Homebuilding Set to Rebound when the Coronavirus Pandemic Passes, but the Rebound Should Not Come at the Expense of Quality Construction

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the National Association of Home Builders is touting the economic impacts of homebuilding and how home construction will lead the country out of the economic downturn caused by Covid-19.  The NAHB touts the number of jobs created by homebuilding and the taxes generated by homebuilding.  The demand for new homes existed prior to the coronavirus pandemic, and as a result, the NAHB predicts homebuilding and new home sales will pick up after the coronavirus pandemic passes.  The NAHB “expects that housing will play its traditional role of helping to lead the economy out of recession later in 2020 when the pandemic subsides.”

While we hope the NAHB is correct that homebuilding and the American economy generally will take off as the coronavirus subsides, we emphasize the fact that the new homes the NAHB discusses will be the largest investment of their lives for most purchasers and that these homes are to be a safe, private, suitable place for parents to raise families and for seniors to retire.  Homebuilders should not, and cannot be permitted to, sacrifice quality construction in their desire to pump out more homes, ramp back up the industry, and make up lost profits. 

Homebuilders make promises to homeowners, both through the law and through agreements, that homes will be constructed properly and will last.  We at the Steinberg Law Firm have made it our mission to hold homebuilders accountable when they break those promises.  We believe that when a family invests hundreds of thousands of dollars in the purchase of a new home, they deserve the properly built home they were promised and that the law requires.  South Carolina’s taxpayers cannot afford, and should not have to pay, to have a government inspector present all day at every home construction site to make sure the builder follows the building code and other standards.  The homebuilder should follow the building code and other standards, and when the builder does not we take them to court to enforce the law.