In America today, home ownership plays a key role in family security, stability and prosperity. It strengthen the nation's communities, encourages civic responsibility and provides a solid foundation from which we support our families, and achieve personal goals.
As a boy growing up in Pensacola, my dad, Glenn R. Brantley, a local builder and developer, put me to work with his construction crew as soon as I could swing a hammer and roll a wheel-barrow. Though motivated primarily by earning money, I was very interested in construction. From the smells of fresh cut lumber, to the sound of hammers, construction intrigued me. My greatest interest was in design. I spent hours designing houses. What a thrill to see my plans become reality in actual homes.
After graduating from college, I married, and began full time work with my dad. It wasn't long before my wife Robbi, and I moved into a newly constructed house. The choices of carpet, paint, brick, etc. were ours. I still remember how excited we were. It wasn't much larger than the apartment we moved out of, but it was our own home, our dream, a place to live and raise a family.
Children's lives are also positively affected when they live in a safe, decent and comfortable home. The University of Chicago, has found that children of home owners stay in school longer and are more likely to become productive citizens. This benefit is even more pronounced among low-income households.
Home ownership in the United States has grown from 44 percent, at the end of WWII to more than 64 percent today. We presently have more than 100 million housing units, with 62 million owned by their occupants. A typical new home is a single-family detached, brick house with 2,000 square feet of living area. It has three or four bedrooms, central heat and air, and a two-car garage. The median national sales price is $130,000 - $140.000.
Home-building in Pensacola is a crucial component in our economy. New home construction and remodeling provide thousands of jobs and generate millions of dollars in wages and tax revenues each year. Home ownership is a key to building personal wealth. For the average household, the home is the largest asset they have. It is usually the only way they can shelter income at the same time increase their net worth. Furthermore, when their personal home is sold, and a new home is purchased, the individual will pay no tax on that gain provided the new home is of equal or greater value, and the new house is moved into within two years of the sale of the old home. Therefore, home ownership, especially moving into a new home every few years can truly be a key to building financial security.
Most home building firms in the U.S. are small, family-owned businesses constructing 25 or fewer homes per year. In Pensacola, we have many builders of this size, plus several companies that build 100 plus homes per year, but these too are primarily local companies. This means that the home builders in our area, also live here. We own houses, raise children, worship, pay taxes and generally build our lives in this community. Most of us are members of the Home Builders Association of West Florida. We join together to meet the needs of our industry and our community. We vigorously support our community by helping Habitat for Humanities, the Lakevew Center's children programs and Manna Food Bank, to mention a few. My wife, a member of the Board of Directors of Manna Food Bank, has said the Home Builders are one of the largest supporters of the annual Food for Families Drive.
The members of the Home Builders Association of West Florida are proud of Northwest Florida, and excited about our future. Our builders are working ever harder to make the dream of home ownership a reality for more and more people. Many styles, sizes and prices of homes are needed. The diversity of our builders and the products they build help make Northwest Florida a community for everyone.