North State Building Industry Association CEO Michael Strech announces upcoming retirement

Michael Strech, the president and CEO of homebuilding advocacy group North State Building Industry Association, is planning to retire in the near future, the association announced Thursday.

Strech, who’s headed the Roseville-based group since 2012, is retiring for health reasons, according to the announcement.

“Building the homes and communities that Sacramento needs is vital for our region’s economy and quality of life, and the BIA – its members and staff – have worked hard during the past decade to enable more homes to be built,” Strech said in the announcement. “While I’m sorry to step down, I know our members and staff will continue to do a great job going forward.”

North State BIA said it will not be providing further information.

Strech’s tenure included seeing homebuilding rebound in the Sacramento region after the depths of the Great Recession, as well as soaring demand during the early part of the Covid-19 pandemic, a setback when interest rates rose last year, and then another rebound in sales as a shortage of resale inventory pushed more buyers toward new homes.

During that time, Strech consistently beat the drum for improvement on what local builders cited as hindrances, such as impact fees and an overall workforce shortage.

Current board chair Bonnie Chiu, vice president of forward planning at homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI), said in the announcement that Strech has been a tireless advocate for increasing housing supply and ensuring the association’s networking and education programs were excellent.

“The BIA would like to thank Mike for his leadership and to recognize the lasting imprint that he has left on the homebuilding industry in the greater Sacramento region,” she said. “During his nearly 12 years with us, he helped successfully guide the industry through the aftermath of the Great Recession into a new era of increased housing production.”

Chiu said North State BIA will soon launch a search for its next president and CEO.

Before joining North State BIA, Strech had stints with the California Building Industry Association, where he worked in insurance and risk management and later as vice president of member services, and as executive director of the Shasta-Trinity Schools Insurance Group.