Labor constraints help explain Austin’s disparate home prices
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by: Russell Falcon, Michelle pitcher
Posted: 07/25/2021 / 2:22 PM CDT
Updated: 07/25/2021 / 2:22 p.m. CDT
Building a house in Austin (KXAN)
AUSTIN (ABJ / KXAN) – Bobby Vasquez, who helps train construction workers, said the sheer heat of Austin’s housing demand has drawn workers from New York and Washington.
Even so, Austin doesn’t have enough workers.
“Every project hurts,” said Vasquez, Austin education coordinator for the Gulf Coast Carpenters & Millwrights Education Trust. “Anyone could use some help. There just isn’t enough money. [Some jobs are] Accepting inexperienced people while showing them what they need to know. There is simply too much work and too few workers. “
New home construction nationwide hit all-time highs in 2020, according to a new report from ConstructionCoverage.com. Texas has approved over $ 40 billion in new builds, making it the highest-valued state in residential construction.
The Austin subway alone spent more than $ 7 billion on housing construction, the report said. At the same time, there were only 44,520 construction workers in the region to complete the tall housing construction.
The demand for homes – both new and existing – is increasing by leaps and bounds.
In Austin, the average home price reached an all-time high in the past two months, with a single home costing an average of $ 465,000.
While this business is good for construction companies, it does not address persistent labor shortages amid rising construction costs for materials due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To learn more, visit the Austin Business Journal.
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