Rising construction costs may prevent you from having your dream home built

Lumber and other construction supplies have gotten so expensive that some builders won’t build you a new home right now.

Countless homes are under construction in places like Cape Coral but no one is working on them. Not because of a shortage of desire but a shortage of materials.

On one Cape Coral block, there are three homes currently under construction.

Richard Durling is the owner of Marvin development corporation which has built homes in Southwest Florida for five decades.

“We certainly have seen a great deal of demand here in Southwest Florida,” he said.

The demand isn’t the problem, the cost of supplies might be, though.

“There’s been a considerable rise in the cost of materials, and also a considerable interruption of those materials, particularly things like aluminum, and lumber, appliances, all of these items are becoming more difficult to acquire,” Durling said.

So, for now, at least, you’ll see more homes that can’t come forward until things like windows are installed.

“Because the house is open to the, to the weather. So things like doing insulation and drywall and finishing the floors and painting all these things that you want to do inside, you really need the house to be enclosed to do that,” he said.

One reason we are seeing these price hikes and delays in completion is because of the pandemic. There are lockdowns and safety protocols in factories. There are also tariffs to worry about.

Mark Johnson is the CEO of JP and Associates Realtors. “The United States under the Trump Administration raised the import duties on Canadian lumber. And Canadian lumber is 35% of US lumber production,” Johnson said.

So, if you’re planning on buying or remodeling a home, the most important thing to pack is your patience.

Durling also says as we head out of season and into summer months, demand for building will go down.

For, now, he says, if you do plan on going through with remodels, give yourself a few additional months.

Companies like Durling’s are learning to adapt and order materials earlier but believes that supply will go back to normal.

Until then, though, Mark Johnson says to make sure you read all of your contracts since many include a clause to increase the price you pay if the price of materials does rise.