J.Schwartz,llc Construction Blog (PAHIC#861)

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Friday, March 13, 2009

Current Events and how they affect us at J. Schwartz,llc 3/13/09

There is no denying that the current economic “down-turn” has affected everyone – no matter what kind of “smoke blowing” and stories they are telling; especially those of us in the home-building and renovation business.
J. Schwartz,llc is currently putting out a record number of proposals – and it is easy to ask why so many are looking for numbers on projects that are obviously not happening… I would guess that there are a few reasons for this: One may be that people that would have been “moving up” to a larger or new home in years past are currently looking to settle-in and renovate. Another reason may be that home-owners are thinking that they will take advantage of a weak market and get better pricing because of an assumed drop in material and labor costs.
The truth is that with this record number of outgoing proposals, few are being signed – and there may be many reasons for this, as well. Although commodities like copper and other metals have dropped in price; it does not necessarily translate into savings on the items that the home-builders need – wire, gutters, studs, etc. While it does always seem that as soon as the market has a cost increase, we all feel it; it is also true that when prices drop on the raw materials, those decreases don’t flow-through as quickly. In hand with that is that although people are very hungry for work, and there certainly is some savings to be had with the current conditions, I feel it is very important for people to understand the psychology of the situation – (Yes, you are reading a blog from a home builder that is talking about psychology). No matter what the quality level of the project (all J. Schwartz,llc projects are of the highest quality,with budget in mind), there is the right level of tradesperson or craftsman for that project; and with the right person, there is an immense amount of pride in the work that they do. If you are a smart client, you want the best workmanship at a great price – and while there is no doubt that we can currently “beat people down” to low wage rates, it does not mean that they will give us the same quality and pride in their workmanship once we do; there is a delicate balance that must be held, and that is what J. Schwartz,llc does. So in summation, my first reason for unsigned proposals is price. The assumed material decreases are not there, and the huge labor rate decrease are not either – especially if you are looking for a project that will not have problems, will be of a high quality level and be as beautiful as you dream it will be.
The second reason for unsigned proposals may be that it seems that the downturn has not yet hit bottom – and any bit of reluctance only gets excacerbated with each passing day… so it may be that these projects are not gone, they are just “on hold” until we see the sun again.
J. Schwartz,llc will be here for that, and we will be ready with the right mix of quality, energy, readiness and accessibilty for our clients.

posted by Joe Schwartz - J. Schwartz,llc at 8:57 am  

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