A Fresh Perspective

Post-Recession Survival Strategies for Builders & Developer

But, the beat goes on. The good news is that people still need roofs over their heads and the population is growing. The bad news is that to create the new shelter for that population, many of the business models, assumptions, and management practices from the past won’t work anymore and, in fact; the old practices will probably take a bunch of existing builders to the ash-heap of history.

Coming out of the Great Recession, our industry is searching for metrics that can assure our nation that the health of housing has fully recovered and that the building of America has returned to its glory days. Of course, defining “Glory Days” is subjective. Most analyst want to measure housing’s current health against her performance in the boom years of the 2000’s, specifically comparing housing starts and product mix data to gauge today’s level of housing’s fitness. It’s as if the bar was set in 2005 & 2006 when the U.S. averaged 2 million starts over those two years and until we can move closer to those numbers, the building industry is underperforming. Well, George Casey, wrote a fascinating article called, “Demand Or Not” that offers a fresh perspective about how we analyze housing data and trends. Mr. Casey is CEO of Stockbridge Associates, a consultancy focused on enabling strategic and operational improvements for builders and developers. His article touches on a wide range of realities to consider when scrutinizing the current and future vigor of the housing market. He ends his article by identifying a series of strategies builders and developers may want to contemplate when navigating the shelter business in the coming decades.     

Please click on the link below and enjoy a read that is sure to stimulate your thinking and possibly, your building business. http://www.builderonline.com/builder-100/strategy/demand-or-not_o

Photo courtesy flickr user Oregon Husky