I sit down this episode with Jason Hale, who grew up around job sites in Alabama, then spent six years practicing insurance defense law before the pull to create something drew him back into construction. Fifteen years ago he started Willow Homes, and since then he’s completed more than 250 projects across custom builds, renovations, and select spec homes. He also serves as president of the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders, a role that puts him in rooms with city councils and mayors trying to keep housing affordable in his part of the state.
We start with what made Jason leave law behind. It wasn’t really about money for him. He tells me he missed the creative side of the work and the sense of being part of a team, something a legal career rarely offered him.
“I genuinely, this is gonna sound cheesy, but I genuinely love creating people’s homes. I mean, that’s where they’re gonna have memories and experiences.”
From there we get into one of the biggest misconceptions in the industry, that builders are the reason home prices climb so high. I bring up a stat from my own interview with NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz.
“I had the privilege of interviewing Robert Dietz, who is the chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. He said, ‘Michael, the 2026 survey we did, ironically enough, says that 26% of the price of a home is tied up in costs related to red tape, governance, anything else you can think of, and has nothing to do with builder profit.'”
Jason backs that up with a number from his own business.
“The regulatory costs, we’re saying around $130,000 for an average house. That’s not an exaggeration. I see it every day. It’s real. And so definitely those costs are much higher than the builder’s making.”
He gets specific with a local example too, walking me through how a single stormwater requirement can add tens of thousands of dollars to a build before a homeowner ever sees a price tag.
“I’m seeing stormwater storage being required on a single lot, and where we do that, we’re seeing an average of about $17,000 to install the system. If I add $17,000 to the cost of a home on the front end, I’m adding probably $25,000 to the price.”
We also get into how this plays out locally, from his meetings with mayors and city councils to the data centers moving into Birmingham, which he says are pulling skilled labor away from home construction even as they add new jobs.
From there we dig into Jason’s first project, a rundown 1930s bungalow he bought four doors down from his own house in Homewood after striking up a conversation with the elderly owner. He tells me the project, funded by a family member on a handshake split, taught him early lessons about labor, trades, and running a company.
“A lot of pride. I just remember thinking the before and after was really an incredible transformation on this house. It was really almost not livable when I took it over.”
Growth comes up next, and Jason walks me through what it feels like to hit a ceiling in production and try to push through it without blowing up overhead in the process.
“Let’s say you’re doing $5 million a year and you all of a sudden want to get to 10. You’re gonna find somewhere in between those two numbers, you’re gonna hit your head on a ceiling pretty hard, and then you’re gonna try to hire through that ceiling, and then your overhead’s gonna get way out of whack.”
I bring in a lobster analogy of my own, comparing an old shell that constrains growth to the pressure builders feel when they decide to scale, and Jason agrees it fits well.
Capital gets real attention too, and Jason ties industry consolidation to access to money, notes how banks have pulled back over the years, and explains why builders now need private capital alongside traditional bank relationships.
“The truth is, I’m the first lender. Willow Homes lends the money first because the nature of how you get paid in our industry, which I don’t love, is that you mostly get paid on work that you’ve already performed.”
Workforce development rounds out our conversation, as Jason shares details on the Central Alabama Home Builders Academy, close to launching and funded through a small fee on building permits, offering free training in trades like plumbing, electrical, and HVAC over an 8 to 12 week course.
“We’ve trained them enough to be dangerous right off the bat, so they come in as an employee producing.”
I close with a rapid fire round on mistakes builders make and what growth depends on, then a lighter reflection on family and legacy that shows a different side of Jason.
“My guess is that it will be probably these years with my kids. I think I’m in a little sweet spot. This 8 to 11-year-old timeframe is really fun.”
About Jason Hale
Jason Hale grew up on construction sites, spending summers and weekends working alongside his father as new neighborhoods took shape in Madison, Alabama. Long before he understood contracts or development, he learned the value of hard work, craftsmanship, and building something that would last.
He began his professional career practicing law in Birmingham, developing a background in negotiation, contracts, and business strategy, but real estate and construction never stopped calling him back. During the housing crisis of 2008 to 2010, he worked with developers and investors through one of the industry’s most challenging periods, gaining firsthand experience in everything from distressed assets to redevelopment and market recovery.
In 2011, he launched Willow Homes with a single renovation project in Homewood. That first house led to another, then another, eventually growing into hundreds of homes, renovations, and development projects throughout the Birmingham area.
Today, Jason brings together the perspectives of builder, developer, attorney, and entrepreneur. Whether he’s creating a custom home, revitalizing an existing property, or planning a new community, his focus remains building quality projects, earning trust, and creating places people are proud to call home.
Jason serves as president of the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders.
Learn more at gowillowhomes.com.
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