The home-building industry has had its own experience with the crash aftermath.

Even the long-dormant home-building industry is slowly returning to life.

With the home-building industry already sluggish, taxes that make home ownership less attractive may tip the industry into recession, he added, costing American jobs.

Mills have closed because of automation, a recession in the home-building industry and logging restrictions to protect the spotted owl, a threatened species.

He received a million dollars in contributions from the home-building industry and from the manufacturers of homes.

The impact is being felt from the fashion business to the home-building industry.

Of course, the large publicly held builders comprise a minority of the home-building industry.

"There's an image to be overcome that's negative," he said of the home-building industry in a telephone interview.

"The home-building industry has become a lot more efficient over the last 10 years," he said.

The project comes at a time when explosive population growth in the region continues to spur a healthy home-building industry.