For anyone with money and a need to build, now is unquestionably the time.

Projects that used to see four or five bids are now seeing up to 20 and the prices can’t be beat. The most recent example is the walking trail project on Reveille Road recently put out by the city of West Lake Hills. The city received 15 bids, the low number coming in $20,000 below their estimate.

“I think it’s very important in these times where the contractors are needing the work and get more bids in; cities need to be able to take advantage of that,” said West Lake Hills city engineer Steve Ramsey. 

The current economic climate is ideal for cities and developers looking to get projects done on the cheap, but Ramsey says it won’t last forever. 

“It is always cyclical, and it will swing back,” he said. “This is just a deeper trough than maybe people have been used to seeing.”

While the high number of bids is great news for developers, contractors are struggling to keep their businesses afloat. 

“In this current economic climate, having the best number and schedule is the way to truly stand out,” said Hardin Construction Company senior project manager Matt Hoglund. “The downward pressure on numbers is so great that owners can’t turn their back on those numbers even though the risk is great that some of the numbers and some of the contractors may not survive till the end of the project.”

He said the most difficult part for his company, which has an office on Bee Cave Road near the West Lake Hills/Rollingwood line, is balancing cost and quality.

“Leaning on our pre-construction expertise, Hardin continues to find ways to mitigate costs without compromising quality,” he said. “This can present a tough balance when trying to make the architect’s vision a reality, all the while being cost conscious and aiming to deliver a project that ultimately satisfies the owner’s needs.”

Several companies are trying to draw in extra business by putting bids out on projects that are out of their usual range of expertise or putting in bids so low they aren’t turning a profit – just breaking even.

“This is difficult for contractors that specialized in just one market in the past, i.e. Retail Contractors trying to get Hospitality projects – two totally different animals,” Hoglund said. 

He said his company has been relying on its background in educational, office, health care, retail and public assembly construction to get it through the downturn by pursuing more federal work instead of unrelated projects.  Their most recent local project was the Round Rock Premium Outlets, as they just opened their Austin branch about a year ago. 

“We feel confident that some projects that we have been working on for several months located in Southwest Austin will start very soon,” he said. 

At some point it is inevitable that the low prices will attract more development, but the when of that question, as Hoglund said,    is “the million dollar question.” 

“The concern that we have is that many projects will come back to life at the same time, and we will see a dramatic increase in pricing, as well as a burden on the architectural and engineering community to service these projects,” he said. 

While they haven’t seen projects pick up yet, they have seen plenty of work coming the way of their pre-construction department as owners and developers search for financing.

But, one thing is for sure, no matter what side of the industry you are on. 

“Right now is the time to build and take advantage of the current pricing if an owner/developer can make the project financing work,” Hoglund said.