Skyrocketing Lumber, Steel Costs Causing Chaos for Developers

Skyrocketing Lumber, Steel Costs Causing Chaos for Developers

Our team at The Naumann Law Firm wanted to share with you news greatly affecting new construction. As you may already be aware, the housing market in Southern California (and the country), is, as they say, on fire. It is a strong sellers’ market, buyers are having an extremely difficult time getting offers accepted. One reason for this is low inventory on the market. According to CRMLS, the inventory of single family detached homes in San Diego County is down almost 60% from last year’s numbers.

Low inventory presents opportunity for developers to build new homes as fast as possible to take advantage of the market. However, developers are not as confident as you may think. Reason being, cost of materials is at levels never seen before. See the chart below at how rapidly costs are rising.

At The Naumann Law Firm, we feel these increase in costs could have a direct effect on construction defects in newly constructed homes.

According to constructiondrive.com, contractors across the country are reacting to these shortages by lowering labor costs and shortening schedules. “They’re saying they can do it in eight months instead of nine by pushing their people harder, and doing it faster than they’ve ever done it before.”

Consequences of this, intended or not, could potentially lead to problems in a newly constructed home. What if a developer decides to use cheaper, less experienced labor? Suddenly those crews are installing the waterproofing around windows or performing a roofing install, expertise is critical when waterproofing is installed. A small misstep during this process can cause water intrusion and major resultant damage to drywall and ceilings.

If your developer “cuts corners” and you find yourself with a construction defect, do not wait to report it. You may be able to pursue and claim damages. To learn more about this topic, click our construction defect litigation page.

The Naumann Law Firm represents homeowner associations, high/mid-rise condominium and condominium conversion associations, single and multifamily residential homes and commercial property owners in construction defect litigation.  The Naumann Law Firm has over 37 years of experience handling significant construction cases with complex issues.

If you need more information on construction defects, visit our construction defect litigation page. To contact us, call 844-492-7474 or visit our San Diego construction defect contact page.

We also practice Los Angeles construction defect litigation, Orange County construction defect litigation, Riverside construction defect litigation, and San Bernardino construction defect litigation.