Lexi Notes; Detective Work & Energy Code Insight

Notes from Lexi’s desk 4/5/2021;

Hello friends,

I wanted to check in quick with some observations and thoughts on residential new construction in the Tri-Cities Washington.

I am seeing a trend of builders not listing their “to-be-built” homes or spec homes on the MLS. The main reason is that they are afraid to quote pricing until the homes are closer to being finished and they know the final costs of materials (especially the lumber).

In a few cases, I have called the listing agents to find that there are some great homes already permitted or under construction in great neighborhoods but there is no published information on them anywhere.

I am encouraging you to use a Realtor as your detective.  Oftentimes, agents know each other from years of business, and it is easy for us to call or text for quick information.  Also, we can use the MLS to find similar homes that are under contract and under construction (but not closed yet) that we can get permission to walk through so you can see what the layout looks like before purchasing a pre-sale.

Also, on a side note, the changing energy codes are a good thing.  For buyers, it means a better house. It means the home will be more energy efficient and can save you money on utilities over time. It means we are breathing cleaner air in our homes with the updated HVAC systems and ventilation requirements. Home building should evolve over time.  The energy code (new requirements began as of 2/1/21) are just one component of many that are increasing the cost of construction. Implementation of the WA State Growth Management Act, increased cost of land, increased cost of lumber and materials have together made the cost of construction go up. 

If you would like more information on the energy code, I have attached a few links below. When looking at the 2018 WA State Energy Code packet; skip to section R406 for the point system that is used.  Each builder can pick and choose how they want to achieve the required credits. This is a question you can ask the listing agent or the builder when you are considering purchasing a new home. Eventually we will see Passive Homes being the standard and this is something Germany and other European Countries have been implementing for a while now. The US is in fact behind. In my mind I constructed a program where builders can do a foreign exchange to other countries to see how they are doing things. Both the host country and the exchange “student” would stand to gain some insight.