Pressure is off, say Tri-Cities home builders. Crews getting back to work

For weeks, Tri-Cities home buyers have been calling the Homebuilders Builders Association with their worries over the ban on residential construction.

“I’ve talked to more consumers than I could ever hope to,” said Jeff Losey, the association’s executive director.

But with Gov. Jay Inslee’s announcement Friday to lift some restrictions and allow low-risk construction to restart under new COVID-19 safety requirements, Tri-Cities builders were jumping back on projects.

“We are ecstatic that we are able to finish all these homes for consumers who have had homes under constructions but no where to go,” Losey said.

Earlier this month, the Tri-Cities Homebuilders Association joined other groups across the state to reconsider the ban on residential housing to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“Customers are in limbo,” Losey said at the time. “They sold a home or are out of a home. They are stuck at a relative’s house, which doesn’t work with social distancing.”

A Pasco couple expecting their first child was among those stuck on hold. The closing date of their current house they sold was approaching in mid-May, but without the completion of their new house that was scheduled to close they had been preparing to move into a hotel with a newborn.

“We had a plethora of consumers who let us know their stories,” Losey said. “From first responders to the general public who were in limbo. We had sad stories of people in dire situations. This takes a lot of pressure off folks to continue what they started.”

Tight house market

The Tri-Cities housing market remains tight leaving many with few options if their homes weren’t finished.

Active residential listings in March sat at 463, according to the Tri-City Association of Realtors. That’s a sharp drop from seven years ago when home buyers had 1,204 active listings to consider when shopping.

The average sale price also is up $24,000 from January’s average to about $336,000.

“Homebuilders are happy they are able to get contractors back to work so people will have certainty on coming up with what’s next,” Losey said.

Lexar Homes was able to keep a number of employees on the payroll during the shutdown because they also build in Oregon, said Marc Donaldson, the company’s construction and project manager for Tri-Cities.

Unlike Washington, home construction was deemed essential in Oregon and continued from the start of that state’s stay-home order.

Still, Lexar Homes employees were eager to get back to work and finish Tri-Cities projects, he said.

After a meeting Monday to go over the new regulations outlined by the governor’s office, crews were going back on the job Tuesday.

“It will be challenging to meet all the needs,” Donaldson said. “It is going to be a slow-go but we will get as far as we can.”

Available workers and materials

Part of what will cause completion of projects to slow down is because of the limitation of the number of workers who can be on site before a site supervisor is required.

Phase 1 of the low-risk construction restart requires a dedicated supervisor to monitor safety compliance on all job sites with seven or more workers.

The site supervisor’s exclusive duty is to be ensure sites are meeting sanitation and decontamination processes, personal protective equipment including masks, googles and gloves are used and that social distancing is being followed.

Where there are six or fewer employees, one of the existing workers may be designated to perform the site supervisor role.

Donaldson says that he’s not as concerned about the labor because contractors are typically staggered anyway.

“My biggest fear is supplies and materials,” he said.

While most construction workers already have gloves and eye protections, Donaldson said the company tapped into the sewing skills of the office manager who will sew masks.

They bought individual squeeze bottles to refill with soap daily, which is easier to manage than buying a large quantity of sanitation supplies when stores have limited amounts that someone can purchase.

Donaldson said the crews will get as far as they can so people can get in their homes.

“At the end of the day it was costing the clients more money, time and headache,” Donaldson said. “They are the ones I really feel for.”

This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 2:19 PM.