Announcing the National Housing Quality Executive Council

If you're reading this article, there's a very good chance that you still make a decent living by building homes. If that is indeed the case, I would like to express my sincere congratulations for having been able to survive (and perhaps thrive) during what can only be characterized as the worst housing market collapse since the 1930s.

Of course, there's no guarantee that 2010 is going to be a picnic — another wave of foreclosures is headed our way and the new-home buyer tax credit program will most likely cease to exist as of June 30 — but the vast majority of builders I've connected with in the past few months believe the worst is behind them, and they're planning for flat or moderate growth this year, even with the market challenges that lie ahead.

Entering year three of the so-called Great Recession, you're probably feeling bruised and battered. We at Professional Builder feel your pain. To that end, we're making it our cause in 2010 and beyond to focus on delivering proven, actionable information and solutions to help your companies prosper during these difficult economic times. Consider it our New Year's Resolution.

As the backbone of this effort, we have formed the National Housing Quality Executive Council (NHQEC), a group of 25 home builders and housing consultants that are fully committed to serving the industry with practical advice concerning all crucial aspects of the home-building business. Their areas of expertise range from customer satisfaction, leadership and construction quality to sales, performance management and supply-chain management. Why the NHQEC now? Because there is no room for error in this market. Builders simply cannot afford to make a mistake.

The majority of NHQEC members are intimately involved as judges in the prestigious National Housing Quality (NHQ) Award (operated jointly by Professional Builder and the NAHB Research Center) — the industry's sole awards program recognizing excellence in quality management and operations. And many are past NHQ Award winners, including Bill Saint, president and CFO of Simonini Builders (2010 winner), and Kevin Estes, owner and founder of Estes Builders (2005 and 2007 winner). The bottom line is that the NHQEC brings together many of the industry's best minds when it comes to running a high-quality, profitable home-building business, and you can consider them among your most trusted advisors.

In the coming months, NHQEC members will deliver their keen advice through weekly blog posts at HousingZone.com and participation in articles and industry roundtable discussions. In the meantime, you can learn more about the newly formed NHQEC by visiting www.HousingZone.com/NHQEC.