New eco-friendly modular homes aim to cut construction time by 80%

Van Metre Homes, a builder serving the Northern Virginia counties of Loudoun, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, and Prince William, announced the launch of its POWERhaus line of modular properties. The homes come fitted with clean energy technology, like magnetic induction cooking systems, electric car charging ports and solar paneling, to get each house down to net zero energy consumption.

The line of factory-made homes are designed for “plug-and-play” construction, in which each room gets connected at the building site. This cuts builder waste since it allows for bulk materials to be ordered for the pods’ exact dimensions. Manufactured homes overall typically sell at a lower price point than traditional single-family homes due to their reduced construction costs — currently a major issue restricting home builder activity. Even though lumber futures came down from an all-time high in May, they remain inflated compared to historical norms.

The manufactured homes take under two months to build — a sharp contrast to the average of about seven months for a single-family property, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“As we’ve only built one prototype to date, the goal was to initially figure out how to create a seamless ‘in-the field’ and ‘in-the-factory’ process that could run concurrently,” Glenn Forester, Van Metre’s VP of marketing, told NMN. “Once realized, our ultimate build-time goal will be between 30 and 45 days.”

Lending for manufactured housing gained more traction in recent years and has been increasingly cited as a potential solution amid the persisting housing supply shortage. Earlier this year, JPMorgan Chase financed $488 million in commercial mortgage-backed securities to a manufactured housing operator Horizon Land Co. while Cascade Financial sponsored $162.7 million in manufactured home loan-backed securities.

Van Metre has no plans at the moment to build outside of the state, however, the region is ripe for increased housing. Home sales in Northern Virginia — inclusive of Arlington and Fairfax counties — grew 63.8% year-over-year in May compared to the national rate of 44.6%, according to the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. Homes sold at a faster pace as well, going off the market in 13 days versus the U.S. average of 17 days.

“Activity is brisk with no signs of letting up. Having the federal government and a burgeoning tech industry makes our housing market even more resilient,” said NVAR CEO Ryan McLaughlin.