06
Jun
Builders Say Lumber Tops Labor as Biggest Challenge
From the article:
“In the little markets, most builders are very small and so are their margins. When you add $7,000 to the cost of a home [that’s $300,000], people walk away,” said Dale Oxley of Modern Home Concepts in Hurricane, W.Va. “When you have a market that’s anemic, a small builder is pretty much out of business – you can’t get an appraisal to reflect [the additional cost of lumber], so it’s left to the contractor to eat.”