The pause that the pandemic placed on the world in 2020 has had immense effects on everything, including home construction. Many housing projects were put on hold until 2021. Record low-interest rates from the pandemic resulted in individuals seeking homes to jump at any opportunity they could find. This increase in homes being bought led to a shortage of homes to buy. People then turned to build homes instead. With projects being resumed, and more individuals choosing to build versus buy, there has been a significant increase in the price of building a home because of two main reasons.
1 Labor Shortage
Many home constructions last year were placed on hold. This year with projects beginning to resume, there has been a construction boom. Every project that was paused or delayed during 2020 is now being resumed all at the same time. This means laborers are unable to keep up with the number of projects currently needing to be done. Also, many construction companies struggled to remain open during the pandemic. This resulted in a decreased total number of laborers meaning delays onsite are inevitable. The labor shortage not only increases the time it will take for a home to be built but remarkably increases labor costs as well.
2 Material Costs
With the surge of current homes being built, materials are being bought and used at a much higher rate making it difficult for manufacturers to keep up with the increased demand. This not only causes a shortage in materials like bricklayers, lumber, and iron ore but a significant increase in cost as well. The cost of iron ore had doubled since 2021. Lumber costs have also spiked to record-breaking numbers because of the construction boom. This increases the cost to build a home by thousands of dollars which many people are having difficulty finding the funding for.
Attempting to build a home today can seem discouraging, unrewarding, and most of all extremely costly. The pandemic has caused the home building process to be extensive and expensive leaving individuals with no options; however, steel framing may be the perfect solution. Building a traditional double-layer brick home takes significantly longer than building a steel frame. Choosing a steel frame instead of brick would decrease the amount of time it would take to build your home. This means paying less in labor costs. Also, because there is no shortage of steel, there would be no onsite delays or price increase for materials.
It looks as if the labor and material shortage will affect the home building process and price for years to come. In this trying time, we understand the struggle and discouragement you feel when left with no options. Choosing to build a home with an alternative construction method like steel framing would reduce the cost of materials, labor, and take much less time than traditional brick or lumber.
OJ Building can help you save time and money in the home building process. Contact info@ojbuildingwa.com.au to find out more about the benefits of steel framing.
References:
Nbcdfw.com