Panelists Argue for Better, Faster, Stronger Housing

At a recent Urban Land Institute panel, Gerard McCaughey, CEO of startup Entekra Inc., urged the construction industry to "embrace disruption," with Fully Integrated Off-Site Solution (FIOSS) systems.

McCaughey, an international leader in FIOSS construction, said that Europe and Asia are ahead of the U.S. in home building, saying, “The country that put men on the moon . . . is operating as if it’s 1812." McCaughey went on to say that the labor shortage in the U.S. construction industry is "an exaggerated, 'fake' issue," since FIOSS construction requires fewer workers, and would create less waste, UrbanLand reports. Founder of the Whelan Advisory, Margaret Whelan, said FIOSS would add diversity to the industry, with women and younger people hired in pre-construction plants.

George Casey, president and CEO of consultancy Stockbridge Associates, said that housing from roughly 1950 to 2010 experienced essentially a bubble of growth and noted that government support for housing incentives is dropping. The current administration’s cutbacks to immigration also will have an impact on the industry. Casey said people are less inclined to buy houses. “Renting no longer has a stigma to it,” he said. “Buying and building a home feels antiquated.”

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