The entire economy is resurfacing after being submerged in one of the worst economic recessions to date. The housing market, while on the defense, is improving and that, for us, means green upturned arrows and optimism.
We know that fresh, new life breathed into a housing market means a scramble to get back to pre-recession profits and productivity. Building suppliers are well aware of this fact as well and are chomping at the bit to accommodate all full-priced retail needs for those builders that can’t leverage big buying power with reasonable and long-term contracts.
And without supplier discounts and long-term contracts, that leaves independent builders standing by, watching their profit margins being swiftly shaved away.
“Leading concerns now are supply oriented. Over two-thirds of the builders responding listed the availability of labor as their greatest concern for 2015; building materials prices follow closely with two-thirds listing it as an expected problem,” cites an article by builder.com. Lower housing ticket prices coupled with a staggering increase in construction costs (ENR’s construction cost, labor cost and materials cost index have all gone up 1% since January) adds up to be a losing equation for the independent homebuilder.
Recent data suggest that continued tight credit access for buyers has the market more dependent on cash and investor buyers than in years past. In this scenario, the big building companies don’t even have sweat on their brows. Their uncontested buying power ensures low prices and higher profit margins while maintaining competitive pricing on their final products.
If you’re an independent builder reading this, shaking your head, fretting over your next estimate, fret no more. Our commitment to maintaining the prideful independence of small-scale homebuilders is second-to-none, and breathes new life into an economy saturated with large-scale, impersonal construction companies.
We enable you, as a member, to combine your spending power with other homebuilders around the country to leverage increased buying power with better bulk-buying prices against the nation’s most superior suppliers. This establishes the critical mass and volume imperative to negotiate longer term price locks, thus delaying the impact of price increases.
At a National Level, CBUSA National Contracts protect builders willing to commit their business from price increases for 1-3 year. This means improved margins. This means more accurate budgeting. Above all, this means more confidence where you need it most. CBUSA has got you covered.
Posted By Brian Pavlick