Mark Scott, owner of Mark IV Builders, Bethesda, Md., has noticed an inordinate number of foundations in the ground in the upscale neighborhoods in which he works. This has him worried.
“Over the next six months, there will be a jump in the number of houses available,” Scott says. “Generally speaking, the number of buyers doesn't keep up with the supply.”
The result, according to Scott, who experienced something similar in the late 1980s, will be a “perceived recession”; people will buy houses at roughly the same rate, but the excess will sit on the market for longer.
The rise in home starts is attributable, Scott says, to area professionals deciding to invest in housing. “Every small builder I talk to these days has a doctor or a lawyer as a money partner,” he says, adding wistfully, “By the time doctors and lawyers figure out it's a good market, it's over.”