What's new in Northeast Ohio construction 2010?

This year promises to be another challenging year for contractors, especially those in the construction industry in Northeast Ohio. It seems that Summit and the nearby communities have been particularly hard hit by this recession. But there is a ray of hope. According to the Associated Builders and Contractors, the nation's building industry, nearly paralyzed during the recession, should see moderate improvements this year as a rise in building of single-family homes, apartment buildings, and highways and bridges offsets drops in industrial and manufacturing property. This should also be a great year for property owners to build. It is likely that there will continue to be a excess of contractors, especially in Summit, Medina and Wayne Counties, all willing to bid on the work that is out there.

To start, all the indicators say raw materials will be fairly stable in cost, but the wage costs will be extremely low. In fact, one of the more positive aspects for contractors has been declining construction materials prices. Relative to prior years, supplies costs have been steady, allowing contractors to submit bids on long-term projects with greater assurance. As a result, owners may be surprised how in-expenseive their jobs could be in 2010.

With a little luck, some of the stimulus money will find its way to assist  construction in Summit County and Northeast Ohio and the jobs will start to put larger contractors back to work on the larger projects. Residential and commercial building stimulus jobs are estimated to total as much as $35 to $40 billion in the next two years. This could be a significant boost for Ohio cities. For a $400 billion a year sector, spending at this level will assist, but likely won't have a significant impact on the private side of the construction industry. The result may be that the big contractors will leave the smaller size work arena, thereby assisting all segments of the building industry. That would be great news for the Ohio construction community.

The banks in NE Ohio are indicating that the lending market will continue to see issues in 2010. Most financial institutions are expected to stop offering commercial real estate lines of credit, insisting that each and every construction project stand on its own financials. However, those finances that are made should be at relatively low interest rates. Creative financing will hold the key to success this year.

What impact these varied factors play out over 2010 will determine the type of rebound that can be expected for the Medina construction industry. For now, we need to remain hopeful and watchful for signs of recovery and new projects for all segments of the industry.