Builder News
Continued Inflation and Escalating Material Costs
“The rising costs of material and labor, frankly since before the pandemic, has been a true challenge and we expect this challenge to continue, particularly with respect to lumber, concrete, steel, appliances, and the impact of tariffs. We’ve met this challenge “head” on by stockpiling certain items in advance of need and by focusing on where we are sourcing our products – we always look to buy locally and here in the U.S. – and by being in close contact with our subcontractors and suppliers. We’ve always stressed the importance of long term relationships with our subcontractors and suppliers and this is paying off. We’re accessing the best products that are being delivered on time and at the most competitive pricing.
Bob Sprouls, Bluewater Home Builders
Custom Homes
We’re seeing tremendous growth in this area. With limited inventory of land and homes, more customers are looking to go custom to get the property they want and to design the home that fits their lifestyle. Fortunately, here at Bluewater Home, we’ve been focusing on the custom home market over the past 15 years, and as a result, almost all of our homes are now custom builds. Since the pandemic, we are constantly receiving inquiries from prospective clients. We like to attribute this to our reputation, starting at the top with Darren and Bob and continuing through to the entire Bluewater Team, as being totally customer centric, and our vertically integrated approach to building, which is a “complete approach” solution for building custom homes.
With this approach, our horizon of involvement in a custom home project starts at the property acquisition and evaluation phase . . . we evaluate the property prior to the purchase with our various professionals to limit or identify risks . . . and continues through the design phase . . . we match our clients to our select group of architects, as well as our interior designer, Laura Gorman . . . to the permitting phase, the construction phase . . . we’ve been doing this for over 25 years! . . ., and all the way through our customers many years of living in, and enjoying, their homes. In essence, we “quarterback” every aspect of our custom home projects. We make it easy for our customers with a dedicated design center in our office, a custom woodshop which makes our cabinetry, built-ins and millwork and a TLC (total luxury care) program to help maintain and protect the homes of our customers after they move in.”