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The Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis is trying to jump-start new home construction by convening a forum of builders
and lenders this Thursday, March 18, to discuss how builders can adapt to banks’ stricter lending requirements.
In attendance will be University of Indianapolis economist Dr. Matthew Will, 40 custom builders and representatives from
First Place Bank, First Internet Bank, Huntington Bank and Union Savings Bank.
Steve Lains, CEO of the Builders Association, said his group believes the economy has hit bottom for builders and that there’s
now an opportunity to help them recover by exploring how builders and lenders can interact in the future.
Since the onset of the recession, many builders have suffered because of both lack of demand from buyers and lack of access
to capital as banks clamped down on lending.
At the conference, “builders and lenders will talk about a new paradigm of development,” Lains said. “Land
equity might not be what builders rely upon in the future,” he said. Lains foresees more reliance on sources of private
equity and situations where builders partner on projects.
Joe Gradison, a partner in Gradison Building Corp., said his firm typically builds between four and eight high-end homes
per year on the north side of Indianapolis. That number is down by about half, but the company has compensated, in part, by
doing some major remodeling projects.
Gradison said his firm is confident it can get financing once demand rebounds.
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