An Honest Conversation With a Superintendent in New Home Building

We have all experienced what Covid has done to the world over the past two years, from the change in the Real Estate market and interest rates, to supply chain issues, major labor shortages, food shortages, inflation, the list goes on. On today’s blog, I am sitting down with Superintendent, Griffin McCormick for an honest and open conversation about his day to day life, struggles, improvements, and candid thoughts on how his job has constantly changed over such a short time period.

J: What challenges did you face while building homes in the peak of covid and how did those challenges evolve over the past 2.5 years?

G: Trades would come down with covid and on a moment's notice they, and those exposed in their company, would need to be quarantined which led to delays on the job-site. We couldn’t have in person meetings which made it difficult to work with your team, trades, and customers. We had to navigate doing everything in person to hosting meetings and collaborating virtually. Manufacturing and supply chain began to become a big issue which resulted in material delays. Our company and many others made the decision to pre-select all design options and ditch dirt sales - this took a lot of adjustment for the building and sales side of the business when it came to explaining why we would have to say no to changes.

J: Do you feel as if it’s shifting back to pre-covid days when it comes to building now that things are beginning to normalize?

G: No, I don’t feel it’s normalizing when it comes to building homes. There is still a major labor shortage because wages aren’t keeping up with inflation. Production homebuilding trades are still at max capacity and so are manufacturers. The backlog of home from the increase in sales late last year and earlier this year are still being built.

J: What challenges are you currently facing in the new home construction world?

G: Lack of skilled labor is the biggest challenge right now, also lack of HVAC contractors because two major companies went out of business earlier this year in Florida. Rising interest rates have posed challenges with customers and the struggle to set the correct expectation when it comes to setting a closing date after they have locked their rate.

J: What are your current build times from start to finish and have they adjusted at all since the start of covid, for better or worse?

G: It takes 8-12 months from start to finish to complete a home depending on the product being built. The more difficult the build, the longer it takes because trades are picking where they want to go. It has gotten worse since the start of covid as it used to take about 5-6 months pre-covid. This is a timeline for a spec home, also where the client has no choice in design options and we allow no changes, which greatly helps with delivery times.

J: What important expectations do you feel any buyer out there should know about buying a new construction home right now from your standpoint?

G: There will be periods of time during the build that nothing happens. There will be delays. Right now we are doing everything we can to minimize these delays but they are inevitable. The more understanding you are of this, the more enjoyable the process will be for you.

J: What needs to happen for the build process to become much easier?

G: The homebuilding industry is a trade-controlled market right now. Trades are controlling who they work for, where they are going, and when they go there. They have the ability to touch their work once and not go back to punch it out because they are in such high demand. They are picking and choosing the work they want to do and leaving other jobs falling behind or left without punch out being complete. To become, “easier,” the industry needs to make a turn back to builder controlled. In a builder controlled market trades are competing for the same work, hitting schedules, punching out their work, and accommodating to builders because they need a steady influx of work. .

J: What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

G: When customers truly appreciate the service I provide

Thank you, Griffin for your insight and candid thoughts about new home building! It’s important and educational to hear and see your side of things when it comes to the new construction process.