Home Building 360: Dealing With The Downturn

Builders know all too well how the housing downturn has affected them, from lost sales to foreclosed-upon subdivisions.

But home builders aren’t the only ones who have suffered during the Great Recession and the housing crash that accompanied—or, according to some, precipitated—it. Numerous housing-related industries have also seen profits dive, business evaporate, and workforces slashed as companies have struggled to keep their doors open amidst record-breaking low levels of new-home construction and sales activity.

This week, BUILDER senior editors will examine a handful of those sectors, talking with companies about the recession’s impact on their businesses, their survival strategies, their ventures into new markets, and their expectations for housing recovery.

We’ll also hear from real estate agents and trade contractors this week. Keep checking back for links to those stories as they are published.

Alison Rice is senior editor, online, at BUILDER magazine.