The Current Market
Scott Hobbs joins Boroughs & Burbs on the current market, the real timeline and cost of building, and why waiting for prices to fall is a bad bet.
Watch · Boroughs & BurbsThe market, and the cost of building
On episode 33 of Boroughs & Burbs, hosted by John Engel and Roberto Cabrera, Scott Hobbs of Hobbs, Inc. worked through what the market looks like on the ground in New York and Connecticut. The conversation runs from why buyers are now taking on renovation projects for lack of listings, to the two-to-four-year reality of a major build, to hard numbers on roofs, windows, and geothermal.
Scott’s throughline: your home is not an investment, and waiting for construction costs to drop is a bet he would not make. Watch above, or on the Boroughs & Burbs site.
What Scott said
A major renovation or new build in the New York and Connecticut area is a two-to-four-year commitment. Between a busy architect, design, approvals, landmarks, and permits, you have to be willing to delay gratification.
Approvals are a town-by-town lottery. A missed filing deadline or a backed-up county health department can slide a project by months, while New York City‘s process, for all its size, is often more predictable.
If you can buy a house and be happy, do it. Custom construction is not a value play; the return is walking up your own driveway happy, not resale.
Once a buyer has toured forty or fifty houses without finding it, the answer is usually to build. The fifty-first house is rarely the one.
Geothermal has paid off. Scott’s own home went from hundreds of dollars a month in oil to roughly the same per year, and about two-thirds of Hobbs homes use some form of it.
Do not wait for construction prices to fall. Transactions drive building, demand is not letting up, and labor will not materially drop short of a real recession. A few years’ wait to save a few percent is a bad bet.
The market and building, in short
How long does a major renovation or custom build take?
Plan on two to four years. Finding a busy architect and running the design takes six months to a year, then approvals, landmarks, and permits stack on, and lining up a booked builder adds more. See how we work.
Should you renovate, build new, or just buy?
If you can buy a house and be happy, Scott’s advice is to buy. Custom construction is not a value play, and you cannot bank on resale. But once you have toured forty or fifty homes without finding it, building your own is usually the honest answer. Start with a conversation.
Is geothermal worth it?
For Hobbs, yes. About two-thirds of Hobbs homes use some form of geothermal, and Scott’s own house went from hundreds of dollars a month in oil to roughly that per year. It runs quieter, with no exterior compressors to corrode near the coast, so it tends to last longer.
Should you wait for building costs to come down?
Rarely worth it. Real estate transactions drive construction, demand is strong, and short of a real recession labor costs will not materially fall. Waiting two or three years to save a few percent is a bet Scott would not take. See our completed work.
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Featured on Boroughs & Burbs, the National Real Estate Conversation, hosted by John Engel and Roberto Cabrera.