As we welcome in 2022, I want to spend a few moments reflecting on the past year. For this blog post, we are going to call it ~ A Year in Review: Fisher Insight. 

2021 was considered a transition year for many industries, especially after the unprecedented year everyone faced in 2020. As the world began to rebuild and slowly re-establish a sense of normalcy, we realized that in order to conduct business on a regular basis, we needed to adopt new methods while ensuring our employees, vendors, and clients felt comfortable. Creating a safe and healthy working environment was the number one priority. Over the first few months, many of our staff began to return to work (in-person) on a regular basis and by the time the end of the year rolled around, our entire team was back and fully invested in being at the office. It brings us great pleasure to know that our employees are working side by side again in a truly safe environment.

With the hurdle of re-establishing the office behind us, our full attention shifted back on the work. It was our goal to ensure that 2021 was a productive, successful, and building (no pun intended) year. Needless to say, we accomplished our goals. In our thirteen years, we have always been fortunate to see steady growth year in and year out however this past year, we saw an exponential increase in projects. Single family homes, restaurants, and apartment complexes saw the biggest growth. With the housing market in such high demand, there was simply a lack of supply which led to the increased need for apartment complexes. While this is evident nationwide, we saw it first hand locally. In Salisbury, our mayor created new incentives to jump start new housing projects. He established the Home is Here and the HORIZON (better known as the Hotel Or Residential Incentive Zone) paving the way for developers to begin expanding the housing infrastructure to address the ever growing demand.

Growth in other sectors became evident as 2021 continued. Our team saw an incredible increase in a variety of projects, leading to our expansion into other regions (specifically Northern Delaware and Southern Pennsylvania). This significant growth allowed for a more diverse project portfolio including nursing home expansion, indoor recreational venues, and the our newest market sector ~ campground developments. Campground developments are the latest trend of 2021, allowing for a larger demand in RV and glamping set-ups. This trend is a direct result from individuals not wanting to remain confined to indoor environments. With this new market shift, many developers moved away from hotel development to focus on camp area master plans. These master plans have developed into amenity rich driven sites that promote outdoor activities and recreation. Factoring in the desire of families to have the ability to vacation together in large, safe areas, campground developments is a market sector we are truly excited to continue expanding with. 

Although the industry boom has been amazing, it has not always been an easy path. 2021 also saw a number of business related factors that led to the increase in costs and the need for longer development timelines. Three key elements have caused our industry to re-evaluate how projects are accomplished. These elements include: (1) Cost of materials; (2) Lack of supply; (3) lack of labor. Let’s spend a moment of each element:

• Cost of Materials – Almost every related material (especially lumber) associated with construction has seen a surge in pricing. Clients either have accepted the current market value or have decided to pause on developments. To the surprise of many, the acceptance of the current market pricing has won out.
• Lack of Supply – The demand is simply greater than the supply (which in turn has caused the cost of materials to increase). With this lack of supply nationwide, project timelines have significantly increased and the importance of purchasing bulk materials in advance has become a priority. 
• Lack of Labor – Based on the overall increase in developments, the labor force is struggling to keep up with the demand. With the increased lead times and lengths of the overall developments, skilled craftsmen are no longer available due to prior commitments.

With 2021 behind us, we are excited about what 2022 will bring. The industry boom has no signs of slowing down (regardless of the obstacles faced with costs and materials) and we are making all the necessary business decisions to address our client needs. We are proud to announce that we started the Fisher Internship Program that saw three very talented individuals work alongside our team, learning the industry through real life experiences. This program is exciting for us and a great means to bring in young talent to help shape an individual’s career path. Finally, at Fisher, we pride ourselves in working with great people and providing amazing work. We have been able to accomplish this for the past 13 years and look forward to continuing that success for years to come. Happy New Year!