Awards for Spec Homes That Are Built As Healthy Homes
With a strong housing market and shortage of inventory, many builders have gone from building custom homes to speculative homes only. Builders do have to still target buyers. Smart homes and healthy homes are a way to do this.
The industry leaders report that buyers will pay a premium for energy efficiency, smart home tech and healthy homes. Once the pandemic began, health and energy savings have become even more of an important factor. In fact, former National Association of Home Builders Chairman Randy Noel has turned to building spec only.
Noel, from Reve, Inc., spent 30 years building custom homes only. He is now currently building a spec home for the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans’ Parade of Homes. The home features products and materials that are efficient, resilient, healthy and smart home tech.
“You can, with a great deal of confidence, build a healthier home for your customers going forward,” Noel stated following the (WWYW) certification process.
Healthy homes are recognized under the pilot the Wellness Within Your Walls (WWYW). There is a list of Healthy Home Features which include:
- Maximizing natural light,
- Detaching the garage from the home and connecting it via a breezeway,
- Installing locking cabinets for pharmaceuticals and garden chemicals,
- Controlling humidity for the outside fresh air being brought into the home and reducing stress on the heat pump,
- Removing contaminants from the incoming utility water through reverse osmosis water filters,
- Installing automatic faucets to reduce touch points,
- Incorporating an electromagnetic field (EMF) control cabinet — the interior of which is painted with a special electromagnetic wave-blocking paint — for electronics charging,
- Integrating automatic vents in the bathroom to exhaust damp air from the home,
- Installing a non-combustible, electric fireplace and induction cooktop,
- Incorporating a kitchen herb wall.
If you are interested in seeing a healthy home, the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans’ Parade of Home is located in Ashton Plantation in Luling, LA. The home has been given the 2020 Best in American Living Gold Award for Healthy Home and was a finalist for the 2020 NAHB Global Innovation Award International Home the Year.