BlackSheepRehab on Nostr: I feel your pain while also being insulated from it. My work is almost all on spec, ...

I feel your pain while also being insulated from it. My work is almost all on spec, and the retail market on houses keeps rising given the huge demand and the challenges Oregon keeps putting in the path of development. So I’m able to absorb most cost increases without affecting my bottom line, it just gets past on to the end home buyer.

But skilled labor is typically less skilled and yet 25% more than it was 3 years ago. And of course subcontractors costs keep going up. I’m not a big enough GC to use a sub more than twice a year typically, so never feel I have enough pull to argue their pricing. Plus I’d rather have 1 or 2 I trust to price me fairly than to constantly be chasing the lowest bid.

If I can’t budget the price I’d rather reduce scope than try to crush someone else’s margins. But I get most GCs can’t operate that way and so are going to demand you absorb those costs internally.