High costs are still a big barrier to prospective customers, said Alan Gibson, principal at Maine-based builder GO Logic, where a shell for an ultra-efficient, two-story, 1,400 square foot home with three bedrooms can cost around $600,000.
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Homeowners also need to factor in additional costs, like buying and developing a suitable plot of land, and in some cases, getting access to water, electricity and septic, Gibson added.
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The way to bring down costs, Gibson believes, is more panelized, multi-family housing.
“It can be done so much more efficiently,” Gibson said, “and there’s a lot more repetition” for the developer, making the process faster and less expensive than custom multi-family builds.
Goodson, the homeowner in Maine, was able to save big money with his engineering background and penchant for DIY. He installed a rooftop solar system and electrical improvements himself, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process. He wound up spending around $500,000 in all, which he estimates was $200,000 less than he otherwise would have.
“It’s a big number to swallow, I’m not making light of that at all, but it’s not that far out of what’s reasonable,” Goodson told CNN. It’s also not considering the long-term savings he will experience with no utility bills.
He was also able to take advantage of federal tax credits that reduced the cost of his rooftop solar, which saved him more than $10,000 on his panels. Those tax credits are now endangered with House Republicans’ tax bill.
“That was huge,” he said. “It’s fairly unfortunate they’re looking at doing away with it.”
