Dive Brief:
-
Despite labor shortages in the construction field, it doesn’t take any longer to build a house today than it did in 1973, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Census Bureau data.
-
Then, as now, it took six months to build a single-family home. Along the way, construction time on houses slowed, in spurts, to as long as 7.9 months, The Journal reported.
-
Labor shortages have slowed construction not only during housing booms but during hard times, the article said. For example, construction times lagged after the 2008 mortgage crisis and as the housing market collapsed. Skilled trades tend to leave the industry during busts, and often do not return when building activity resumes, the report noted.
Dive Insight:
Another reason work slows: bad weather. The Census numbers revealed that historically, during frosty spells in the Northeast when it wasn’t possible to pour concrete, builders worked longer on each home than during spring, summer, and fall.