Can ICE Impact Your Construction Project?

<p>On today&#39;s show we&#39;re talking about a construction risk that may not be in your pro forma.</p><p>You might say, &quot;Victor, I only hire legally authorized workers. Why should immigration enforcement affect my project?&quot;</p><p>That&#39;s a perfectly reasonable question.</p><p>But it misunderstands how a construction labor market works.</p><p>Construction pricing is not determined solely by who works on your job site. It&#39;s determined by the depth of the entire labor pool competing for the same work.</p><p>Over the past several months, immigration enforcement in the United States has accelerated considerably.</p><p>ICE arrests increased from 32,545 in May to 43,021 in June, and then to 49,571 in July.</p><p>Nearly 40 percent of the July arrests occurred in Texas and Florida.</p><p>Now, those numbers by themselves don&#39;t tell us much about construction. But when you look at what is happening in individual markets, the picture becomes more interesting.</p><p>In Austin, Texas, one large homebuilder reported that framing labor costs increased between 25 and 50 percent in a matter of weeks.</p><p>-----------</p><p>**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:**<br> Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1" target="_blank">https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1</a>)  <br> iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613" target="_blank">https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613</a>)  <br> Website: [<a href="http://www.victorjm.com/" target="_blank">www.victorjm.com</a>](<a href="http://www.victorjm.com/" target="_blank">http://www.victorjm.com</a>)  <br> LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](<a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce" target="_blank">http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce</a>)  <br> YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](<a href="http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734</a>)  <br> Facebook: [<a href="http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso%5D(http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)</a>  <br> Email: [<a href="mailto:podcast@victorjm.com" target="_blank">podcast@victorjm.com</a>](mailto:<a href="mailto:podcast@victorjm.com" target="_blank">