To do this, he is currently living out of his car and subletting his BR at a significant profit (UCSB has severe student housing shortage).  

This discovery took place at the same time a hurricane struck so to me it was a nightmare to fix some of the damages it caused, amidst a shortage of labor, fortunately another investor friend helped out.

They bought a cheap duplex in Milwaukee, fixed it up nice and can't get a tenant even though we have a rental shortage.

Between the 2 I'd pick contractor, because its running a business and there's a shortage in CA.

Surrounded by mountains in a valley that naturally constricts growth there will continue to be a shortage of housing.

Most of the established builders usually have no shortage of land to build on, which they have most likely purchased below market value.

We have a housing shortage, Milwaukee is the second worst (competitive) rental market for tenants behind Miami, FL. 

We have a dire housing shortage in Milwaukee, so the market is competitive and everything worth buying sells quick and usually with multiple offers. 

So now, when we try to "restart" the economy, we have the mother of all skilled labor shortage cycles in history.

This deal scenario takes a specialized team who are experts in closing (and moving out families) who do their tasks in hours not weeks.Theres a data shortage to better find sellers.