15 Construction Industry Predictions for 2021

It goes without saying, so I’ll sum up 2020 with an emoji instead: 💩

However, despite all of the absurdity that transpired in the last year, the residential construction industry actually fared pretty well all things considered. Sure, there may have been a lack of toilet paper at the job sites and a lack of laborers willing to show up without an executive salary and perks greater than stimulus money and Fortnite. 

But, it wasn’t all bad, right?  

I mean, spending on new home construction and remodeling projects continued to grow throughout the year. Heck, even log home construction has increased. And, companies have been able to increase profits by b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ f̶o̶r̶c̶e̶d̶ t̶o̶ d̶i̶s̶c̶o̶v̶e̶r̶ discovering efficiencies in how they operate and reducing unnecessary overhead. 

Having said all of that, it’s now time to leave the 💩 behind and set our sights on the year ahead. 

We could think of no better way to do that than to provide you with a list of our — umm, let’s say ambitious — predictions of what we can expect to see in the residential construction industry in 2021. 

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Let’s get started:

1. After stockpiling 10 years of toilet paper during the PPP (Pandemic Panic Purchasing), remodelers see an increase in requests from homeowners wanting to add walk-in closets to their bathrooms.
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2. As lumber prices continue to soar and the construction industry continues to complain that lumberyards are “robbing us blind,” the US government hastily designates Lumberjacks as an organized gang.
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3. In retaliation for the high prices, a group of builders in Canada concoct an ill-thought plan to steal every 2 x 4 in the country after being inspired by a documentary on the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist.
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4. A wave of homeowners begin requesting bids for projects, asking “what can I get done for $600 — but maybe $2000, wait … no, $600?”
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5. In an effort to keep the economy moving forward, the new President demands that interest rates are lowered. When told they couldn’t go any lower, he responds by saying, “c’mon man."
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6. In a bit of an ironic twist, China begins selling COVID-proof modular homes.
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7. Sensing that the construction industry may be getting jealous because “everyone else gets to work from home, why can’t we?" DeWalt announces their plans to build DeWalter - a construction robot with human-like characteristics. Of course, he's powered entirely with two of their interchangeable lithium-ion battery packs.
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8. Fearing that they are going to be replaced by DeWalter, subcontractors around the country begin to “peacefully protest” at Home Depot and Lowe’s stores. Things get out of hand after a few protesters begin tearing down DeWalt tool displays in the stores. Police get called, but turn on the stores after discovering that the protesters weren’t wearing masks.
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9. The Professional Tool Testing (PTT™) community files a class-action lawsuit claiming that due to the events that have happened in 2020, they no longer feel safe using “Pro-Tester” as their job title on LinkedIn.
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10. After a study finds that builders won’t purchase electric trucks because they perceive them as “weak,” Ford partners with Makita to build trucks powered by their rechargeable battery packs.
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11. With a lack of lots available in suburban communities, a new trend begins to emerge with landowners selling space in their trees to residential developers building tree houses for desperate home buyers.
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12. Just when you thought the pandemic panic purchasing of 2020 was behind us, Sears reports that there’s a shortage of Craftsman Pro Tools. After nobody takes the bait, it’s discovered that it was just a feeble attempt by their marketing team to stay afloat.
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13. While looking back at their decision to deem homebuilding as a non-essential service while enforcing a stay-at-home order at the same time, officials begin to see a flaw in their logic.
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14. With the additional unemployment benefits expiring, laborers begin to unblock their previous employers phone number.
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15. After comparing notes, a group of women named Karen discovered that every contractor they contacted in 2020 claimed they were too busy to take on their projects.

So there you have it — our 2021 predictions for the residential construction industry are in the books. And, while they may be absurd and satirical, just remember that what 2020 has taught us is that absolutely nothing is improbable. 

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