Twice a week, I send out an email Newsletter featuring news of the offsite industry, videos, cartoons, a calendar of events, and a Reader’s Poll. With a mailing list of thousands of professionals in the offsite construction industry voting in every newsletter, it begins to show how our industry thinks, responds, and acts about what is happening today.
Here are the poll results from July’s newsletters along with my remarks. If you have’nt signed up for my twice-weekly newsletter yet, CLICK HERE
Is demand dropping for new homes at your company?
YES – 72.7%
NO – 27.3%
Modcoach: No surprise here. IF we are about to see a recession, we would expect to see a drop in demand for new housing.
Does your company have a “Housing Recession Plan”?
YES – 37%
NO – 40.7%
WE’RE STARTING TO PREPARE A PLAN – 22.2%
Modcoach: This one shocked me. Over 40% of the respondents say they have no plan IF there’s actually a recession on the horizon.
How do you market your company to builders and developers?
Total Marketing on all social and business platforms – 25%
Social media such as Tik Tok, Facebook, etc only – 12.5%
LinkedIn only – 18.8%
Our salespeople make all contacts – 12.5%
Our company doesn’t do any marketing – 31.3%
Modcoach: OMG! Almost 44% of you say you either don’t market your product or simply let the salesperson do it. Let’s be blunt here…Are you crazy? Don’t you like profit? Don’t you want to grow?
Would your company consider hiring retired persons to fill your production line labor shortage?
Maybe, if they have a construction background – 27.6%
Yes, if they could pass the physical – 55.2%
No – 17.2%
Modcoach: Being retired myself, I see able-bodied retirees working as greeters at Walmart, returning shopping carts from a store’s parking lot or volunteering because they don’t think there are other things they can do. Note to retirees from the construction industry: need money? Get a job inside an offsite factory. They’re begging for workers.
What do you see as the biggest problem for housing in 2023?
Materials (shortages and prices) – 6%
Labor (Shortage and skills) – 20%
Inflation – 8%
Rising interest rates – 6%
Pending Housing Recession – 8%
All of the above – 52%
Modcoach: The obvious answer was “All of the above” but look what came in second…labor. Retirees, read my note above!
Will foreign modular companies become major players in the US?
YES – 44.8%
NO – 55.2%
Modcoach: Check some of the latest articles in Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder magazine and then answer that question again.
Should homeless shelters meet minimum IRC or HUD codes?
YES – 91.4%
NO – 8.6%
Modcoach: They shouldn’t be built to any code. It would cost too much money to keep the homeless safe from fire, wind, cold weather, rain, snow, rotting wood and break-ins. Just kidding, folks!
Of course, they should meet some type of code effective in all states. What I worry about are the 8.6% that said NO.
Will “Build to Rent” Communities Soon Become the Best Alternative to Buying a New Home?
YES – 78.9%
NO – 21.1%
Modcoach: Hello! IF we are headed to a recession, Build to Rent could be the perfect option for offsite factories to maintain production levels.
Related Articles:
Enough Already With The Garden Shed Homeless Villages
Housing Recession, Correction Or Crash? With Video
Hiring Retirees For Your Modular Housing Factory Is A Great Option
Gary Fleisher is the Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder. Email at [email protected]
To learn more about the Offsite Construction Industry, sign up for your free monthly issue of Offsite Builder, the Construction Magazine for Builders and Developers
