2 minute readLaws of supply and demand apply in homebuilding, of course, as does an unwritten cardinal rule of nature, physics, and economics, that everybody needs a home.
So, too, do NHTI analysts highlight opportunity areas and caveats around efforts to keep new homes within the payment power zone prospective buyers need to operate within: At the same time, NHTI analysts registered a new seismic shift they reckon will figure consequently in why a consumer will ultimately decide to buy from one source versus another, impacting both the choice and the business of the seller. That is, being held to account, not just for the basic features and functionality of a home, but for its spread of impacts – environmental, social, etc. – as part of a bigger bucket of value. They’re new to the litany of “drivers” most builders would regard as high-priority areas of customer focus. Further, most homebuilders would probably tell you that when it comes to attainability or sustainability, you can have one or the other, but not both. Very likely, the next 12 months to five years will serve as housing’s learning and discovery lab as to how well homebuilding firms will perform under the assumption that attainability and sustainability are either/or pathways. As a point of unappreciated friction, however, – and one that may be on par with the sheer forces of supply and demand as business opportunity measures – we view the attainability and sustainability challenge to be a both/and value measure in the minds of more, younger, and ultimately “deciding” consumers of every manner of consumer durable or service. It’s one of those 2022 trends likely to flow through the better part of the decade ahead, starting small, spooling up, and ultimately, becoming how things work.
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