The New Home Builder Strategy: Build To Order

"Home builders are wary because they remember what happened 15 years ago, when they badly misjudged the end of the region's last housing boom. They didn't see it coming, and when California's economy tanked in the late 1980s and early 1990s, builders were stuck with tens of thousands of uncompleted houses and empty lots, sending the industry into a financial tailspin... Having learned a painful lesson, builders today get out their hammers and nails only after they have secured buyers. That caution is one reason the supply of housing in Southern California remains short of demand. And that, in turn, is a key reason prices have soared into the stratosphere."

Thanks to Chris Steins