Home Builders Group
January 20, 2005
Community Breakfast Comments
What trends will affect the way you do business in 5 years?
Economy |
- High quality smaller homes.
- An increasing need for smaller, affordable, energy & space efficient housing.
- Size of homes increases.
- Larger homes that are more detailed and sophisticated.
- Housing demand competing with rural land use; preservation interests.
- Growth of the area as the main factor of the growth of our business.
- Having a qualified pool of younger people to fill our needs for employees is a concern for our business
- Energy & its conservative will be a major effect on the building trades along with proper use of our natural resources.
- Green construction an important trend-recycled products, energy efficiency.
- Energy management: types of energy are changing; need to understand costs.
- New products coming out fast-need to evaluate, understand.
- Mold prevention a growing issue.
- Energy: type, cost, availability, alternatives.
- Materials: type, cost, availability, education/training.
- No skilled labor.
- More pre-made products
- Speed of construction.
- Less financial investment.
- Condo developments for seasonal & retired
- Road congestion.
- Lack of institutional budgets.
- Metal cost rise - move to PEX water piping.
- Lack of infrastructure development.
- Energy consumption of constructed facilities.
- Density issues.
- Additional financial incentives for home buyers for construction of new homes, e.g. energy credits, conservation and "building green"
- Lack of qualified installers.
- Safety.
- Increased competition.
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Government |
- Government regulation in building technologies, minimum-maximum requirements.
- Energy codes need to be raised.
- State and local regulatory agencies will be developing stricter energy codes.
- Workforce housing is a significant problem due to increasing governmental regulation.
- Code inspector involvement.
- EPA regulations.
- Regulatory - workforce/affordable housing; government is the main reason we can't have affordable land.
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Technology |
- Increasing technology in residential homes.
- Integration of alternative energy.
- Building technology trends for materials and application energy requirement.
- Having access to available technology that is affordable, efficient, environmentally sensitive.
- Much more skilled training needed in technical aspects of industry - light switches now "control units."
- Workers often need laptops in the field-building and servicing; this is true for residential and commercial.
- Computer interfaces for building systems, i.e. lighting, HVAC, security, etc.
- Energy codes - developing technology.
- Radiant in-floor heat.
- Design aspects of building.
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Demographics |
- Work ethics and attitude of new employees.
- Need for trained, knowledgeable and reliable workers.
- Increasing number of people/businesses moving into the region, provide an opportunity for larger construction/development project.
- Retiring workforce - faster than new people entering the trades.
- Seasonal lifestyles are hard to communicate and fit with community needs.
- Downsizing of existing residents.
- Non-homestead voters impacting values.
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General |
- TC has grown and will continue to grow. The amount of new construction will continue to rise, increasing the demand for properly trained carpenters/contractors.
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| Education |
- Continued construction level increases will require more trained/skilled labor force.
- Training on benefits.
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Next: NMC's Role >>
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