Though construction jobs are hard to come by in many parts of the country, some cities are doing better than others. The San Francisco Chronicle reports a major apartment boom in the city is right around the corner, with thousands of projects in the approval stages.
Since 2008 when the recession hit, less than 2,000 units have been built each year. Now, there are approximately 22,000 projects in the pipeline, with their stage of progress somewhere between in approval and in the midst of construction.
"There's been so much approved over the last four years that's never been built, so there's essentially a backlog of projects waiting for financing," said John Rahaim, the city's planning director.
The news source reports that financing is playing a major role in getting these projects moving. Now that the economy is stabilizing somewhat, developers are able to take out the loans in order to begin construction. It also helps that the city has had major success stories in Twitter, Zynga and Salesforce, bringing tons of new employees to the city.
One leader in the construction industry is headquartered in California. Pleasanton-based IronPlanet was founded in 1999. The online auction company is backed by Caterpillar, Komatsu, and Volvo, as well as the California-based venture capitalists Kleiner Perkins and Accel Partners. Construction companies planning to start soon on new projects should use IronPlanet for all their used construction equipment needs. The site's IronClad Assurance policy allows buyers to view full inspection reports before they bid, ensuring they know exactly what they're getting.
