Despite an improving housing market, there are still some significant issues facing builders in 2016. Chief among them is the cost and availability of labor. 71 percent of builders polled in the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index faced this problem of labor shortages last year and 76 percent expect to face it in 2016, Eye on Housing reports.
As skilled labor becomes harder to find, the cost of that labor will inevitably rise. But that isn’t the only problem builders are expecting to face in 2016. The second largest problem from the survey was the cost and availability of developed lots. 59 percent of builders expect to face this problem in 2016.
Third on the list was federal environmental regulations and policies with 57 percent of builders expecting that to be a challenge.
The largest increase on the list between the number of builders who said they faced a particular problem in 2015 and those who expect to face it in 2016 was building material prices. 42 percent said they faced this issue in 2015, 14 percent less than those who expect to face this problem in 2016.
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