Currently, in the U.S., the building industry has 378,036 volume builders trying to meet consumer demands. As of April 2023, new residential construction started 1,401,000 homes but completed only 1,375,000. The statistic indicates a continuation of the trend of an inventory shortage that is already 6.5 million units short nationwide. The number one challenge across the industry is builder costs. Construction costs are only compounded by finance and policy challenges. With over 30 years of volume design experience, Monta Consulting & Design understands the challenges of high-volume construction and provides builders services to mitigate obstacles. Learn more about the benefits of MCD’s builder services below:
Industry Challenges
According to the NAHB, a questionnaire to 3,100 builder members included 442 responses indicating the top difficulties in the industry are:
Costs
Builders specifically demonstrated concern about new building codes and energy efficiency requirements, with about 40 percent of respondents identifying them as primary contributors to growing costs. In addition, interest rates are up 27 percent from the year before. The increase in the price of borrowing money has impacted the builder and the consumer. Builders are now forced to pay more to produce less, and many consumers cannot enter the market due to the interest expense. Marketing to potential buyers is now a top concern because buyers are waiting for interest rates to drop and following adverse media reports concerning the housing market.
Policy
Federal government policies concern builders, from environmental regulations to other federal interventions. Local land use policy issues rose in 2023 as more challenges surfaced with ecological regulations, difficulty obtaining permits, and changing development standards. The MCD team is well-versed in navigating regulatory challenges during planning and product development. Read more here about our expertise.
Our team understands the uncertain market climate and the industry’s challenges. MCD is always looking for the most efficient innovations to serve builders and developers through our builder services.
Builder Service Solutions
Volume Design Services
The MCD team guides clients through the design, planning, and construction process, whether new construction or renovating an existing structure. With decades of industry experience in development and construction services, MCD is constantly adapting to meet the needs of the industry. Our builder services currently include the following:
- Master Planning – includes comprehensive perspective vision planning, feasibility analysis, project development documents, and marketing assistance.
- Product analysis – includes an internal and external comparative sales analysis, a thorough investigation of surrounding competitors, a demographic study, and construction efficiency recommendations.
- Options management – includes master sets of your entire plan with every elevation and purchase option. The master sets are used internally and externally to streamline pre-construction and permitting.
- Expedited permitting – includes coordinating with each jurisdiction to dramatically reduce permit approval times.
- Estimating – includes the specifications for the application of each product, a bundled summary for purchasing, and a worksheet that will allow waste factors and other considerations to be edited as needed by the client for all 16 construction divisions.
- Component engineering – includes manufactured wood components, roof trusses, floor trusses, and wall panels.
Our comprehensive services simplify single-family and multi-family pre-construction, resulting in solutions that make projects profitable and sustainable.
Volume Design Benefits
MCD’s builder services and our experience in high-volume design will benefit builders by making the design process seamless, which carries on throughout the construction phase. Some of the benefits clients experience when using builder services include:
- Significantly reduced sale to permit times. Permit sets in as little as three days!
- Reduced carrying costs.
- Reduced material costs.
- Reduced field errors & delays. Our team responds to RFI’s within 24 hours!
Preparing for the Future
In the current high-volume markets, single-family construction is slowly on the rise. Although single-family construction is up, the market still needs to stabilize due to ongoing supply-chain issues and skilled-labor shortages. According to Florida Realtors, single-family is up 2.7%, whereas multi-family has dropped by 5.9%. The industry anticipates declines in multi-family construction ahead due to tighter lending conditions; however, the multi-family sector is expected to correct itself in early 2024.
The labor and material shortages hold true for all market segments in construction and are anticipated to continue for the next decade. According to the U.S. Labor Bureau and statistics, the number of people needed in construction positions is expected to increase well into 2024. The vacancies will only multiply with the older generation completely exiting the workforce. With the rising labor cost and a shortage of seasoned experts, MCD can fulfill the demand and provide solutions to high-volume builders trying to fill these gaps.
Despite market unpredictability and economic uncertainty, there are some optimistic predictions of lowered costs in the later stage of 2023 and into 2024. In addition to declining mortgage rates, housing prices will likely remain flat. As we move forward, the market is expected to continue upward at a “normal” pace.
Take Advantage of Builder Services Today
MCD is committed to evolving as individuals and as a company to meet industry demands. Our holistic approach provides maximum efficiency and cost savings. However, each service can still be used separately. High-volume builders reap the rewards by using our integrated services that meet the budget requirements and time-saving benefits, resulting in higher investment returns and exceeding buyer expectations in a competitive market.
Take advantage of our services to reduce costs and save time today. Contact our team and schedule a consultation today, Monta Consulting & Design – Architecture & Engineering
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