I think I've been writing about labor shortages in the construction industry as long as I've been writing about real estate -- even during the times when the housing market seemed to be at loose ends and hardly in dire need of carpenters.

What made me put the topic on the front burner was an email from Erik Cofield of the Greater Houston Builders Association, announcing the creation of a national residential job board designed to connect housing industry employers with housing industry job seekers and skilled trades people.

"It's easy for job applicants to get lost on larger employment sites," said Cofield, the association's Director of Education and Career Services. "Many of the job postings are outdated, and it can be difficult to find listings in your specific field of expertise."

The new job board is industry specific, and reaches out to local skilled labor, sales professionals, superintendents, managers and myriad positions in a complex industry.

Job seekers across the nation have free, unlimited access to the site. They may search jobs, post resumes and even set up an account, that lets them easily monitor new job postings. There are fees for job postings. Discounts are available to employers who are members of the National Association of Home Builders, through their local associations.

There is nothing more important to a residential builder than accessibility to quality labor. There is nothing more important to a buyer, than a house built by quality labor. Thus, it is a win-win situation.

One thing I learned first in this job, is that when the residential or commercial real estate markets are at loose ends in one part of the country, they seem to be thriving in another. That's the reason why a lot of builders who have long been strictly regional have been venturing to other parts of the country over the last decade. It makes for a better bottom line if you have something to fall back on when your own area is in a slide.

The United States, of course, is not just one big economy, but is made up of several, semi-independent ones. If the economy of one area of the country begins slowing down, there is nothing to suggest that others will, too. If the economy belongs to California, which has the fifth-largest one in the world, odds are that at some point, there will be repercussions elsewhere -- eventually. It may take awhile, but it will happen.

The fact that it can take time, led one Middle Atlantic luxury-home builder I know to venture West ten years ago to take advantage of California's economic slowdown, especially depressed land prices. Things were going well for the builder in his markets, and had been so for a while, since the luxury-home market tends to be better insulated from the stress, and strains, that affect the middle and lower-end ones. When jobs go away through corporate downsizing or other cost-cutting, profit-boosting activities, it seems to hit the lower-end buyer hardest.

The builder's plan, which worked very well, was to buy land at bargain prices and then wait until the California economy picked up, and housing demand increased. He was not disappointed, nor did he have to wait long for the hunch he played to begin paying off.

The one variable in a builder's equation is the availability of skilled labor. Without it, the builder's hands are tied. He has to compete for it with other builders, which means the cost of labor rises. The remodeling industry competes for the same tight labor pool, so the shortage affects both new homebuyers and homeowners looking to add a kitchen or bathroom.

If disaster strikes -- Florida's 2004 hurricanes are a perfect example -- an already tight supply of labor is stretched so far, that new-home delivery dates can be put off for months and builders' carrying costs increase.

Although most people prefer to set down roots in one place, where they can raise their families, construction labor often has to be mobile to survive. We were staying at a campground in Jamestown, N.D., about 12 years ago and I got to talking with another camper, a framing carpenter from Idaho, who spent the warmer months roaming the Northern Tier states looking for work.

In the winter, he'd head to Nevada and California, living in cheap motels and sending most of paycheck to his wife. He thought that Idaho was the best place to raise a family, and he didn't want his kids to have to keep changing schools as he chased employment opportunities.

But we all need to make a living. And the Houston job board, looks like a good start.

Published: April 28, 2005

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