Builder Profits Fell In 2020, The First Drop Since 2008

Builder gross profit margins fell to 18.2% in 2020, while net profits slipped to 7%, according to NAHB Builders’ Cost of Doing Business Study. This is the first profit margin decline since 2008. The study surveyed single-family builders across the U.S. It found that builders averaged $13.7 million in revenue for the fiscal year of 2020, of which $11.2 million (81.8%) was spent on costs of sales, such as land costs and construction costs. An additional $1.5 million (11.2%) was spent on operating expenses, such as marketing, administrative expenses, and owner’s compensation.  The study notes that shutdowns related to Covid-19 played a part in the results, as well as the need to navigate work-from-home models, supply-chain disruptions, and labor shortages.…

Russia’s Attack On Ukraine Felt By Builders In U.S.

By CHUCK GREEN Builders in the United States are feeling the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading some experts to say there will be ramifications in the home and commercial markets. “Already, retail gasoline and diesel prices have jumped by record amounts and reached record levels. Construction firms use large amounts of fuel for their own trucks and offroad equipment,” said Ken Simonson, Chief Economist of The Associated General Contractors of America. Doubling down on the notion that the conflict is putting builders in a sticky situation, Simonson said they pay directly through fuel surcharges. Costs are embedded in the thousands of deliveries of equipment and materials to job sites as well as the hauling away of dirt, debris,…