Time to Upgrade and Repair
Upgrade and Repair Now!
I’ve written previously about the “Intel” effect. Many of you know that is coming but how does that affect you? Along with the obvious things that come with growth, there are many less obvious things that you may not think about until it’s too late.
We are just beginning to see some of the effects. We are hearing of widening roads, other Intel suppliers announcing land acquisitions, we are starting to see some increased traffic in the northeast. Many projects are on the fringe. Being in real estate, I’m starting to see people visiting and looking for houses.
So how are you going to be affected?
In the long term, our city and surrounding areas will be totally transformed. Most of us have no idea what’s going to hit us. It will certainly be for the good, but many of us (like myself) have a hard time facing change and again, it’s coming!
I want to talk about some changes we are starting to see, but first some perspective. The Intel “Fab” will have a minimum of 7000 workers for the construction of this one plant. In Columbus, the largest construction project (measured by construction workers) was Lower.com field where the Columbus Crew play. That project employed 1500 construction workers at its peak. Take a look just around 270, how many cranes do you currently see? OSU Medical Center, the new hospital at 270 and Sawmill, google plants, Amazon plants, other data centers, Honda has started on its EV battery plant…just so many construction workers already fully employed. Take all of these projects and more than double the amount of tradespeople that will be needed just for the Intel plant.
So, again, how does this effect you?
Do you need to have your driveway replaced? Do you need start a bathroom renovation? Do you need to add electricity for your new Tesla?
Do It Now!
Intel pays much better than most other construction projects, so if you were a tradesperson, you would naturally want to work where you get the best compensation. Home projects will become a lower priority when it comes to tradespeople due to the increased pay from Intel. So let me reiterate, if you have a drywall project needing done, if you need to replace the rotted wood around your garage, want a generator installed, need new flooring, need an a/c unit… get it done now. We will be reminded of the Covid era when we had supply chain issues, soon we will have a finite supply of labor in the trades industry, so plan now.
One last way this will affect both you and my industry is new construction. I’ve been beating the drum on the lack of inventory. Builders are trying to take up some slack and are starting to try to catch up BUT, these same builders are needing the same tradespeople Intel and these other major projects will need, thus tightening the labor market even more. Believe it or not, as of right now, by recent standards, the market has paused a bit, but by the end of the year and into 2024, interest rates will be dropping and many of you who have been on the fence and don’t want to give up your 3% interest rate, will make it a booming 2024. Where will builders get labor to build? If they want them, they will have to pay and we know what that means. Already expensive new construction will cost more and take longer to build. Please call me now to discuss possible improvements as well as my thoughts on the future real estate market.
