CHARLOTTE, N.C. – While many businesses have been told to close or reduce hours because of the coronavirus, construction crews are still hard at work, hammering away at new projects.

Some in the new home business say the pandemic is still impacting them in a big way. 

Matthew Ewers, the president of Grandfather Homes, a custom home builder in Charlotte, says despite the stay-at-home order throughout the state, things are almost business as usual for his team. 

“There’s typically on the beginning of a project, we’ll have crews that might have four or five people, but they can maintain social distancing,” he says. 

Ewers says the main challenge he's facing is on the sales side.  

“This is the time when we really start to feel the momentum, in the spring market," he says. "We did feel it prior to this. February and the beginning of March was very strong.”

Now things are slowing down, even pausing, as people face financial uncertainty because of the economic impact of COVID-19. 

“Half of our homes that are under design, those folks have decided ‘Hey, let’s wait a little longer.' Some of them think pricing might go down, so they say ‘Hey, let’s continue with design, but we don’t want to pull the trigger just yet,' ” Ewers says.

It's a problem many builders around the state are facing, including Classica Homes, which has neighborhoods in Mecklenburg County and beyond. 

“It definitely, just like every industry, has absolutely changed what life was like yesterday,” says Bill Saint, the president and CEO of Classica Homes. 

Saint says there may be a turnaround later in the year, but it won't be the same business they had hoped for.  

“I think all of us will work off of perhaps a 10-month year instead of a 12-month year as we all are taking this pause,” he says. 

The hope is that once the virus slows down and hopefully disappears, it will be business as usual. 

“It was a great time to buy a home before this, and it will remain a great time to buy a home when people are back and starting to live some sort of normal life,” Saint says. 

Both Grandfather Homes and Classica Homes are offering clients insurance policies and contract options to help them feel comfortable before moving forward with their big purchase.