Question by : Sustainable Modular House, good investment?
Hi I am doing a report for school. Can you see if this summary makes sense? Also if you have other questions, please let me know. Thanks in advance!
Article: http://www.djc.com/news/en/12021147
Summary: Johnny Hartsfield was frustrated with the state of sustainable, affordable housing in Seattle. He and his best friend started GreenFab LLC in 2008. The company specializes in creating modular houses that is both sustainable and affordable. GreenFab, offers a basic LEED gold modular house, 1635 feet home with a low price range between $ 125-150/sf. The company also offers a full array of green feature upgrade options. Currently, the company first modular house which will be credited LEED Platinum, is being build in Seattle and will be completed in January. I find this really interesting and will probably tour the project once it is done. However, there are three questions that are rise :
1) Is this a short-term trend in Seattle?
2) Will the demand for building "sustainable, affordable" modular housing outweigh buying older housing in this market?
3) What about 10 years from now or when the market recovers?
Best answer:
Answer by cactusgene
1) The short-term trend in Seattle and elsewhere in the nation for sustainable green housing is good, especially with the relatively low quantities that GreenFab is able to produce. This is because “going green” is in the news a lot and the federal government is supporting the concept in words and in some instances with money and tax rebates.
However, the price of $ 125-150/sf. you quote above is NOT affordable or cheap for basically a kit home with substantial field assembly required. A modular home is shipped in relatively small sections and must be erected in place at a labor cost of at least 50% of standard stick built construction. I know, because I built one. Compare that to a manufactured home (formerly mobile home) which comes completely finished and assembled in say 2 sections, but is sold FOB factory for $ 50-$ 85/sf depending on quality. I have toured some of the $ 85 jobs erected in place. They are nice and only an expert can tell the difference from a stick-built house. So on price, GreenFab will not compete favorably.
2) Answer: No, because the price is too high as explained above.
3) The long-term trend for “green” housing is less certain. 80-90% of all buyers will not pay a premium for the green label. Besides “green” it is already available in stick-built construction at very little extra cost. It is distinctly possible that 10 years from now some of the greenhouse gas methodology may have been debunked and only a few people will still pay for it. I personally believe that it is a fad and will fade in time.
What do you think? Answer below!
Tags:Good, Green, Homes, house, investment, Modular, Sustainable
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