Video Story
Watch VideoHome builders work to rebuild economy
Story By: Ryan Wilson
Source: KOAA
Published Fri Jan 09, 2009, 09:58 PM MST
Updated Fri Jan 09, 2009, 10:20 PM MST
The economy's closely tied to the housing industry and right now both are in bad condition. Builder Magazine estimates that nationwide, 50-percent of home builders could go out of business during this recession.
But there is good news, too. Forbes magazine thinks Colorado Springs will be one of the first cities to rebound. But throughout the Pikes Peak Region, work's slower than it's been in the past.
"It's a tough time for the builders in the market right now," said Joe Loidolt, one of the Colorado Springs Home Builders Association board members. December building permit applications are half of what they were a year ago, in Pueblo and El Paso Counties. Home prices are down, houses sit empty, and some companies have already gone under.
"The current building industry right now is in a very transitional mode, we've really got to look at our bottom line," said Chris Jenkins, of the Fremont County Home Builders Association. In Canon City, the HBA was able to kill a building fee increase. It was just another challenge they faced, as they try to weather this storm. "As long as I can secure, 2 or 3 (home-building contracts), I can still make it through the rough times, but it's not going to be a great year as if I maybe had five or six," says Bryan Leck, the owner of Leck Construction.
There's a lot of bad news, but there is hope on the horizon. "The market will change, it's just a question of when it will change," Loidolt says. Builders think low interest rates, the influx of new Fort Carson soldiers and the fact that the region wasn't as affected by the housing bubble, will get work going again. And they'll admit it's optimistic, but they think the market could even turn around by the middle of this year.
"(You) see a lot of people in the market trying to figure out when's the best time to buy a home," Loidolt says. "It probably doesn't get much better than it is today."
Builders say there's not much they can do, except keep working and hope that helps rebuild the economy. Homebuilders provide a lot of jobs, from their staff to their sub-contractors to their suppliers.
They say the sooner the housing market turns around, the better it will be for the local economy. And it's still early, but here's another possible sign of a turn around. The Pikes Peak Regional Building Department says already this January, they've received 29 single home building permit applications.
