There is an interesting thing going on in the housing market. Younger buyers, frustrated that they will never be able to get onto the property ladder, are dispensing with tradition and building their own homes. Interestingly enough, they are making these homes smart from the ground up.
Make no mistake, these new homes are not the McMansions of the 1990s and early 2000s. They are not the cookie cutter suburban homes like those that popped up in the 70s and 80s. They are small, economical homes that feature more function than space and style.
Next to Nothing Prefab
Out in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is a construction consultant by the name of Chris Galusha. He was recently interviewed by Industry Leaders for an article detailing a prefab house from Singapore with a starting price of just $52,000. The home, known as the Cube 2, features a ton of smart home tech in a space designed to comfortably house four people.
The Cube 2 is undoubtedly a tiny home at just 263 square feet. But thanks to an open floor plan and the judicious use of space, the home feels a lot larger. And again, it boasts smart technology built in.
Why would anyone in the Dallas-Fort Worth area want one of these homes? In a word, cost. According to Galusha, who is also the president of the American Tiny House Association, homes in the area go for $250,000 and up. He says that many of the people interested in the Cube 2 are tired of renting.
They could rent for years and never be able to save enough for a down payment on a $250,000 home. A $52,000 smart home is another matter. Better yet, you get what you pay for with the Cube 2. The home comes completely manufactured and fully furnished. You simply roll it onto the lot and connect the utilities.
Americans Want Smart Homes
The Dallas-Fort Worth area saw about 35,000 residential building permits issued in 2017. That number is second only to Houston in the state of Texas. What do these numbers say? They say that people are building homes. Some of those homes will undoubtedly be larger, luxury homes intended for the upper middle class. But others will be more economical homes for people with limited budgets.
The one thing all of the homeowners have in common is a desire for smart home devices. Whether homeowners live in Fort Worth or Washington DC, they are looking at smart home technology as the wave of the future. Vivint Smart Home cites industry research that suggests consumers want smart:
- door locks
- thermostats and fans
- lighting and audio-video equipment.
Vivint also says that the smart speaker is one of the most prolific smart home devices right now. Growing numbers of homeowners are bringing smart speakers into their homes thanks to affordable products like Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
Build Cheaper from the Ground Up
It would stand to reason that making a home smart could cost quite a bit of money. But like anything else, you can often build from the ground up more cheaply. By including smart home infrastructure in new home design, you are not spending extra money trying to retrofit a house after it has been built.
If you are interested, there is a construction consultant in Fort Worth who knows how you can get your hands on a $52,000 smart home. Building your own is a less expensive way to have a smart home without having to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars.
