A Good Year for Construction
This has been a good year for construction in Atlanta. Several large commercial projects throughout the Metro area were underway. Residential construction improved upon the momentum that was seen in 2014. By most accounts, that activity will continue throughout 2016.
Optimistic Outlook
Dr. Jeffrey Humphreys, the well-known economist from the University of Georgia recently highlighted what’s in store for Metro Atlanta and Georgia in the coming year. Here are a few of his thoughts for 2016:
¨ The 28-county Atlanta MSA will add 69,600 jobs. This is a year-over-year increase of 2.7 percent. The nation is expected to have a 1.4 percent increase.
¨ The fastest job growth will occur in the construction sector, followed by professional and business services. Overall job growth will be very well balanced among all sectors.
¨ As of mid-2015, home prices in the Atlanta MSA were only 6 percent below their peak 2007 level.
¨ Housing will continue to be a powerful driver of Atlanta’s economy, with the number of single-family new-home starts increasing by about 25 percent.
¨ Georgia’s GDP will increase by 3.3 percent, 0.8 percent higher than the 2.5 percent rate estimated for the U.S. GDP
¨ Corporation headquarters relocations to Metro Atlanta will continue to bring substantial job gains, and will be important to Georgia’s economy.
Humphreys said, “With this new job growth, new corporate headquarters locating to the region and more manufacturing announcements expected, it looks like Georgia will continue to see blue skies ahead.”
For the third year in a row, Georgia was voted the No.1 state to do business in the country by Site Selection, a national economic development magazine.
Challenges Ahead
As I’ve mentioned many times, labor continues to be a challenge for Atlanta’s construction industry. The struggle to find skilled and unskilled labor is a constant issue. Labor scarcity will continue to affect Trade contractor pricing. It will also impact their ability to begin the project on the scheduled date, as well as finish their portion of the work on time.
Material prices will continue to rise. Concrete in particular is scheduled to increase by a substantial percentage at the first of the year.
A Time to be Thankful
As we wrap up the year, there are many things to be thankful for. Herbert Construction Co. rode the wave of increased housing starts alongside our long-term clients. We are very grateful for our loyal clients that have worked with us for many years.
We also added a number of new builder clients throughout the year. When those homebuilders struggled with quality and service issues from their concrete contractors, we were able to solve their problems.
Our best salespeople are our clients and friends. You continue to refer our company to others and let them know about the work we do. Thank you for that. Referrals are vital to our business.
I hope you are able to take time throughout the next few weeks to be with your family and friends, and truly enjoy this Holiday season.
Merry Christmas,