So, Why is it That…

When most people are looking to purchase an appliance, consumer electronics or a car they think “New”, but when looking for a home, they think “Used/Previously Existing/Previously Owned”? One inescapable conclusion is that we homebuilders who build high performance homes have done an exceedingly poor job of informing homebuyers that today’s new, high performance home and even today’s new home built to current code is not, as once was said, “…your father’s Oldsmobile”.


Certainly it is true for consumer electronics, cars and appliances that advances in technology, performance, design functionality and style predictably from one year to the next make us want the “latest and greatest” rather than a previously owned product whose dated features and performance lack that “wow factor”. And, of course there is the accurate, often repeated and almost always misunderstood aphorism applied to newer homes_ ”They don’t make ‘em like they use to.” That’s true, “We don’t make ‘em like they use to.” We build homes better than we used to, better by orders of magnitude.

While construction methods and materials remained relatively unchanged for decades, the latter quarter of the 20th century saw noticeable improvements in building science. Building science advances then accelerated sharply since 2000, prompted by ever-rising awareness of energy efficiency and sustainability, trends that only will maintain and gain momentum. The result is that today’s, third party tested and certified, new high performance home typically reflects levels of energy efficiency, water efficiency, improved indoor air quality, concerns for environmental preservation and characteristics of sustainability that the builder of the average previously owned U.S. home never could or would have imagined.

The average age of America’s existing housing stock is 34 years. That means choosing to buy a home of average age over a new high performance home is the technology equivalent of choosing to acquire a 10-year old computer instead of a new one. Opting for an existing home of average age over a new home built simply to current code is akin to purchasing a 5-year old computer instead of its most current counterpart. In neither example should the “old” be preferred. What almost all consumers regard as folly in acquiring electronics should be regarded as an even greater mistake in the purchase of a home because of the magnitude of investment and infrequency of its replacement.

My conclusions from the preceding musings are that:

• Every builder of a new high performance, independently certified home needs to become more effective and proactive in communicating the benefits of homes that are reflective of advanced building science.
• REALTORS® need to become much better informed and more aware themselves of how a high performance home best serves their clients’ interests and
• Clients owe it to themselves to seek out those builders and REALTORS® who truly understand that the comparison between “old and new” is far more than differences in cost or age and that what may prove to be the higher initial cost is in reality the lowest total cost of ownership cost and thus the greatest value.

“So, Why is it That….?” You tell me.