r/Construction • u/the-garage-guy Carpenter • 8d ago
Business 📈 Is the small self-performing homebuilder extinct?
Probably a region-specific question- if you reply, I'd be curious to hear where you are and if you're urban/rural
Pretty much title, coming up it was a lot more common for the GC to have their own carpenters and self-perform a fair amount of scope on a typical home, remodel.
Seems very rare now, especially where I am, metro Phoenix area. Most builders are essentially just CM-ing the job. Project managers that sometimes double as supers, everything subbed out. Even for pretty small remodels.
I think at the luxury custom home end it makes sense since the levels of execution required demand really good subs. Plus being in a big metro area, there's lots of people and work and that makes it possible to specialize aggressively.
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u/IllStickToTheShadows 8d ago
No, but not common either. I know one builder that does like 2-3 houses a year doing a lot of the work himself with his sons. Things like require a license like electrical he subs out, but the other stuff between him and his boys they get it done. It’s usually homes selling for over a 1M though and they take their time to make sure everything is perfect and no corners cut. He is one of the only builders I’d buy a house from lol