As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, I’m inspired by the grit, courage and resilience it took for our founders to fight for our rights and lead our country to independence.
Washington’s home building industry shows the same kind of grit, courage and resilience in building their businesses to forge better lives for their families and their communities.
That’s one of the many reasons we value belonging to local home building associations: the Building Industry Association of Washington and the National Association of Home Builders.
Better together
Working with like-minded professionals as part of our local home building associations brings value beyond the many tangible member benefits like access to health insurance, the opportunity to participate in workers’ compensation retrospective refund programs or member discounts and rebates through NAHB.
Association members enjoy a network of diverse and talented tradespeople and industry professionals that help us build stronger businesses.
As a custom homebuilder and remodeler, I’ve never looked at fellow builders and remodelers as competition, but rather as colleagues — each with a unique approach to our businesses.
If I meet clients who aren’t necessarily a good fit for me, it’s likely I know another builder or remodeler who would be a great recommendation. Similarly, when fellow builders find themselves with extra work or a particular specialty they can’t accommodate, they know they can refer people my way.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Our real estate industry professionals help us sell the homes we build; mortgage, title and banking professionals keep transactions running smoothly; and the constellation of trades professionals give us a wealth of expertise to help us build and remodel award-winning homes.
These relationships benefit association member businesses as well as the customers we serve, creating positive experiences for us all.
Committed to excellence
Earlier this year, we celebrated BIAW’s 2026 Excellence in Remodeling Awards. There’s really no better place than the EIR Awards to showcase how teamwork shines.
Every award-winning remodeling project reminds us that no one succeeds alone. While the finished product carries just one company’s name, we know that every project depends on an army of tradespeople, suppliers, associates and industry partners working seamlessly together.
BIAW spotlights its award-winning projects each year in the July/August edition of Building Insight.
With many homeowners reluctant to move and abandon the historically low interest rates they secured in the early 2020s, remodeling has garnered more and more of the home building market. Washington currently ranks fifth in the nation in terms of growth in that market, with an increase of $269.1 million or 3.5%.
Nationwide, NAHB reports strong growth in this sector with 128,000 remodeling firms in 2026, up from 69,000 in 2000. Together we build people’s dreams.
Rebuilding communities
Builders and remodelers don’t just build dreams. We also help families recover from nightmares. A prime example is the wildfire response in eastern Washington.
As wildfires continue to blaze across the state, builders, remodelers and their colleagues are banding together to help wildfire survivors rebuild.
In Spokane, devastation hit particularly hard, damaging or destroying more than 900 homes. Homebuilders, remodelers, recovery companies, insurers and others are banding together to rebuild lives. Both BIAW and NAHB are assisting in this effort — and Spokane Realtors have provided $500,000 in assistance through the REALTORS® Relief Foundation.
That’s the power of our industries — always building and supporting our communities.
Together we rise
Today’s builders, remodelers, tradespeople, real estate professionals and associates are operating in one of the most challenging times in our history.
We’re facing economic challenges, development barriers, runaway taxation and tough labor markets. Together we can combat many of those challenges, but we must work together so our industry continues to thrive for the next generation.
Our founding fathers worked to build a foundation for our country to stand the test of time. Similarly, NAHB, BIAW and your local associations continue to work to ensure our federation stands strong into the future.
Aaron Marvin is 2026 president of the Building Industry Association of Washington.