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
Cheap(er) Copper = Less Expensive New Homes? “U.S. Housing Starts Fall 11% in October.” —headline, WSJ (11/18/2015) According to today’s Wall Street Journal, copper prices just fell to fresh six-year lows (about $2/lb.), in part due to softness in new home construction. Which begs the reciprocal question: will falling copper prices reduce the cost of new...Read More
Waiting for Supply to Catch Up to Demand According to Pat Hamill, chief executive of Oakwood Homes, it will likely take several more years before builders have the capacity to fully meet demand. “We lost a lot of builders, lost of a lot of trade contractors. We lost a lot of people to other industries,”...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
