Habitations, LLC

Habitations, LLC Our mission is to be your advocate in the complex design and home building process.

Habitations is a award winning design firm with over 15 national peer awards and 52 years of combined experience in home renovation and new construction design.

07/01/2026

I've been posting in 3 different places lately as I find my way to the best outreach options. It's tough determining the best platform to use when you just want to share truths that may help people. I think I may settle aon "Medium" as my primary. Please also search there for my posts going forward. I hope you find my posts supportive.

I fear that the general home building market is about to implode. Seriously. Imminently. The 'art' of "whistling by the Graveyard" has become a theater of the absurd in ex*****on. I am seeing some of the most asinine articles from what are considered to be authoritative resources in our field. The articles either misidentify a situation completely or attempt to 'spin' it by describing it as something it is not. Let me open with a doozie:

"Zillow study: Million-dollar starter homes surge across the country"

This smacks your intelligence in the face like a wet trout. What's worse, I saw it as a republish from an another supposedly authoritative group. We must be living in the age of hyperbole meets oxymoron. Maybe just moron. There is no such friggin' animal as a million dollar starter home! They go on to say that it has now reached 242 cities. The waste of ink, photons, pixels and brain cells to make this statement may be the epic part. If you have a platform like Zillow with a respectable following, you have an obligation to at least not appear to be stupid. Is there some sort of competition to see who can polish a turd the best? You do have an obligation to tell the truth. The title should read:

"Witness the demise of the Starter Home in the United States"

Present the truth to your readers. An entire bedrock segment of the home building industry is not on life support people! It is in the morgue! The damn funeral is any day now! The front end of the supply pipeline has been crimped. The sin in this is that the 'low-to-moderate-income' housing market effectively died many years ago without a sound. Nationally, we have watched the entire starting lineup of the housing economy queue vanish while we watched. This latest phase in the market corruption has been happening for almost 6 years. However, the foundation rot really picked up pace after 2010. Suddenly we're surprised?

Of the remaining markets, next in line is effectively middle income new construction and renovation retrofit of existing homes. I've noted before that this market is the center of my business model and it's been very rewarding for quite some time.....until now. Over the last 90 days in metro Atlanta, it's toast. We haven't seen a new project in months as costs continue to soar for both construction and land/property acquisition. On a good day this market is dormant at best and we've called for life support. The patient outlook is grim. My next reference to the Hindenburg rerun is:

"Build-to-rent: what it is and why it’s growing in popularity" as posted by Realtor.com

Suffice to say that this drivel wants to convince us of the positive attributes of the "Build to rent" model as some sort of solution; to what I don't know. It practically says that all you need to do is overlook soaring building costs, severely limited availably and a floundering economy and this is your alternate path to the American dream! If it looks like p**p and smells like p**p, well, duh. Large developers only stay in business by continuing to develop properties. Whodathunkit!? So, if no one can afford a home or minimally the down payment, you damn sure better come up with a way to develop and occupy properties. When home ownership IS THE AMERICAN DREAM, how in God's name is renting a high priced property fulfilling that dream? The developer can enjoy some cost reductions through volume but that isn't their guaranteed edge either. This is a corporate Band-Aid and not a market solution.

The solutions are complex because the problem is complex. The entire housing debacle is a symptom of a badly flawed economy and underlying system of trade. Business as usual is not going to offer relief. The tired drumbeat that supply and demand ultimately evens out is horse crap. That ship obviously sailed. Deregulation and opportunism have brought this economy to the precipice of disaster. If you allow unethical people run amok, this is what happens. Our elected officials were supposed to prevent this. Perhaps we might revisit their historical effectiveness in the next election? This is the last wake up call we may get that can spark reform. We The People are the economy. We are on the precipice. It's time to open our minds and rethink convention because this damn sure isn't lookin' good. Don't be a lemming. Pay attention.

06/26/2026

In my last post I discussed how we build and how that reality is shifting ever so slowly. I briefly compared building everything where it will reside vs off-site manufactured options like Modular Construction. Modular is no a panacea to building efficiency but it is a significantly more efficient alternative. The challenges mostly stem from shipping the sections. They must conform to highway restrictions for size and weight and generally require heavy cranes to place the sections on the foundation & Upper levels. Roof style/type is among the technical challenges. They are often flat, to reduce shipping height, or shipped as a separate component to allow for some slope. Regardless of the challenges, modular construction is among the most practical solutions for general housing globally. It offers higher quality, better use of advanced technologies in general and has notable efficiency perks. However, without a lot of techno-babble, architectural flexibility is a drawback if you want more conventional looks and styling. Some architectural styles adapt well to the methodology and many do not. The technology tends to be applied to more modern styling and/or narrow building profiles. Although a rather late entry compared to other nations, it is evolving and gaining traction. As the industry begins to collaborate more and share ideas, production and availability will expand. However, the consumer must open their mind to the methodology.

However, there is a stepchild of modular called "panelization". This is actually used in the modular building process. It involves building each wall independently on a table with remarkable accuracy and speed. The level of completeness may range from just the studded frame to adding exterior materials to electrical in the frame. When outside of a modular application, these wall sections can be stacked very efficiently on a flat trailer and carted to the site for an abbreviated er****on schedule. It could mean standing the walls in one day vs. one week. Very nice when days are short or the weather is not cooperating. With a good home designer, this cxan be applied to renovation and remodeling in many instances as well. This method has a much lower cost than modular to set up production and also has a pretty short learning curve for fabricating staff. As a demonstration model for HUD, I once panelized 2 homes in Georgia for er****on in Indiana. While we panelized, the foundations were being build onsite. 2 birds, 1 stone. One house had a slab and the other had a crawlspace with a panelized floor system. This was part of the proof model. It was a smashing success and both houses were dry to the weather in 4 days. HUD was thrilled and we went on to other applications. This was in the '90s and unfortunately, the consumer was still having issues with the technology because it what they commonly saw in home building.

There are many more technologies and systems that emulate one or both of the above methods. However, they tend to have other priority focuses such as high energy efficiency or structural considerations. As stand-alone solutions they tend to be more supplemental and hence have limited markets. The point is that current technology in housing is amazing and evolving at an impressive rate. We just need to stop being distracted by shiny things (the technology itself) and ramp up application of these tried and true alternatives. Thoughtful application and regulation of these technologies will prove that it's possible for all Americans to have a home they can afford and be proud of.

06/25/2026

Individual homes are called "single-family detached dwellings". They are generally built by way of what we call "scattered site" construction. Basically, that means that all materials must be trucked to the place the house (or any bldg.) is being built and all labor must be onsite as well. It's been this way for centuries. This historic reality had no effective options. First we have the inefficiencies of transportation due to the volume, weight & size of the many, many components of a house. Then we have the labor challenge. This calls for workers to come from multiple locations to this site daily and they must bring all of the tools needed for their part. Finally, the whole shebang is subject to weather until the "shell" is completed and "dry" to the weather. That takes a while. Usually 3-4 months. It is also wildly inefficient as they must contend with rain, wind, cold, heat, and anything else we're ultimately trying to keep outside. Then we are restricted by the length of the work day. In winter the days are shorter and progress lessens. As we approach warmer seasons the days increase and more is accomplished in a single day. That is if the heat is bearable and their eyeballs aren't swimming in their socks.

As technology has advanced, other methods have arisen to challenge the "scattered site" model. One that most everyone has heard about is "modular". The idea is to construct a building (or a house) in semi-uniform sections that can be transported over the road. Generally, each section needs to be 10' wide or less (12' road lane) and no more than 13'6" high when on a transport trailer. The latter is to assure clearance under bridges and overpasses, etc. The lengths of each section may vary from12' to 45'. They are built in a factory and then "assembled" together to make the structure. Building materials can range from wood and light steel to concrete. Being built in a conditioned environment with all of the necessary tools readily available is highly efficient. This is not new thing in any way. I worked on a modular design team in the late '70's & early '80's that created concrete modules. We built them in Jax, FL and shipped them to Saudi Arabia for use by various countries and companies doing business there. The units shipped nearly finished in every way. Once assembled into a building, most finish was to conceal the seems between sections. It was very impressive and remarkably fast on the client end. We could go 5 stories in height with significant floor area. Applications ranged from single family homes to large dormitories for migrant workers. It was extremely successful there but not-so-much in the states.

There are now numerous players in this genre' throughout the country. Unfortunately, most are small operations and each uses a system that is rather proprietary in it's own right. Therefore, most players play their cards close to the vest and share very little. They also tend to see themselves as pioneers of sorts. Technologically speaking, not really. Other countries have been at it for decades. The problem is consumer perception. People see "modular" and tend to envision mobile homes. They fear flying to Oz with Auntie Em in the 1st storm. This is not the case and lending institutions actually like the products very much. Yet, they are still costly and the consumer is slow to embrace this technology. Regardless, modular construction will continue to expand as it is one of the only realistic solutions to the cost of housing while maintaining quality and durability.

Later, I'll discuss another viable methods. Until then......

06/25/2026

I've used a lot of ink, or maybe pixels or photons, to warn you of market trends in home building that are affecting your options regarding your greatest asset. I've also tried to offer some actions you you can take to change the outlook on the horizon. The 1st effective action is to plan and wait; potentially up to 2 years. The 2nd action is to be engaged and vote. Learn about homeownership. It's a lot more than maintenance, mortgages and mowing the lawn. Granted, some of my posts (alright, most) are wordy but this is not a challenge that can be described in clever word bites. It's a little complicated, rather dry and pretty much void of any fun. Regardless, I'm taking my time and putting it out there. It's up to you how you employ this knowledge. An informed homeowner makes better decisions If your home matters to you, dig in. There's plenty more to come.

06/24/2026

We really wanted to start sharing the "ins and outs" of home building and remodeling while our witty pros could help our readers navigate the shifting sands. That ship sailed! It seems that I've been painting a bleak picture for a while. Primarily because, as I said in another post, we see significant economic shifts earlier than most industries. My colleagues called me 'Chicken Little' and 'Mr. Doom' but I kept sharing our observations. I didn't create this crap storm; I'm only a lowly observer with skin in the game. I own a business. Now that the storm is here, it's little consolation for any one. However, maybe my thoughts will be received with greater credibility and maybe people will develop a sense of urgency while it can still achieve something. As far as your home investment goes, a white knight is not riding in to rescue you. We're on our own to the end. So please pay attention.

If you are fortunate enough to own a home in the greater Atl. metro, you actually have something meaningful regardless of the condition or size. As I've said before, we call it a golden ticket. It's your piece of the American quilt. As frequently said during the Obama administration, it's your equity in America. Hold it close.

What I'm about to say may rattle some cages and probably p**s a few people off. I'm sure that'll suck for them. If you own a home now, many of you have incredible 1st mortgages from the fallout of 2008. Many are below 4%. I haven't met a soul ready to even gamble 10 cents against that trophy. You shouldn't. If you have one of those mortgages, you probably have noteworthy equity due to the artificially ascending property values. Again, DON'T TOUCH IT! Remember, all that lenders have to sell is money. Their job is to encourage you to buy (borrow) that money against the equity in your property. If you do that, you're introducing a contamination into your currently stable asset. That is expensive new money guaranteed with a lower cost, highly valued asset. In this market, that expensive money has lost a notable chunk of its buying power. The "improved value" created by whatever you add or modify is based on current, artificially inflated property values further based on unsustainable market criteria. Effectively, you will incur inflated debt against a new value that's as much as 30% overinflated already. When the real estate market 'adjusts', as is anticipated by most credible economists, your value falls while the cost of those improvements is static. You could actually fall to break even or even up-side-down from what was a solid asset. You will risk your asset and your credit.

Again, being somewhat self-serving (so sue me), I do encourage planning while we wait for intelligent ethical people to take over driving this economy. It will happen because it must. The adjustment I mean. This economy is not sustainable for the bottom 70%. So, I put my money where my mouth is. We had just started the process to renovate an historic home we own as our retirement home. We have outstanding credit and a near free-and-clear asset in this 120 year old home. We applied for a construction-to-perm mortgage in the $500k range at a fair rate of interest. We stopped the mortgage and hunkered down. Why? I told my mortgage lender (who I consider a business friend), that I was concerned that material cost increases will outpace my loan during construction. Since I am acting as the builder, I have no profit and minimal overhead to come out of the loan. If a 3rd party was building for me, it would be much worse. I explained that I could not justify jeopardizing either the asset or our excellent credit when I know a train is coming. Here's the kicker; HE AGREED COMPLETELY. I don't find fault with him. Selling money is his job just like selling design services is mine. But I see him as a man of integrity. Certainly as evidenced by his response. What you do with this is up to you. Whatever you do, be informed and don't drink the Kool-aid. Stupid is expensive.

06/23/2026

I almost forgot my obligation to share how thrilled I am with Comcast Business. I was with Comcast for several years as I contracted for a dedicated fiber system for my office internet. It was to be part of a new business and marketing campaign for our company. From the beginning Comcast Business was a hot mess. They were weeks late in facilitating the equipment that had to be shipped to us for our system rack. Its arrival was to trigger the installation process including fiber entry into our building. The equipment sat in our lobby for weeks and no one knew who had the install order. Keep in mind that all related work with outside vendors on our project were delayed without recourse. Frankly, it set the tone for chronic issues henceforth.

Regardless, we kept the internet and used it primarily because we had it. The effective window for the other project had passed. In December of 2024 I developed a pulmonary condition that requires me to be on supplemental oxygen full time. Since I still work, I could no longer handle the stairs in our building (no elevator). So we took a suite downstairs when it came available. We're still here. I cancelled the contract per the terms set by Comcast Business. I expected a penalty and the removal of the system. We received confirmation that our disconnect was approved and in work. Not so much. It was mishandled, lost and dropped over and over. They continued billing my account every month for over $600.00. We refiled the disconnect order and got another confirmation. yada, yada, yada. Today we are now over 18 months past the original disconnect request. They have acknowledged they owe me almost $8k but that it must go through multiple approvals and at least 2 billing cycles to return my money. The latest "manager" to take on their debacle told be that it was delayed because he was on Paternity leave! Comcast Business actually freezes up when lower management personnel go on leave. You cannot fathom the internal incompetency and disarray of this company. Honestly, a string and 2 cans is safer than doing business with Comcast Business. Imagine, a massive tech company that cannot follow thru on a simple contract function or process a refund in 18 months. Is that the communications backbone you want?

06/23/2026

Yesterday I continued my discussion of the obscene costs of building construction in the Atlanta metro area. Not because this isn't happening all over but because I have 1st hand experience in this market. My last thoughts were regarding how property values have become untenable and also how retail material costs are continuously climbing upward. The real estate market is on the verge of an "adjustment" as reported by dozens of respected economics gurus nationwide. I credited private equity with this crap storm as they are most certainly the culprit. 1 in 4 existing home purchases in this metro last year was by private equity. They now control as much as 21% or more of the metro market. The commonly accepted threshold for non-owner occupied homes is 5% of the community or market in general! These valuations will collapse but they will fight tooth and nail to stop it. Be aware.

The only way to restrain continued material cost escalation is to radically reduce demand. Not fun, or easy, but it can be effective when you have little other choice.

Now comes labor. This one is not so cut and dried. Unfortunately, a failing of capitalism is the ease in which greed may be fed. I started building in the '80's in North Florida. The industry was robust and access to skilled labor was plentiful. Most trades were handed down through families and a tradesperson could generally earn a respectable living. Many builders maintained different trades inhouse on their own payroll. However, with plentiful work came the ability of the contractor to negotiate pay to reduce pricing and become more "competitive". They could negotiate cost models in return for loyalty to a subcontractor. "Keep your prices down here and I'll send you all of my work." There were many more iterations to the decline in labor availability than we can cover here. Suffice to say that I saw a couple decades where skilled trades such as carpentry hadn't nearly kept pace with the cost of living. Most trades are hard work, often out in the elements and normally subject to seasonal conditions from heat to rain. Over time, fewer people were coming into the trades and instead explored college and white-collar careers. Sadly, blue-collar work was routinely considered second class. The workforce was thinning at an alarming pace. Those who remained in the industry began banding together in their own subcontract companies. That actually worked well for a while. Concurrently, Atlanta surged forth as a southern economic hub. Many builders capitalized on the fact that the number of projects available outnumbered the shrinking workforce. Shrewd marketing and more than a touch of opportunism allowed them to demand higher margins; yet wages were still rather stagnant. The spiral continued in this manner for over 3 decades. Now, we have a massive shortage of skilled labor nationwide. Currently, as markets are depressed, it is anticipated that we need 349,000 new laborers to simply stay in balance. It is believed the shortage will reach well over 2 million in the next 4 years. I feel this number is optimistically low against a massive pent-up demand.

This is a cost component of home building that actually must go up. That is if we're going to attract new, robust and talented young people into the industry. They must see a practical future. They need a living wage that appreciates the difficulties of the field. They need healthcare, proper equiopment and moreover, training. It isn't called "skilled labor" as a pat on the back. It takes skill to do complex jobs right the 1st time. Fewer mistakes lower costs and improve profit. That kind of training doesn't come overnight. It takes a minimum of months in a program and at least a few years under skilled mentors in the field. Many groups are trying to launch training programs nationwide. However, this weak market isn't helping. Like the old adage says, "Takes money to make money!" First we invest and then we can gain the rewards over time. Expect several years, if not a decade, for this cost element to be repaired. In the interim, we must be vigilant when seeking a qualified builder. This can start with your designer. They can assist in the bidding process and qualifying the people competing to perform the project. The new order of the day is patience.

In construction, you can have 3 things; Cost, Time & Quality. Of those, you may have only 2. Choose cost and quality.

06/22/2026

Continuing on the insane cost of building materials comes tariffs. I'm sorry but if you've ever read a history book, this was a bad idea on steroids. One idea posited around the crash of 1929 was that if the US dollar were devaluated, US products would be cheaper to foreign buyers and we would win! After they sobered up that idea was trashed. However, it honestly looks like this administration is actually trying to do just that! Duh. But I digress. Tariffs were another idea that would, in tandem, make foreign products more expensive and ours cheaper by comparison. Again, cranial flatulence at its best. The seller does not pay the tariff people! The buyer does! That's us! The genius in Washington, that bankrupted 7 businesses among a myriad of other financial train wrecks, has tariffed anything he can. Fabulous. That includes Canadian lumber which supplies 52% of our nations consumption and, they are our friends! Or they were. Now one would expect that the noble American business person would see an opportunity to shine. Heck, Canadian lumber is now far more expensive and we can sell domestic lumber much cheaper and seize the market. Not so much. Instead, we raise our prices to rival theirs and just make more money selling less. Are ya' seein' a pattern here? I'd love it if regulation were not necessary for a healthy economy. That just isn't true because of human nature. No matter what you might think, giving the security contract for the henhouse to the Fox is dumb on a good day. Be aware, be informed and speak up. It takes work. If you don't stand up, enjoy more of the same.

06/22/2026

I'd like to break down our 1st hand experience regarding what we see as a crisis in the home building industry. 1st, I'd need to address property values. In the Atlanta metro we're just expanding laterally like a wildfire. Urban sprawl is a litotes. When I arrived here in 1987, the greater metro population was about 2.5 million. Now it is 6.48 million. That's been a steady increase of around 102k annually! This has been allowed without effective improvements to infrastructure and already pressured water and sewerage capacity. Last time I checked, God had not created any new dirt. So demand has driven access to a real estate market that had never recovered from the economic face-plant of '08. This is when private equity stepped in and shot the horse. At that time, we had one client alone that was buying 100 house blocks at incredibly depressed values. The consumer never stood a chance. It's somewhat more complicated but that's the gist of the current unsustainable property values in the metro. Hence, just getting a home of any age or state of repair, is not a rewarding experience. Your cost to play is high before ever considering what the property will need. If you bulldoze and start new, you've effectively combined the entire acquisition cost as land cost. Fabulous.

Now we get to the "go-to" culprit for the current astronomic increase in material costs; Covid 19. Keep in mind that when Covid hit, property values were already toast as I just explained. When the pandemic was official (no it was not a liberal conspiracy), building screeched to a halt. It looked bad and many material manufacturers hunkered down and prepared for radically shrinking market. Then it rebounded in about 45-60 days. Nobody saw that coming but many businesses had significantly reduced their capacity to weather the storm. Getting it back was not so simple as reopening plants. Suddenly we have notable demand and a diminished capacity. Let's add the shipping container debacle and things went to p**p on a rocket. Shipping costs were high and many less-than-scrupulous opportunists (kinda' redundant) garnered stockpiles of materials. Pretty soon, you paid what was asked or you didn't have access to materials. The highest bidder took the prize. Many small builders crashed and consumers were dumbfounded, justifiably. However, as an excuse, that ship sailed about 3 years ago. Any inventories that were acquired at that time have been sold and churned a hundred times. In fact, wholesale pricing for many building materials actually fell beck to projected norms as if Covid had never happened. The problem is that many distributors and retailers found the consumer's new pain point. It was much higher than previous retail numbers so, they could drop back 2% and look like they're "doing the best that they can". They saw they could actually lose customers numerically, lower sales volume which allowed for staff reductions and actually make more profit! Welcome to an unregulated system. One of my trusted builders (this guy is the salt of the Earth) confronted a distributor with this scenario. The vendor is starting to feel the consequences of how they have treated consumers so he came looking for my friend to "come back" as a customer. My friend confronted him and asked when they are going to lower these obscene margins? The response....wait for it.....was, "we're waiting for the other vendors to flinch first!" This is just the foundation of the materials debacle and why I say the power is yours. Simply say "no" and spend time planning your vision while they watch their balance sheets droop. More to come.

06/22/2026

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