Arkansas Home Builders Association

Vote for Owen Residence - LEED Project of the Year Owen Residence •  Little Rock, Arkansas Built by  River Rock Builders , the  Owen Residence  is a dream project for owners Ann and Rick Owen, who wanted to build the healthiest and most sustainable home possible. In March 2018, their home achieved LEED Platinum status with sustainability features like 42 PV solar panels, which provide all the energy needed to power the 2,662-square-foot house and two vehicles, greatly reducing the home's carbon footprint. On June 20, US Green Building Council  announced the recipients  of the 2018 LEED Homes Awards, which celebrates residential projects, developers and builders using  LEED  to improve quality of life and create healthier and more resilient communities. The Owen's Residence by River Rock Builders is one of 14 homes. This year, for the first time, USGBC is opening up voting for the Project of the Year—the winner will be selected as "people’s choice." Projec

In a victory for state home builders and NAHB, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson earlier this week signed SB 170 into law, which will prevent cities and counties from regulating building design that would needlessly raise the cost of housing. The Arkansas Home Builders Association (AHBA), along with realtors and other trade groups and consumers, lobbied aggressively for this legislative remedy after the city of Springdale proposed changes to its Residential Design Standards for new homes that would prohibit exterior finishes such as vinyl, wood and aluminum siding that are otherwise permitted under all editions of the International Residential Code. Other proposed changes such as roof pitch, front facing garages and wrought iron fencing would collectively increase building costs and price entry-level buyers out of the market. With Arkansas and the rest of the nation already facing a housing affordability crisis, the AHBA argued that the proposed standards are a form of exclusionary