STATE WIDE–The supply shortage is affecting Indiana in several ways. If you’re looking to build a house, it could take longer and cost more, says Gerry Dick, with Inside Indiana Business.
“Builders can’t find product, can’t find roofing shingles and doorknobs,” he said. “I saw one report that said it’s taking four to six months to get garage doors in and the price of garage doors had doubled.”
Dick told WIBC’s Tony Katz that builders can’t guarantee a final price on a home sometimes because of supply chain uncertainties.
“The problem is not gonna go away any time soon. It’s gonna last well into next year,” he said.
He said one factor contributing to supply chain issues is a shortage of truck drivers, which could be eased by some of the age restrictions being lifted.
“A number of schools here in Indiana have been trying to address that,” he said. “It’s lessening some of the restrictions in terms of age, how old you have to be to drive a truck, some of the training issues related to that, as well, trying to get more people into the truck driving industry, behind the wheel of some of these rigs to get product from point A to point B.”
Dick added that in addition to the supply chain, another difficulty in becoming a home owner is that mortgage rates are expected to go up after the first of the year. But, that may actually ease some of the competition by making home ownership slightly less attractive, with future mortgage rates at around four percent.
