Technology Upends Another Industry: Homebuilding

These new efficiencies have led to what economists call "labor displacement," which is taking place around the country. One business in Rockville, Md., is doing the same amount of work with half its original staff. Two things are noticeably absent from the offices of Mid-Atlantic Builders: people and paper. John Lavery, vice president of sales for the residential builder, keeps a relic in his office of the company's recent past: a binder heftier than a phone book that's filled with sketches and floor plan options of all the homes the company builds.

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