Construction Jobs and News from Home Builders
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Construction job news from the Contra Costa Times: "It was bound to happen. The job market for home building in the East Bay has begun to stumble, halting a strong run. The pace of employment expansion in the housing sector is a fraction of what it was earlier this year." "Only last spring, residential construction was booming in the East Bay. Jobs in home construction were being added at a 10 percent annual rate in April and May. But by October, jobs were being added at a 3.5 percent annual rate."
And from Florida's TC Palm: "Layoffs at another leading Treasure Coast homebuilder again raises questions as to when the new-home market will rebound. DiVosta Building Corp. executives said Tuesday they will lay off 218 employees in the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County."
"'I think this is a continuing indication of larger national builders downsizing to accommodate the changes in the residential housing market,' said Don Santos, past president of the Treasure Coast Builders Association. 'I think there's a lot more of this going on in the field, but we don't hear about it.'"
Finally, from the Associated Press: "Alex Barron, who follows homebuilders for JMP Securities, said the industry will get worse before it gets better. He said with so much inventory, builders like Hovnanian must cut their prices to compete."
"'Until those inventory levels come more in line with historical levels, it's going to be very difficult for builders to show an improvement,' he said. While Hovnanian posted a large write-off, he said the company is being more realistic than other large homebuilders 'about how deep this current downturn is.'"
Bookmark the Contractor Update and check back with us on a regular basis for more news on the construction and remodeling business outlook. We are a great resource for news, trends, and information on the industry.
Labels: construction jobs, Construction News
Love the Budget or Leave it?
Sunday, December 17, 2006
At Construction Deal, we've been hearing from many contractors in our network about the project budgets.You've said the budgets posted by project owners are too low. Since our goal is to help you expand your business, we wanted to reach out to you.
We always try to provide you with as much information as possible to help you bid on the remodeling, building, and repair leads posted on our site. The budgets are chosen by the homeowners and business owners but many of you have complained that these budgets are not realistic. These are not numbers set in stone or final in any way - these are the figures from people who may not have any idea how much it will cost or are afraid if they put too high a budget, they'll end up paying too much.
So, we want to know:
Do you want us to continue to include the budget information in the projects we send you?
Please let us know what you think. Contact us at bizdev@constructiondeal.com or post a comment here on Contractor Update! (Click on the link just below that says, "Comments")
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Our Budget Survey Results
Labels: Budgets, Construction Deal
