Be Prepared for COVID-19 New Home Construction Delays

If you're planning to start a new home, you'll now have to consider the very real prospects of construction delays due to supply chain disruptions and other unknowns as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope that's not the case, but reading the tea leaves...

Is it the end of the world? No. Is it a problem? Yes.  Is it too early to tell? Maybe.

China is currently a major supplier of U.S. building materials and the reported epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak. As a result, our domestic economy could begin experiencing a major single-point supply disruption across a myriad of American businesses, including homebuilders, as they scramble to compensate for material shortages while dealing with COVID-19 and "shelter in place" emergency orders. What we currently don't know, is how long this international problem will persist.

If you're an imminent home buyer, you should spend the extra time to review your home buying plans carefully and be prepared for delays that may last for months, if you decide to build a new home from an empty lot. Factors such as material shortages, possible labor shortages, unpredictable mortgage and financial markets, material surcharges when material suppliers have to source construction materials from secondary sources, even a homebuilder's financial condition suddenly become factors, that could impact your home building plans.

Contracts for construction will rule as long as both parties remain financially sound. Reading your contract carefully is now imperative. Reading between the lines, wouldn't hurt either.

Now More Than Ever You Need Expert New Home Representation. My Services are FREE to You.