Submitted by Barb Lally for Rob Rice Homes
By the close of 2014, Rob Rice Homes will have built 115 new homes in the South Sound. That is no small feat, even for the area’s largest builder.
Those stunning homes in the nine sought-after Rob Rice Communities, or at Select Home Sites in Thurston County, or those custom built throughout the area have not only provided an opportunity for families to purchase the home of their dreams, they have a far-reaching and powerful impact on our entire local economy.
The National Association of Home Builders reports on the national level that building 100 average single-family homes generates about 300 jobs and millions in tax revenue.
When so many Rob Rice Homes are built here in our area there is a significant and measurable boost to the local economy that helps us all thrive. Hundreds of jobs are supported and many businesses and professionals who help build Rob Rice Homes flourish. In addition, state and city budgets gain significant revenue to further enhance the amenities and quality of life we all enjoy.
Promoting economic vitality
In a recent letter to the editor of the Olympian, Olympia Master Builders Executive Director Troy Nichols reported that the 312 houses built in Thurston County in 2012 generated $65.8 million in local income, $11.2 million in local taxes and other revenue for local government and supported 1,107 jobs in the first year.*
Those figures are a conservative guide to help estimate the enormous economic impact of the 115 Rob Rice Homes built just this year—approximately $24 million in local income, more than 4 million in revenue for local governments and about 400 jobs.
“We take pride not only in the beautiful homes and well-planned neighborhoods we build and develop, but also the local jobs in the construction trades we support,” says Rob Rice, the 2013 Best of South Sound builder who has a personal commitment to hire local contractors and buy local products and services even if they cost more.
Local company BMC West provides the quality lumber for all Rob Rice Homes, as it has since 1985. Nearly a dozen local framers use that lumber to build the framework for each new home including Star Home Builders owned by the Skewis family who framed the first home Rob ever built and have worked exclusively with him ever since.
Black Hills Mechanical plumbers lay the pipes for exquisite kitchens and bathrooms while locally owned Sunset Air installs its top energy-efficient heating, ventilation and cooling systems. Milgard windows supplies their lifetime guaranteed windows and our area’s Doors Unlimited Inc provides each home’s sturdy and stylish doors. Long-time partner Imperial Painting adds high quality and durable color inside and out.
When the home is finished, Design Smart Home Staging & Redesign artfully arranges furniture and accessories to display how a potential buyer can use the space in the home.
Professional Realtors then help show the home and are the trusted advisors in the home buying process, and another group of local professionals—appraisers, inspectors, title insurers and mortgage consultants—all provide their expertise in the home sale.
That is just a few of the jobs at work in our community each time a home is built. And, many of those professionals spend what they earn here. In his letter, Mr. Nichols also reported that “residents of a new home spend about three-fifths of their income locally,” further invigorating the local economy.
Communities and state flourish
Our communities and our state, which provide so many of the amenities we enjoy in our neighborhoods—our roads, water and sewers, our parks and trails, sidewalks and street lamps, our schools and public buildings—are supported by the revenue that streams in every time a Rob Rice Home is built.
As Troy Nichols noted in his letter, about $30,000 in fees alone go to a city before the building of each home even starts.
Each Rob Rice Home that is built has a significant economic impact that helps our families, property and entire community thrive.
So the next time you drive by a Rob Rice Home admiring its quality construction and beautiful and expansive landscaping—whether it is in one of the nine Rob Rice Communities or on one of our Select Home Sites in Thurston County or it is custom built on a buyer’s own lot— remember also that building that home helps provide hundreds of local jobs, boosts our economic vitality and contributes to the many community amenities we enjoy here in the South Sound.
Rob Rice is Thurston County’s largest local home builder and was voted the Best of South Sound for 2013. He has built more than 3000 homes over the last 30 years. He and his wife Helena live in Olympia with their two sons; Alex Michael and Carson. Rob is a graduate of Washington State University with degrees in construction management and architecture.
*NAHB’s Metro Area Impact of Home Building Study.
