Big homebuilders like
CEO
Q: It’s been a strong year for the new-home market. How do you see it heading from here?
A: There are a lot of dynamics at work, but when I just look at the supply-demand needs of providing shelter, the trajectory we’ve seen, with pricing moving the way it has, and the level (of construction) — I think everybody slowed it down to match production, to allow production to get caught up — I think we have a good runway ahead for the industry.
Q: How have the building materials constraints and higher prices for key components like lumber affected your business?
A: We found ourselves with
Q: The supply crunch has also lengthened the time it takes to build homes, correct?
A: It’s extending timelines a little bit. Most builders are deploying the same strategy, and that is aligning sales with production capacity.
Q: When you look at the surge in
A: There’s such an undersupply. When I look at affordability — I think the average was a 23% increase in (home) prices year-over-year — that’s unprecedented. Is that a sustainable formula? Absolutely not. Having said that, what’s also really interesting and has probably seeded some of that is if I were to look at a
Q: The pandemic helped popularize virtual home tours. Taylor Morrison is leaning into this trend with the launch of an online homebuying portal. Will this have enduring appeal outside of a social distancing scenario?
A: The whole intent of the virtual suite is that there isn’t one-size-fits-all and we want to engage with the customer in the way that’s most comfortable for them. And if they want to do it in person, great. If they’re out of state, which is something that happens quite often, and they know the neighborhood and they’re comfortable doing it virtually, that works, too.
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