Crane rental companies, demolition contractors, plumbers, electricians and other subcontractors are getting calls for work which is great, but they are not from general contractors or builders. Something has changed over the last couple of years and it’s happening more and more.
The tradition of hiring a contractor to manage the entire project isn’t happening as often as it used to as property managers and real estate investors are running the show. Some of them are doing it to save money while others simply have their own team and just need to hire subcontractors to cover the areas they cannot take care of themselves.
This seems to be happening in all areas of construction, residential, commercial, industrial and even basic infrastructure. Cities that have their own crews are looking for subcontractors to handle projects they cannot rather than hiring their own general contractor to take care of everything.
Is this going to be something that continues for the near future? Probably, and in fact it looks like it’s going to be a trend that becomes more constant than we expected.
Look at the value of properties around the country. They are going up in most states as people are tired of renting homes and offices when they know they are just basically throwing money away. Buying property is the way to go for most people and that means they want to invest in their property and manage it themselves.
The less you spend on contractors, the more you save and the higher your profit margins are when you go to sell the property. It’s a great advantage but also one that we need to reconsider as we look for new ways to grow and expand.
This is why many plumbers, electricians, crane rental companies and so forth are not just advertising to everyone now, but they are also getting their GC license and working with subcontractors around the area who may require their services. It’s a complete change in the industry and one that looks like is here to stay.
