Lumber Prices Are Through the Roof, Punishing Apartment Builders.” —The Wall Street Journal (5/25/2021). [Note to Readers: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced. If you need legal advice, please consult an attorney.] Home builders nationally are facing soaring costs....Read More
Back to the Future You’d think — in an age of online everything — that it would be easier, not harder, to do due diligence on new home builders these days. Especially small home builders, who may only build a handful of homes a year, and (still) dominate the industry. Unh-unh. As recently as five years...Read More
Four Reasons to Inspect No one has a new car professionally inspected before they buy it (though they likely take it for a test drive — or three). Why pay several hundred dollars to inspect a brand-new home? I can think of four reasons: One. To get a professional’s assessment of construction quality. A good Realtor...Read More
After the Deluge: New Growth Maybe new home builders have always been young. But, they sure seem a lot younger these days. At least anecdotally, it appears that many older, established new home builders got out of the business following the collapse in new home construction starting in 2006. As new home construction has picked up...Read More
From More Square Feet to More Volume, Cont. I’ve discussed previously the trend toward homes not necessarily with more square feet, but more “volume” (higher ceilings, more and larger windows, wider stairs and halls, etc. — see, “Not More Square Feet, More per Square Foot“; “Cranking Up the Volume“). That trend applies to the exterior...Read More
“$5,000 here, $10,000 there”To paraphrase a *famous quote, “$5,000 here, $10,000 there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.” In this case, the money consists of incentives offered to first-time home Buyers. New home builders have been offering Buyer incentives for quite some time (upgraded finishes, discounted loans, plasma TVs, etc.). However, now government...Read More
