MASTERWERKS LLC BUILDING SERVICES Custom Home Building, Transformations, Renovations
May 27, 2020
Change, Challenge, Opportunity
With construction deemed essential during the recent stay-at-home orders, we’ve been fortunate to continue accomplishing work for clients, while keeping our workforce somewhat employed. To maintain safe practices, we've restricted projects to unoccupied properties, while limiting the number of subcontractors on-site. Now as orders ease, we’re taking thoughtful steps towards working in occupied settings again.
Responding to a new normal
As restrictions relax and society reshapes itself around a new normal, it’s reassuring to recognize that along with the challenges come opportunities. The future belongs to those who shift their thinking to embrace change, recognize potential, and act accordingly. As always, our objective at MasterWerks is to help you sort out what’s real and what isn’t in local market values, weigh the impact of wider financial trends, then shrewdly apply that knowledge to meeting your building needs and requirements—which may have altered recently.
Creative thinking about financing
With more people working from home, improvements have become the focus for many of our clients, whether long-postponed or newfound needs, and we’re experiencing a surge of requests. In the past, people frequently financed improvements with a home equity line of credit. At this historic moment, however, some banks are responding to uncertainties by tightening qualifications and restricting access to equity. That doesn’t mean you must— or should—cancel or postpone your project, but financing may require more creative thinking and solutions.
Managing construction logistics
The construction sector was already dealing with shortages of skilled labor, and now the situation is complicated by unpredictable supply chain interruptions and shortages—translation: extended project schedules. Again, nothing hopeless, but we’re beginning to manage logistics differently than in the past. All this to say: If you’re considering home improvements, please contact us soon. As always, we’ll analyze and strategize first. And if everything makes sense, we’ll get your project going as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
By making smart, informed, strategic choices, rest assured you can still optimize returns on your home improvement investment.
We’re here to help.
If you explore these links—some bullish, some bearish—two things become clear: There’s no consensus on what the future holds, and within every problem lies opportunity.
Home prices could fall by as much as 4% because of the coronavirus pandemic, Zillow says
A false restart of the economy could create a worst-case scenario for the country’s housing market, an analysis by Zillow says.
Why Home Prices Are Rising During the Pandemic
The economy is shrinking, businesses are closing and jobs are disappearing. But in the housing market, prices keep chugging higher.
Read in The Wall Street Journal
Wells Fargo Joins Chase In Suspending Applications For Home Equity Lines Of Credit
Wells Fargo is the latest big bank to suspend applications for new home equity lines of credit.
Mortgage rates fall to new record low — here’s why some loan applicants won’t be offered them
The low interest rate environment isn’t expected to bring much of a boost to the housing market, which is struggling as a result of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Mortgage rates rise from record lows — and signs are emerging that Americans are preparing to re-enter the home-buying market
Demand for mortgages used to purchase homes fell by 35% in mid-April, but has started to make a rebound.
Where home prices are heading in the age of coronavirus
Coronavirus has all but stalled the real estate market. But realtors and economists are optimistic prices will hold steady.
Consumer confidence in housing falls to lowest level since the subprime crash
The economic free fall from Covid-19 is taking its toll on what had been strong housing demand just a few months ago.
Bidding wars in a pandemic? Housing is heating up fast
After the housing market nearly shut down in April, competition is back with a fury. States are loosening social distancing restrictions and homebuyers are rushing out to open houses again. The trouble is, they're not finding much to buy.