Those who have been in the home building industry for quite a sometime know of the very common term ‘build to code’. The term means building a home assuring that it will never fall under any circumstances. So it can be easily ascertained that this is just the quality assurance which is far away from the standards of excellence. They only meet the least pre-requisites of law and ensure that it will not fall down under normal circumstances.
Going by the entire scenario in general, it has been seen several industries like the automobile industry or the software development industry have always tried themselves to stay updated according to the changing trends. But, unlike them, the real estate industry has always stayed averse to these changes. Same goes the home building industry as well. In fact, there are several associations of these home builders and according to John Eilermann St Louis , one of them claims to be the largest trade association in the entire USA as they have more than 1.2 million of members actively participating in all the business projects.
A Current Scenario of the Industry through John Eilermann St Louis’ Eyes
There has been some current legislation which states that the existing building must have some energy standards of energy efficiency and those who lack must be upgraded duly. This particular trade association has lobbied against the legislation strongly and there must be some reasons behind it. Since the first energy bill comes and the energy efficiency is being felt, the builders are out of the scene. But there must be some reasons for sure behind.
Earlier when the technology has not found enough advancement, the houses demanded to be energy efficient so that it could stay comfortable. There were no air conditioning units or HVAC units to keep the residents warm or cold during the respective seasons. The coal-fired power plants were the only source of energy, so the constructions had to comply with those parameters. But now there are air conditioning units and modern heaters which could regulate the temperature.
As a result of this, John Eilermann St Louis states that there is not select design and materials which are termed to be appropriate for particular geographical topography and environment. So builders nowadays just select the standard materials which are completely irrespective of the geographical topography and to some extent cost-effective. As a result of this, most of the homes built nowadays might not be complying to the environment or climate, but there is some homogeneity in the design and to the entire community.
Just as mentioned earlier, the housing industry is oblivious to the changes in demands. As a result of it, they are not aware of what the market demands. This is what many experts have felt should be realized or worked upon. New technologies are coming up, and along with it, accepting the changes is the new trend. There’s no end to progress and John Eilermann St Louis believes this is what the industry must work upon.