Slumping Housing Market Affects Competition & Prices
Friday, May 25, 2007
From Florida Today: "The housing market in Brevard County is doing better than some markets in Florida, and doing worse than others, said Franck Kaiser, chief executive officer of the Home Builders & Contractors Association of Brevard." 'Because of the housing slowdown, small homebuilders like in Brevard County like Bruce Pearce have been forced to focus on home repair and remodeling jobs."
"Pearce, owner of Talbott Construction Design Inc. in West Melbourne, said he may get out of homebuilding if business does not pick up because it is hard to compete with large corporate builders in a slow market."
"Kaiser said homebuilders generally have dropped prices for new homes, including taking losses on some homes to clear out their inventory."
The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "If you need evidence of how the slumping housing market is impacting the local economy, look no further than Port Manatee. Shipments of lumber, plywood and fencing materials that exploded during the housing boom have dropped off significantly during the bust."
"'The market crashed and no one needed plywood,' said Capt. Rasmus Okland, terminal manager for Port Manatee’s largest forestry product importer. 'Prices have come down and stayed down, and consumption remains low.'"
Labels: Construction Industry, Construction News
