Politics and Homebuilding: It’s All Local

When determining the health of local construction markets, the largest and most important segment is often overlooked: local builders.

In his latest Builder and Developer Magazine article, HomeSphere CEO Glenn Renner checks in with HomeSphere’s local production builders to get a true sense of the residential construction market. Here’s what the builders are saying:

Are local builders as optimistic about the market as the Top 100 builders?

Largely, they are. Local builders are experiencing similar levels of optimism as the national builders. Demand remains strong, with 79% of HomeSphere builders surveyed having raised some or all of their pricing.

What’s the impact of rate hikes on local builders?

Most of our local builders aren’t feeling the rate hike. The top end of the market might be feeling the crunch, but 51% of respondents thought higher rates pushed buyers “off the fence” to beat further rate hikes.

How are rising material costs impacting local builders?

Local builders are far more concerned and impacted by rising material costs and price volatility than the national builders.

According to Renner, “Where the larger builders can rely on buying power to stabilize increases, middle-market builders are looking to rebate and incentive programs to help manage manufactured product costs. By using front-end and back-end savings to reduce the cost of the products installed in homes, builders are better able to protect their profit margins while they try to grab the commodity price tiger by its tail.”

For more insights, be sure to read the article in Builder and Developer Magazine