Anyone looking to complete a major home remodeling project in the months ahead should prepare for longer completion times and higher costs.
General contractors, remodelers and design-build companies are reporting an increase in inquiries in the second quarter, while 77 percent complain of moderate to severe labor shortages, according to the Renovation Barometer.
“We will likely see a backlog of work, potential delays in the duration of projects, and an increase in fees among service providers to offset wage pressures during 2016. All this to say that homeowners should allow more time for project planning and completion than in prior years,” advised Nino Sitchinava, principal economist at Houzz, a website for home remodeling and design.
Carpenters are in the shortest supply, with 45 percent of all companies in the survey reporting a hard time finding them. General laborers aren’t that easy to find, either, with 39 percent of companies reporting shortages.
Framers, tile setters, plumbers and drywallers are also in short supply, but not as much as carpenters.
Colorado ranked second only to Georgia for having the lowest construction industry unemployment rate in February, at 4.9 percent, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors. Nationally, the construction unemployment rate was 8.7 percent.
