Builders Race to Keep Up With Surging U.S. Home Demand

[Purveyor]

By Shobhana Chandra - Jul 2, 2013
Joe Chamberlain says he can’t build homes fast enough to keep up with demand. The founder of Caprock Custom Construction Inc. in Rockwall, Texas, has yet to break ground on any of the three houses he sold in May and June.

That’s “an excellent position for a builder to be in,” said Chamberlain, who already has three homes under construction and is just starting work on another. “It ensures we’ll stay busy for a long time and make a profit.”

Almost 36 percent of all U.S. new homes sold in May weren’t yet under construction, close to a seven-year high and signaling sustained strength in homebuilding as companies try to catch up. That in turn will trigger purchases of everything from cement and lumber to furniture and appliances, bolstering hiring and economic growth, economist Neil Dutta predicts.

“There’s clearly more housing starts activity in the pipeline,” said Dutta, head of U.S. economics at Renaissance Macro Research LLC in New York. “The economic outlook is getting better and there’s more household formation. With demand rising, production is going to follow.”

Of the 45,000 new houses sold in May, construction hadn’t yet begun for 16,000, according to Commerce Department data. The share of yet-to-be-built dwellings was up from 26 percent a year ago and from a recession low of 14 percent in September 2008.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-02/builders-race-to-keep-up-with-surging-u-s-home-demand-economy.html

[Romulus Quirinus]

1. Housing Bubble 2

Electric Boogaloo

[JustAnotherGen]

2. As stupid as it is

With so many on houses up for sale . . . it's actually helping me in my area. My husband I and decided to shift to towns that have numerous developments underway as 'tracts' to snatch up a Federalist or Victorian era/style home in the town itself.

[kentauros]

3. If more municipalities would allow prefab home construction,

there wouldn't be a problem "keeping up." Plus, it would employ plenty of American workers.

And, these aren't trailer homes, either:
2012: Thirteen Highlights of the Year in Prefab, Modular and Shipping Container Design

LivingHomes and Make It Right Introduce Affordable Green Prefab

Treehugger is a good site to search for more info on this topic

[OneGrassRoot]

4. Yes!!! I've long been a fan of prefab homes...

for quality control reasons, timeliness (weather less of a factor)....many reasons!

Not even limited to these more alternative approaches, but more traditional-looking homes that happen to be modular in construction.