Nov 30 2007 10:12AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
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A little more than a year ago, we ran a couple of stories in the August issue of Professional Builder about the immigration issue and how it affects home builders. (See here and here and here) The response to the articles was significant, including people posting comments below the articles linked to above. In addition, we received letters we ran in the magazine. (See some examples here).

For the most part, the comments we received fell firmly in the “what about illegal don’t you understand” camp. One significant exception is the letter from Ralph Drees, founder and chairman of The Drees Company, the nations 30^th largest home builder. More often, I received letters and emails that were angry and vehement. A few were hateful. None, thankfully, were threatening, but the tenor of the argument did cause me to consider whether I might receive threats. It was as much emotion as I had ever seen expressed about an article in 20 years of editorial work.

Clearly, among home builders, the issue of immigration is a sore point. I bring this up now to contrast it to the conversation being held among remodelers over at Professional Remodeler. Michael Morris, editor in chief, posted a blog entry updating his readers on immigration issues. (See here) The comments he received were much different than what we at Professional Builder experienced. That caused me to wonder several things and I’m curious what our audience thinks. Why is there such a difference between the two audiences? Here are two possibilities. 

1. Remodeling contractors are a significantly different demographic than home builders and it shows in this debate.
2. The immigration issue has cooled down in the housing industry, so people are less likely to express strong opinions.

Comments, please.