To combat affordability issues for home buyers due to high interest rates, home builders are looking for ways to cut sales prices by 20% or more to keep mortgage payments within reach for their buyers. To reduce sales prices while maintaining desired margins, home builders need to make appropriate cuts, buy better, and redesign to get square footage down.
In this era of cutting costs to maintain affordability, it’s crucial for home builders to focus on the spaces buyers care about most to give them a reason to move. It all starts with the plans. Leave room in the budget for designers to give buyers memory points.
Design teams need to look at all the parts and pieces, know the costs, and make the tough decisions. Rethink that large entryway, the expensive backsplash, the odd-sized kitchen cabinets, and the custom, over-sized window in the great room that looks out to a view of the neighbor’s fence.
In the latest episode of our
Builder of Choice™ webinar series, I had a lively discussion on this topic with our valued partner, Lita Dirks, CEO of
Lita Dirks & Co. CLICK HERE to watch the webinar. You can also listen to our entire
Be the Builder of Choice podcast series on Spotify (or your favorite podcast platform).
Ed Hauck is a senior consultant at Shinn Consulting. He specializes in helping builders around the country reduce direct construction cost, streamline operations, and guide new product design towards efficiency and cost control.
