Dropping Oil Prices Could Help Home Labor Shortage
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DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - Too few people to build too many homes. The housing market continues to boom in North Texas, but builders have seen a severe shortage of skilled and unskilled workers in the last couple of years.
Many blame the oil and gas industry for offering higher pay opportunities that home builders can't meet.
But with oil hitting a five year low, the concern now turns to job loss and the potential economic slow down in Texas, where 15 percent of the economy is tied to energy.
Bud Weinstein is the Associate Director of the Maguire Energy Institute at SMU's Cox School of Business. He thinks if prices stay in the $55-$60 a barrel range, the Texas housing market could see an impact in the next six months, especially in Houston or Midland-Odessa, where the local economies are closely tied to oil.
However, Weinstein says it's less likely North Texas's housing market will take a hit. Corporate relocations and other industries are helping grow the DFW area.
As Vice President of the Texas Association of Home Builders, Tim Jackson sees a positive result of the oil slow down: the potential for laborers lost to oil jobs to return to home building.
Danny White, a construction manager for Tim Jackson Custom Homes, explains:
"If we had more labor, we could build the houses quicker. Right now we're having about a 20 percent delay in the time it takes to build a house. Our workers are so busy, and it's hard finding people to do the jobs," White said.
Jackson estimates thousands of labors have relocated from home construction to work in the oil field.
Interior carpenter Craig Ruthford knows the opportunities are there.
"They'll pay you about $2,000 to ride around in a truck for a week. That's pretty good," Ruthford said.
Ruthford says he contemplated moving up North -- but doesn't like the cold weather.
Right now he's busy working on a 5,000 square foot home in Collin County. He says more workers with his skills, would be a good thing in this housing boom.
"We could definitely use the help," said Ruthford.
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