Is It Time for Your Contracting Business to Get Into Residential Construction?

A lot of construction professionals tend to choose either commercial or residential construction, and then they stick to it. Right now, there is so much need for new housing that many pros are reconsidering their commitment to just one or the other. Of course, it’s hard to know from the beginning if building housing is the best choice for your future career. Here are a few ways to determine whether residential construction might be a good fit.

Does Your Area Have Room to Grow?
One thing about new construction is that it needs space to grow. Although many custom home builders will take down an old home and construct a new one in its place, most of the new construction developments in California require some open spaces. A city that is almost completely built up may not have as much room for new construction as one with lots of open fields on all sides. In short, if you’re living deep into the suburbs or even on the outskirts, there may be a lot of opportunities for residential construction.

Do You Like Working With Housing?
Although it’s important to choose a field that allows you plenty of work and opportunities to make money, what you want to do with your career also plays a heavy role. The commercial sector has a lot of unique aspects that might not translate as well into residential construction. For example, if you want to construct, maintain, or repair elevators, residential construction may be relatively limited for your skillset. However, if you love to see a building come to completion from start to finish, you may get more satisfaction from building homes instead of large office buildings.

What’s Your Commute for Residential Construction Work?
If you happen to live in an area with lots of housing construction potential, you might be able to find all the work you need within a short drive of your home. Of course, this isn’t going to be the case for everyone. If you live in a built-up area that is more commercial than residential, you may need to commute farther out to find where the newest construction is happening. Set a driving distance you are willing to make for daily work, and figure out how far from your home that will take you. That should give you a range that you can compare for possible job opportunities.

Are You Looking for Steady Growth?
Experts were thinking that residential housing was going to decrease somewhat in 2020, but they didn’t anticipate how it was going to play out. Instead of tapering off just a little, housing plummeted due to the pandemic and now is rising steadily again. If you want a career with steady growth, now might be the perfect time. With the millions of new housing units that California still needs, it’s likely that anyone who gets into residential construction will have a lot of work to do for the next several years.

Do You Have the Ability to Work in Both Industries?
Ultimately, you may not have to make the decision to work exclusively in residential or commercial construction. Although many contracting businesses do generally focus on one or the other, and some have no choice but to stick to one, most have a fair degree of flexibility. The ability to move from one to the other, or choose projects from both throughout the year, is a highlight of building your own contracting business. With the right knowledge and training, you can find the part of the industry that suits your needs most.

Residential construction is a growing part of the industry and will be for a significant amount of time. If you want to break in and start building a career that offers you flexibility, security, and steady growth, you have picked a good time. For more information about residential construction careers, contact CSLS today!

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About CSLS

Contractors State License Service (CSLS) is the largest school in California devoted to the Construction professional. For over 23 years, CSLS has helped its students pass the exam to become licensed contractors in the State of California, licensing more students than any other school. From our main offices in Southern California, CSLS operates over 25 locations with full-service support and classrooms. We have grown to this extent by providing quality, professional services. In comparison, this provides 7 times the number of convenient locations than the second largest contractor school. Contractors State License Services is one of the only contractor schools in the state that is run by educators, not lawyers or people mostly interested in the bonding and insurance business. Contractors State License Services formerly operated under the oversight of the State of California's Bureau for Private Post Secondary and Vocational Education. As of January 1 2010, the new Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) came into existence replacing the BPPVE. CSLS now operates under the provisions of the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 (CPPEA), Article 4 Section 94874(f). Our Mission is simple; We can help you pass your California Contractors License Exam. Celebrating our 25th year, CSLS has helped over 120,000 students pass the California contractor licensing exam to become licensed contractors in the State of California. Additionally, we offer complete home study and online contractor’s license programs to help you pass your California contractors license exam. CSLS offers licensing classes for all types of contractor licenses, including General Engineering Contractor, General Building Contractor, Specialty Contractor, Insulation and Acoustical Contractor, Framing and Rough Carpentry Contractor, Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry Contractor, Concrete Contractor, Drywall Contractor, Electrical Contractor, Elevator Contractor, Landscaping Contractor, Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning Contractor, and many others. For a complete list of contractor licenses, visit www.MakeMeAContractor.com and tuned for more informative posts.