Looking for the Missing Middle

2018 ULI Fall Meeting moderator Adam Ducker, managing director of RCLCO, asked a panel of housing experts about the lack of middle-class housing, “Why are we missing this opportunity?”

Panelist and vice president of marketing for LWR Communities in Florida, Laura Cole said, “We definitely see national home builders focusing on this," adding that builders, “need to change the building model to deliver that product,” including new home designs, and sales and marketing techniques, Cole said. Another panelist, Martin Ditto, chief executive of Ditto Development, pointed out at the Urban Land Institute meeting that investors are looking to get in on this market sector, “Capital is smart. They know there is a problem.”

Everyone is familiar with the challenges. Skyrocketing land prices and consistently rising construction and labor costs push builders to target the top end of the market, where they can find stronger profit margins. Even defining the “middle” can be difficult, Ducker noted. Typically, it refers to people making $35,000 to $100,000, which means homes priced below $300,000, he said. “Shocker: We’re not building much of that in the United States,” Ducker said.

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