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I know a number of builders in my neighborhood. There's a number of compounding issues: labor costs are higher, which means the customer wants to maximize resal

I know a number of builders in my neighborhood. There's a number of compounding issues: labor costs are higher, which means the customer wants to maximize resale value by amortizing lot costs. This dovetails (in Texas) with carried property tax rates; so, lots in city boundaries increase in price faster than you'd think just sitting around. Second, the builders tend to buy material on futures, which means you lock in price + volatility. There's been a buttload of volatility over the last 12 years, adding to the cost of materials. Inflation has hit building materials pretty hard (wood, concrete, steel). Last, and this is really hard to convince some people: the amount of rebuilding due to natural disasters has skyrocketed. Due to the way insurance & federal relief works, that work is far preferable to labor than spec work. This has put a huge distortion in the new build market.

mjevans 2y ago
As a country the, US and everywhere else too, should focus on Disaster Resistant builds. It should be in the building code. High wind resistant, fire resistant. Landscaping too.
- matwood 2y ago
  > should focus on Disaster Resistant builds They absolutely do. Look up all the building code changes post Hurricane Andrew in the 90s. Those changes spread through the whole southeast and have made wind almost a non-factor. The problem is and always will be flooding. My house is built above the '100 year flood' line to fit code which helps. The problem is either older houses or houses built in areas that didn't historically flood enough for people to consider it a risk.
  - gottorf 2y ago
    > Those changes spread through the whole southeast and have made wind almost a non-factor This is great, but ugh, I live along the Gulf Coast and for the life of me I don't understand why more people don't build with concrete (block or poured) walls, instead of stick-framed! Sure, you can build wood to withstand wind up to code, but you can't make it termite-proof, of which this region has an abundance.
    - jmalicki 2y ago
      Some taller apartments I've seen are built with steel frames on the first few floors, then concrete above - is termite resistance the reason?
      - gottorf 2y ago
        Probably would take an engineer to answer this question. It's entirely possible that building the first few floors with wood would be more expensive than steel due to the additional lumber needed for strength.

mjevans 2y ago

As a country the, US and everywhere else too, should focus on Disaster Resistant builds. It should be in the building code. High wind resistant, fire resistant. Landscaping too.

matwood 2y ago
> should focus on Disaster Resistant builds They absolutely do. Look up all the building code changes post Hurricane Andrew in the 90s. Those changes spread through the whole southeast and have made wind almost a non-factor. The problem is and always will be flooding. My house is built above the '100 year flood' line to fit code which helps. The problem is either older houses or houses built in areas that didn't historically flood enough for people to consider it a risk.
- gottorf 2y ago
  > Those changes spread through the whole southeast and have made wind almost a non-factor This is great, but ugh, I live along the Gulf Coast and for the life of me I don't understand why more people don't build with concrete (block or poured) walls, instead of stick-framed! Sure, you can build wood to withstand wind up to code, but you can't make it termite-proof, of which this region has an abundance.
  - jmalicki 2y ago
    Some taller apartments I've seen are built with steel frames on the first few floors, then concrete above - is termite resistance the reason?
    - gottorf 2y ago
      Probably would take an engineer to answer this question. It's entirely possible that building the first few floors with wood would be more expensive than steel due to the additional lumber needed for strength.