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a firm price. “Unfortunately, it’s not something that we lock in at the contract time. Pricing’s based on when it’s actually delivered to the site,” he explained. According to Watson, the cost of a home can go up by tens of thousands of dollars by the time the job is done. “Those prices can vary from nothing over, to $50,000 over, depending on the timing and the size of the house,” he said. For some buyers, it’s a deal-breaker. “We have had to have that uncomfortable conversation more than we’ve wanted to,” Watson said, “but some people have decided to just back out.” He says the company tries to lessen the impact on the buyer as much as possible. “We absorb everything we can, but at some point you gotta decide are we building houses for free, or to make a living?” he said. “Obviously, we do take a financial loss at it as well.” Watson says despite rising costs, the home building market is still holding strong. If you’re thinking of building, Watson recommends, “go into it open-minded. Be patient with your builder.” As almost anyone in residential construction can attest to, lumber and material prices aren’t the only hurdle to overcome. Because of supply chain issues and labor shortages, Watson says building a new home will not only cost more, but also take longer. Instead of 6 to 8 months, it now takes around 14 months to build a home.
New Mark Homes KC Featured on KMBC 9
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ew Mark Homes KC recently spoke with KMBC 9 about material prices and the impact spikes in lumber prices continue to have on residential building. Mike Watson, operations manager for New Mark, has seen these fluctuations firsthand and the impact it has on buyers. “It’s a continually moving target, changes every week,” said Watson. “We’ll see an increase of double or more, and then it’ll come back down to a normal level two weeks later,” he said. “It’s really unpredictable right now.” The constantly changing market makes it difficult to give clients
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