April is the cruelest month they say and the April wind has been cruel. But not only the weather. Home building has plenty of wind in our face: no truly affordable lots; rising prices for everything (labor and materials); rising interest rates. But thankfully no rain to slow us down. And even that will be a problem probably.
County Assessor, Rob Ogden told me the other day that single family homes are 71% of the Lincoln real estate valuation. That means the taxes from single family homes pay for 71% of the City’s planned spending. That alone tells me “housing pays for itself”. And what is the point of economic development focusing on jobs — to grow a city, right. But the true point is to grow who lives and spends money in the city. And that means housing. Lincoln has to have housing for all those employees. So fellow homebuilders lets persevere and keep doing what we do. It is more important now than ever.