Record-breaking winter storms have hit Texas, causing widespread power losses and displacing millions of Texans. For the booming residential and commercial construction industries, the frigid weather has brought a temporary halt to building in many regions, including Austin, according to industry officials. Builders are suspending work to ensure worker safety and will make decisions about resuming projects on a daily basis.
For home builders, "the delays come at a particularly hard time, because we are so behind in adding to desperately needed supply," said Vaike O'Grady, regional director in Austin for Zonda, which tracks the region's housing market.
"Bad weather is always tough on the home building industry," O'Grady said. "In this case we're dealing with never-before-seen temperatures that will no doubt cause widespread damage. Unfortunately, most job sites will have to shut down. That means delays in new-home starts as well as challenges in homes getting completed for home buyers."
Chad Durham, president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, said the continuation of work on projects will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
“The home building industry deals with unexpected delays frequently. Given that Austin doesn’t typically get snow and weather conditions like this very often, it’s likely going to cause some minor delays similar to the ones we’ve been experiencing all year due to lumber and other supply chain issues,” he said.
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