CLEVELAND — Houses in Northeast Ohio are costing more and taking longer to build due to the pandemic.
One homeowner Dan Mullaney was homeless after the start date was pushed back by six weeks and he had already sold their house.
“We had to reach out to my mom, who was nice enough to accommodate us and let us move in. But, you know, it just took us all by surprise,” said Mullaney.
Mike Kandra, the owner of Edgewood homes, says the delays are due to a list of issues calling it a multi-faceted problem starting with the supply chain.
“The inflation aspect is rearing its ugly head. We get price increases where we used to get like one a year which was 3 to 5%. Now we're getting them quarterly and they’re 10 to 15 to 20% on different items,” said Kandra.
Pre-pandemic builders could get sink faucets and tubs within one to two weeks. Now it’s taking nearly 12 weeks or more.
“So it varies, windows are impossible to get they are three months out for some companies or as much as 43 weeks,” said Kandra.
Both affect pricing and build time.
Pre-pandemic, Kandra tells News 5 they could finish a basic 3,500 square foot house with a basement within seven to nine months. Now it's 8 to 12, and the lack of workers is just another layer.
So houses cost more and take longer to build, but people are still buying.
“The demand is still there because they can sell their house, interest rates are still low,” said Kandra.
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