SUAMICO, Wis. — Brock Gerke put up temporary railing on a home being built in Suamico for the next set of contractors. 

“We just wrapped up with drywall and our next phase is going to be plastering. It’s basically getting the site clean. The insulators just pulled out,” he said. “It’s just taking whatever precautionary means we need to get ready for the next trades to roll in.”

Gerke is a site manager with Alair Homes Green Bay.

(Spectrum News 1/Nathan Phelps)

“The last three years have been busy. That’s the best way I can describe it,” he said. “Everybody I talk to, that’s the same adjective they use. Everybody is thankful and appreciative of it.”

The U.S. Commerce Department recently reported new home starts dipped 4.2% nationwide in October. The decline comes as interest rates increase in the face of inflation. 

But that’s not bringing work to a screeching halt.

Andy Selner, a partner with Alair Homes Green Bay, said business remains solid.

“The market in northeast Wisconsin is still pretty steady yet. We’re seeing a lot of pipelines full for everybody,” he said. “I think the biggest thing we’re seeing is we still have a backlog. The demand is so high it’s just carrying us well into next year already.”

(Spectrum News 1/Nathan Phelps)

Selner is keep a close eye on both interest rates and national building trends.

“Have we seen a little bit of a decline? Yes,” he said. “New home starts have been down permits wise across the state, but the demand is still up and we’re down to maybe pre-pandemic levels, which were still strong. In some aspects, yes, there’s a decline, but to what level?”

Gerke said he doesn’t see his workload slowing any time soon.

“Everybody talks of a slowdown, but how far from that we are?” Gerke said. “I can’t quite say, or don’t know, because the guys on the ground, we’re still trying to catch up from the overwhelming demand that there is.”