate was due to
unusual one-off events such as
declines in the price of cell phone
service, cars, prescription drugs,
and surprisingly weak healthcare
and higher education inflation.
However, as the inflation weakness
has persisted, some Fed officials
are beginning to rethink, at least
slightly, the belief that employers
bid up wages as workers grow
increasingly scarce. That said, they
still fundamentally believe that once
the unemployment rate falls low
enough, wages will rise. It’s just
taking longer than in the past for
this to take place.
At this point, there are several
scenarios that can play out. Ideally,
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#& '

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Builders Outlook 7
CELEBRATING
EPAB
employment growth slows a bit; the
THE BEST OF EPAB
unemployment rate falls a bit more EL PASO ASSOCIATION OF BUILDERS
but not much; wage inflation starts
INNOVATION u DESIGN u EXCELLENCE u ACHIEVEMENT
to rise; and overall economy-wide
inflation strengthens. This would
allow the Fed to continue raising
rates slowly and not surprise
markets. There are, however,
several risks to this Goldilocks
outcome.
The unemployment rate could
drop too low too fast and in the
process, ignite inflationary
pressures of all sorts. This would
force the Fed to raise rates quickly,
potentially triggering a recession.
Alternatively, inflation stays low as
the Fed slowly raises rates because
the unemployment rate keeps
ENTRY INFORMATION
falling. In this case, inflation is
pushed even lower, forcing the Fed
to stop raising rates. In this
COMING SOON
scenario, the Fed would have little
room to lower rates when the next
recession comes, as they would
stop raising rates earlier than they
would have liked.
Luckily, inflation seems to be
finally appearing, and this will allow
new Fed Chair Powell to raise rates AWARDS CEREMONY SPRING 2018
in 2018 at a measured pace like
former Fed Chair Yellen. But, as
was the case in 2015 and 2016,
unforeseen circumstances are likely
to necessitate deviations from the
preferred path. I, for one, wish
Powell luck, but strongly suspect
that the economy will be slightly
stronger, and that inflation will rise
faster than expected, necessitating
four interest rate rises -- one more
than the Fed currently expects. No
matter what happens, 2018 will be
bumpier than the economically
serene and placid 2017.


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SPECIAL TO BUILDERS OUTLOOK
Q&A:
Woody Hunt
Executive chairman, Hunt Companies
Raised in Ysleta in the Lower Valley, Woody
Hunt now helms what is likely El Paso’s largest
privately held company: Hunt Companies.
What started 71 years ago as a small
lumberyard by Hunt’s grandfather, the 11-
companåy conglomerate now employs about
6,500 people across the United States and has
$1.5 billion in assets under management.
Today, the 72-year-old businessman and
philanthropist spends much of his time giving
his wealth away. He passed the CEO job to his
nephew Chris in 2015 and now serves as
executive chairman of the family-run company.
In an exclusive interview with El Paso Inc.,
Hunt talked about how far El Paso has come,
how much farther it has to go.
By Robert Gray / El Paso Inc.
Q: What is the biggest challenge facing El Paso?
We have a very low unemployment rate right now;
it is below the state and the country. I can’t
remember it ever being this low. That is extremely
positive.
But we have low unemployment and low incomes.
So the biggest challenge we have now is how do we
move up the skills ladder and up the income ladder.
Q: In some neighborhoods, more than 40 percent
of El Paso households live in poverty. El Paso’s
median income remains among the lowest
anywhere. What is it going to take to move the
needle?
There’s no silver bullet to go from low incomes to
high incomes. It’s going to take investment in a
more competitive quality of life, which gets back to
the political equation.
If we are not willing to invest in ourselves to have
the quality of life that is necessary to attract and
retain higher income jobs, then we are essentially
making a decision that we are always going to be
poor.
There’s a political tension that plays out time and
time again between those who want to invest public
dollars to create a better quality of life so you have
the conditions for higher incomes and those who
say we can’t afford it. Whether it’s the ballpark or
the arena or any other quality of life investment that
is supported by tax revenues, you have that
dialogue.
Q: Can we afford it? Isn’t that a fair question?
It is a legitimate debate.
History tells us that we haven’t always been poor.
We lost our competitiveness, but if we had it at one
point, there’s no reason to think we can’t get it
back.
There’s no magic pill that’s going to take you from
less competitive to hyper competitive within a short
period of time. So it’s a culmination of multiple
decisions, public and private, over time, that creates
a hyper-competitive region.
Q: Other cities are also investing in themselves. Is
El Paso moving fast enough?
Competition is great because it forces change that
wouldn’t otherwise happen. It makes it harder for
those who say we can’t invest because we’re poor
to prevail. That’s not a decision to preserve the
status quo; it is a decision to continue to lose
competitiveness.
Q: The effort that began in the early 2000s to
reverse El Paso’s economic decline has resulted
in a health sciences center, passage of the
quality of life bond and a Downtown ballpark.
Community leaders helped secure the $6 billion
expansion of Fort Bliss. What’s next? What
other ‘big thing’ can El Paso pursue?
The Borderplex Alliance has a strategic plan, which
has multiple components in it. The medical device
industry is one of them.
We have to operate as a region and look at our
comparative advantages. Juárez is certainly much
better connected to the world economy than El
Paso. They are essentially driving our
competitiveness in many respects by participating in
the world economy.
They have 300,000 people employed in
manufacturing that is selling right into the world
markets. That’s a huge advantage that we need to
continue to leverage. That’s why the outcome of the
NAFTA negotiations is so important for the border
and for Texas, which is the largest exporting state by
far in the country.
Q: What could the NAFTA negotiations mean for El
Paso?
It’s certainly been a very bumpy road. I’m very
hesitant to be optimistic. I do think it is a compelling
argument that the state of Texas needs NAFTA. I
mean, 40 percent of our exports go to Mexico.
The stakes are very high to get an outcome that
hopefully makes us more competitive. There are
more than 100,000 workers that work in the auto
industry in the region. Some disruption to that
supply chain would hurt. That’s a major risk factor.
Q: When you look at all the various risks along the
border right now, how high do the NAFTA
negotiations rank?
Based on the amount of time and resources I have
spent over the last 15 months, I would put it at the
top – as far as a risk factor.
Q: What time and resources are you investing?
It’s basically been an effort first to organize the
border and then to communicate with the rest of
the state. The border can’t do it by itself, so it has to
convince the state of Texas and the political
leadership that NAFTA is extremely important.
All of the business leadership in the major
metropolitan areas and the state’s largest firms
need to be engaged in the process.
Q: What’s a specific example of that?
The Borderplex Alliance and its CEO Jon Barela have
led the effort here. It ultimately developed into the
Texas-Mexico Trade Coalition. Jon sits on the
executive committee. They’ve engaged a lobbyist in
Washington, D.C., and Jon has testified there a
couple of times.
Q: How far has El Paso come and how much farther
does the city have to go?
The benchmark I usually use is post World War II
census data. El Paso was 12 percent above the state
in education for post-secondary attainment and 14
percent above for median income.
By 2000, on both of those measures, we were 30
percent below the state. It doesn’t mean our
education levels and incomes didn’t improve, but
clearly we had lost our competitiveness.
Q: El Paso improved but not fast enough.
Nowhere near fast enough.
In the mid-1990s, there was an increasing focus on
changing those circumstances. How do we become
more competitive? That is an ongoing process.
Q: Can El Paso attract, or grow locally, more
headquarters like Hunt Companies?
Usually, when you’re recruiting companies to a
region, you’re not bringing the top-level executives;
maybe they’re opening a new plant or facility. The
only way you can do that is by growing local
companies, which is increasingly technologically
based.
So how do you create an ecosystem of innovation
and venture capital and startups where everybody
wants to do that? There are efforts to do that, and
the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation has
really been the leader there.
Q: How do you hold a family business together?
I had to make a decision almost 15 years ago: Is this
a sustainable business absent me? Once you make
that decision then you are into succession planning.
You’ve got to decentralize and disperse so
everything isn’t concentrated in one person.
This interview conducted by Robert Gray was originally
published on February 18, 2018 in El Paso Inc. Business
Journal.
It appears in the Builders Outlook with the permission of
El Paso Inc. and Hunt Companies.
The full interview can be viewed online at www elpasoinc.com.
Robert Gray may be contacted at rsgray@elpasoinc.com or by
phone at 915-534-4422 extension 143
 2018 Issue 2

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 Mortgage Rates Snap Back to 4-Year Highs
10 Builders Outlook 2018 Issue 2

Mortgage
& Banking
It was a good run for mortgage improvement seen earlier in 2017
rates, relative to the rest of 2018, but The default stance for now is that
after spending 3 days in a row with this trend toward higher rates has the
mild-to-moderate improvements, rates potential to continue. It will take more
quickly snapped back to multi-year than a few great days here and there
highs today. The general trend in for that outlook to change.
2018 as well as the general level of For weeks, this bullet point had
volatility deserve some of the credit. warned about recent stability inviting a
The bonds that underlie mortgage rate bigger dose of volatility. That volatility
pricing actually aren't quite back to last is now here. As such, locking is
week's levels. Lenders are simply generally the better choice until the
quicker to adjust things for the worse volatility is clearly dying down.
when the trend has been unfriendly Rates discussed refer to the most
and when the prices of those frequently-quoted, conforming,
underlying bonds have been jumping conventional 30yr fixed rate for top tier
around as much as they have. borrowers among average to well-
The other part of the credit goes to priced lenders. The rates generally
the market's interpretation of assume little-to-no origination or
comments made by new Federal discount except as noted when
Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who applicable. Rates appearing on this
gave his first semi-annual page are "effective rates" that take
congressional testimony today. Powell day-to-day changes in upfront costs
didn't do or say anything wrong. In into consideration.
fact, he did a great job conveying what
recent speeches and policy documents
suggest we already know about the
Fed's policy stance.
The only issue was one of his
comments was open to the
interpretation of pointing toward an
additional rate hike in 2018. Many
market participants were already
planning on that rate hike, but the
prevailing view was for a slightly
slower pace. After the Powell
comment (he simply said he thinks the
economic outlook is stronger now than
he did in December), some of the
investors in the "prevailing view" camp
shifted their rate hike outlook to the
"additional hike in 2018" camp. That
was enough for mid-day bond market
weakness and widespread lender
adjustments to higher rates in the
Pioneer Bank understands

middle of the day.

that time is preccious so we
offer products to help you
spend less tim me worrying
Loan Originator Perspective
about financess and more
Bonds sold off sharply today, as Fed th that matter
tt
Chairman Powell testified before
Congress. While his rhetoric wasn't
surprising, it reinforced markets' views
that the Fed will continue reducing its
balance sheet. Nothing's changed
here, the trend is to higher rates, and
that means lock early!-Ted Rood,
Senior Originator An
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2018 Issue 2 Builders Outlook 11
12
EPAB Membership
Builder members
as of February 28, 2018
Bain Construction
Scott Bain
Bella Vista Custom Homes, Inc.
Edgar Garcia
BIC Homes
Antonio Cervantes
Carefree Homes
Richard Aguilar
Casas De Leon, LLC
Nick Bombach
Classic American Homes
Priscilla Hernandez
Crown Heritage Homes
Lydia Mlouhi
Cullers & Caldwell Builders
John Cullers
Cullers Homes
Jason R. Cullers
D. R. Horton Homes
Jaime Gonzalez
Dawco Home Builders
Walter O. Lujan
Deal-2-Deal Homes
dba Deal-2-Deal,LLC
Delton Deal
Del Rio Engineering, Inc.
Sal Masoud
Diamond Homes, LLC
Valerie Baquera
Donald Ward Builder, Inc.
Donald Ward
E. Valencia Land Development LLC
Eddie Valencia
Edward's Homes, Inc.
Eduardo Fernandez
EPT Bella Custom Dream Homes
Leti & Javier Navarrete
EPT Land Communities
David Bogas
Everest Homes
Edmundo Dena, Jr.
Fortune Custom Homes
Javier Andrade
Gaddy Construction
Charles Gaddy
GMF Custom Homes, LP
Frank Torres
Guel Construction
Rudy Guel
Hakes Brothers LLC
Chris Hakes
Hanson Asset Management, LP
Russell Hanson C. D. Lee/Britton Insurance & Bonding
Homes by Design
Leslie Driggers Hoard
Hunt Communities, LLC
Kathy Parry
Icon Custom Home Builder, LLC.
Carlos Garcia
Industrial Realty Group Incorporated
Brent D. Harris
JER Custom Homes, LLC
Jorge E. Rodriguez
Lloyd Hamilton Construction
Lloyd Hamnilton III
Loyalty Homes
Gustavo Loy
M A Builders & Design, LLC
Mustafa Ali
Metro Homes, Inc.
Fernando Torres, Judith Arrunada,
Pacifica Homes, Inc.
Juan Jose Vasquez
Palace Homes, Inc.
Robert Diaz
Palo Verde Homes
Edgar Montiel
Pointe Homes
Carlos Villalobos
Porter Homes
Albert Porter
R.C. Baeza & Associates
Robert C. Baeza
R.E. Welch Contractor Demcon Disposal Management, LLC
Gordon Welch
Rassette Homes, Inc.
Donald Rassette
Santana Custom Homes
Fernando Santana
Southwest Land Development Serv.
Doug Schwartz
The Heritage Group
David Bingham
Builders Outlook 2018 Issue 2
Updated every month, here is a list of the 2018 EPAB Membership.
Remember to please do buinsess with fellow members.
Trejo Construction Co. Eagle Roofing Products New American Funding
Juan Trejo Scott Aguilar Brenda Trillo
Tropicana Building Corp. El Paso Building Materials New Era Foam
Bobby Bowling IV Ken Wade George Tollen
Tropicana Development El Paso Disposal Passage Supply
Greg Bowling Irma Parsons John Chaney
Tropicana Homes El Paso Mortgage Bankers Association Patriot Mortgage
Randy Bowling Gilbert Pedregon Randy Bowling
Tropicana Properties El Paso Times Pella Windows
Demetrio Jimenez Jose Molina Jason Bates
Villagi Homes, LLC El Paso Truss Performance Glass & Aluminum
Kristi Eddings Luis Mendiola Hector Hernandez
Will Harvey Development El Paso Winnelson Pioneer Bank
Will S. Harvey Rene Goldfien Kathy Carrillo
Winton/Flair/Accent Homes Ferguson Enterprises Inc. PRIDE Ascend
Herschel Stringfield Albert Holguin Dr. Lonny Wright
First American Bank Post Tension
Associate Members Luis Sauceda Dennis Moore
as of February. 28, 2018 Fire Smoke N’ Grill Powerfoam Insulation/
2-10 Home Buyers Warranty Bill Owen Metlspan NCI Group, Inc.
Jeanine Jones First Light Federal Credit Union Arnie Pederson
84 Lumber Lorenzo Revelez Randall Smith, CPA
Ernie Chavez First National 1870 Randall Smith
915 Siteworks, LLC Haley Merritt Real Estate Weekly Newspaper
Dan Guevara Firth, Johnston, Bunn & Kerr Riley Stephens
ABC Supply Co., Inc. Jay Kerr Rebath of El Paso/Las Cruces
Larry Eck Foxworth Galbraith Lumber Lisa Walling
Acme Brick Company Dan Villarreal Remcon Self Storage
Vanessa Rocha; Steve Bush Franklin Building Materials Will Harvey
Adams Moulding & Lumber Ricardo Aguilar; Cristina Sheldon Richman Group Affordable Housing Corp.
Tom Swahlen G2 Ram Electric Kevin Hoffman
Area Iron & Steel Works, Inc. Luis Cano Rocky Mountain Mortgage Company
Fred L. Edmonston Jr. GCC Sun City Materials, LLC Dean Inniss
Atrium Homes Antonio “Tony” Chavez Roe, Brad
Ricardo Bocardo Jr. GECU- Greater El Paso Credit Union Bradley Roe
Bank of Texas Brenda Aguirre Rudolph Chevrolet
Ray Owen Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce Mike Ruffin
Barnett & Bennett Construction GEPAR-Greater El Paso Saldivar Electric, Inc.
Ben Trzyna Assoc. of Realtors Martin A. Saldivar
Baron Supply Jason Sanchez Sarabias Blue Sanitation
David Trammell Hardware Specialties Monica Brown
Barragan & Associates Jeff R. Paxton Senercon
Benito Barragan Harris Real Estate Group Javier Ruiz
Barrett Airworks Lane Harris Sherwin Williams Paint
Alexandro Castro Haskins Electric Cruz Lopez
Beasley, Mitchell & Co., LLP Charles B. Haskins, Jr. Sierra Title Company
Brad Beasley Home of Texas Angelique Roman
BMC Select Mark Smiley Simpson Strong-Tie Company, Inc.
Jaeson Iovinella HUB International Ken Donham
Boise Cascade Luis Rosas Snappy Publishing, LLC
Mike Flores Interceramic Tile & Stone Gallery Ted Escobedo
Border Solar David Holguin Solar Smart Living
Javier Ruiz Inter National Bank Larry Perea
Builders Source Appliance Gallery Natalie Ojeda Southwest Décor El Paso Corporation
Kathy Rose, Sandra Lucero J & H Concrete & Post Tension Chris Matthews
Jorge Herrera Spectrum Technologies
Anthony Landavazo; Lisa Daniels James L. Ellis, CPA, PC Miled Daou
Casa Ford & Casa Nissan Jim Ellis Stewart Title of El Paso
Luke Lowenfield Jimmy Garza Cindy Bilbe
CEA Engineering Group Emergency Water Removal StrucSure Home Warranty
Jorge L. Azcarate Veronica Buchanan Scott Whisenant
Central Texas Metal Jobe Materials, LP Su Casa Magazine
Roofing Supply Co.,Inc. Charlie Tellez Bob Skolnick
Ben Garza, III Joe Bernal Insurance Sun City Winnelson
Centricity & Financial Services, Inc. Dean Moore
Brent R. Morgan Joe M. Bernal Texas Gas Services
Chaparral Materials, Inc. L & P Building Supply Mica Short
Leroy Trujillo Denise McConnell Texas Title Company
City Bank Texas LCR Resource, Inc. Steve Raney
Bob Kotarski Ralph Sanchez TFCU
City Lights Legacy Real Estate Services Yolie Melendez-Estrada
Thomas Brown TTI Prop. Management. The Dorian Group/Ocean Gallery USA
Cognent, Inc. Patrick Tuttle Miguel Angel Mercado
Martin Paredes Lennox Industries The Home Systems Heating & Cooling, Inc.
Commercial Insurance Brokers, Inc. Sharon Horton Jesus Chain
Ken Foster Lone Star Title Co. of El Paso Trane Residential Solutions
Conde, Inc. Sam Trimble Robert Meske/ Kathleen Chacon
Conrad Conde Love Engineering, Inc. TRE & Associates
Copenhagen Imports Montez Love Linda Troncoso
Flemming Carlsen Majestic Realtors Trim Team
CQC Testing and Engineering, LLC Patti Musshorn Juan & Kris Hernandez
Jaime Rojas MAK Roofing & Construction USA General Contractors
Dal-Tile Felix Vizarreta Javier Olmos
Joseph Cepeda Masco Contract Services Vision Consultants, Inc.
Delek US dba 7 Eleven dba Gale Insulation Kelly Sorenson
Sonja Scanlan Tom Harmon WestStar Home Loans
McCoy's Building Supplies Cinco Houghton
Maria Elena (Nena) Gomez Julie Reyes WestStar Bank
Dunn Edwards Paints Merrill Lynch David Osborn
Nathan Gordon Thomas (Tommy) Gabriel WestStar Title
Dorney Security Mini Concrete Materials Janette Coon
John Dorney Joe Soto
DWS Building Supply Morrison Supply
Sabrina Voorhies Sam Shallenberger
E.F. Building Materials, Inc. MTI Ready Mix, Inc.
Efren Fraire Tony Mullen
2018 Issue 2 Builders Outlook 13

www.elpasobuilders.com
Upcoming Events Member News
MARCH 8, 2018 APRIL 6-15 Blast From the Past
BOARD MEETING PARADE OF HOMES What a surprise when our former bookkeeper
12:00 NOON ARTCRAFT ESTATES Dennis Votava stopped in for a visit. Dennis
had spent several years with the EPAB after
EPAB OFFICE
a career with T-Mobile. In his position
APRIL 12, 2018 Dennis was responsible for the everyday
MARCH 14, 2018 BOARD & GENERAL function as the guy taking in the money,
SPEED SELLING MEETING deposits, billing and processing. “I think I
EPAB OFFICE 11:00 BOARD had more hats in this job than I had in all my
12:00 GENERAL other jobs,” he told Ray on the visit. Dennis is a military veteran and is
MARCH 21-23 EL PASO CLUB permanently retired now at age 74. “I just do what my wife says, and
TAB MEETING sometimes I don’t” he said with a laugh. Dennis looks slim and trim and
AUSTIN, TX APRIL 18, 2018 certainly not his age. “Got a new cardiologist who has really helped me.
GOLF TOURNAMENT Make sure to say hello to the members,” Dennis told us. So from Dennis
to all of you a big Hello. “Oh yeah, tell them I’m not dead yet,” he said half
APRIL 2 BUTTERFIELD TRAIL
joking.
Membership Training
EPAB OFfices
Kudos
New Members Congratulations to Kathy Parry on the birth of granddaughter Reata Ward
born to Charla and Dalton Ward.

LCR RESOURCE, INC.

Condolences
Our deepest condolences to Ray Adauto on the loss of his Uncle Angel
CONTACT: RALPH SANCHEZ
Adauto
11227 PELLICANO, SUITE B
EL PASO, TX 79935
915-701-2325

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 14 Builders Outlook 2018 Issue 2

February Meeting An overflow crowd gathered at the El

Paso Club for the meeting. President
The EPAB held it’s first general
Edmundo Dena welcomed the members
meeting of the year and welcomed
and guests and Ray Adauto gave an
Randall Smith, CPA as the guest
update on upcoming events. Reports
speaker. Randall presented the latest
were made regarding those events and a
information on the Tax Credits passed by
call for help with several of them. The
Congress in December 2017. Smith
association will be constructing a
held the audience in his palm as the
playhouse for the El Paso Children’s
questions running through everyone’s
Foundation that they will auction off at
head were answered one by one. “I am
their annual gala. Angelique Roman
learning this new tax law as is everyone
asked the attendees to help with lumber,
else, including Congress,” Smith told the
paint, shingles, and muscle when we get
Outlook. “The reality is that it will take a
ready to build.
year or more for us to get our head
The meeting concluded with President
around the changes and even then,
Dena adjourning the meeting.
some things will be clear as mud,” he
continued.

Associates Council
The Associates Council met in February
and over forty members enjoyed a couple of
beverages and conversation. Sam
Shallenberger, Associates Vice President,
opened the gathering by giving an update on
upcoming events. Sam also asked that the
associates become involved in the events and
programs the association will be having this
year. Several event chairs were in the
audience and each g ave a report. Pat Tuttle
co-chairs the Spring Golf Tournament and told
the group that there were some great
opportunities for advertising at the golf course.
Angelique Roman, Brenda Aguirre and
Patricia Martinez head up the Community
Service Committee. They talked about the
upcoming playhouse build for the Children’s
Foundation and reminded the group that they
are still looking at helping some needy folk s
with their homes.
Sam announced that there would some off
site get togethers during the year, with the first
event being held at Morrison Supply
sometime in May. All members would be
welcomed at the event, just a social event
with networking.
 Builders Outlook 2018 Issue 2 El Paso Disposal
6046 Surety Dr. El Paso, TX 79905
915-778-5387 • Fax: 915-772-3038
■ ExEcuTivE OFFicERS
PRESiDENT
Edmundo Dena
Sandra Lucero, Builders Source
Ted Escobedo, Snappy Publishing
Jorge Herrera, J&H Post Concrete & Post Tension
772-7495
vicE PRESiDENT Angelique Roman, Sierra Title
Sergio Cuartas Patrick Tuttle, Legacy Real Estate
SEcRETARY Sam Trimble, Lone Star Title
Edgar Garcia Patricia Martinez, Stewart Title
ExEcuTivE vicE PRESiDENT Randall Smith, Randall Smith, CPA
Ray Adauto
PAST PRESiDENT ■ TAB STATE DiREcTORS
Don Rassette Randy Bowling - Life Director
Sam Shallenberger
■ cOMMiTTEE cHAiRS Edmundo Dena
Membership
Ted Escobedo ■ NATiONAL DiREcTORS
Patrick Tuttle Bobby Bowling, IV
Demetrio Jimenez
Finance committee Leslie Driggers Hoard -Alternate
Kathy Carrillo/Treasurer Antonio Cervantes - Alternate
Henry Tinajero
Honorary Life Members
Community Outreach Mark Dyer
Angelique Roman Wayne Grinnell
Brenda Aguirre Don Henderson
Patricia Martinez

For All Your Electrical Needs

Anna Gill
Brad Roe
Land Use Council Rudy Guel
Sal Masoud
Past Presidents
Education committed to Serve

Residential Specialists
Kelly Sorenson Edmundo Dena
Delton Deal Edgar Montiel
Frank Torres

Tract Homes • Custom Homes

■ ADviSORY TO THE BOARD Frank Arroyos
Jay Kerr, Firth, Johnston, Bunn & Kerr Greg Bowling
Randy Bowling
■ BOARD OF DiREcTORS Bobby Bowling Iv
Builders: Doug Schwartz
Delton Deal, Deal 2 Deal John Cullers
J.J. Vasquez, Pacifica Homes Robert Baeza
Leti Navarrete, Bella Custom Dream Homes Mark Dyer
Bud Foster, Southwest Land Development Kelly Sorenson
Kathy Parry, HUNT Communities Rudy Guel
Lee Gillett, Classic American Brad Roe
Laura Loy, Loyalty Homes Herschel Stringfield
Walter Lujan, Dawco Homes Bob Bowling Iii

915-208-9313
Fernando Torres, Metro Homes Pat Woods
Leslie Driggers Hoard, Homes by Design Carlos Villalobos

Total Customer
Carlos Garcia, ICON Custom

800-853-3996
EPAB Mission Statement:
Sal Masoud, Del Rio Development The El Paso Association of Builders is a federated professional
Fernando Santana, Santana Custom Homes

Chris Hakes, Hakes Brothers
Associates:
Joe Bernal, Joe Bernal Insurance
Henry Tinajero, WestStar Bank
Kathy Carillo, Pioneer Bank
John Chaney, Passage Supply
Luis Rosas, HUB International
Brenda Aguirre, GECU Mortgage
Satisfaction
organization representing the home building industry,
committed to enhancing the quality of life in our community by
providing affordable homes of excellence and value.
The El Paso Association of Builders is a 501C(6) trade
organization.
© 2017 Builder’s Outlook is published and distributed for
the El Paso Association of Builders
by Ted Escobedo, Snappy Publishing, LLC
ted@snappypublishing.com
El Paso • Texas • 915-820-2800

2017 Member Of The Year 2017 Associate Of The Year

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