At the market’s peak, builders churned out more than 12,000 new homes a year in central Indiana. In the current slump, new-home
production has dropped to fewer than 7,000 per year, leaving builders with no choice but to slash prices, eliminate hundreds
of jobs, and look to unload huge chunks of office space.
With steep declines in new-home construction and existing home sales, market conditions in the Indianapolis-based North American
residential business of Carrier Corp. “are clearly challenging,” according to George David, CEO of Carrier’s parent, United
Technologies.
For most of this decade, the Indianapolis residential real estate market enjoyed a very good run. But now it’s muddling through
the doldrums just like the rest of the country, and builders are pulling out all the stops to avoid getting stuck with inventory.
Paul Shoopman put 33 years into Dura Builders Inc. before selling his residential construction firm to national player KB
Home Inc. as the local housing market boomed. Two years later, he’s getting back into the business even as KB and others retrench.
