Ready for some BAM good news?
Real estate can be pretty fickle, and constant negative news about mortgage rates, home prices, and layoffs can get people down.
Each week, we’re giving you the most uplifting and positive news in real estate. This industry can be tough, so here’s a little sunshine to start your week!
Construction Underway On The First 2-Story 3D Printed Home In The U.S.
An enormous 3D printer is building what many believe to be the first 3D-printed, two-story home in the United States.
The 12-ton printer will require 330 hours to create the 4,000-square-foot home in Houston, Texas, which has been sold to an anonymous family.
The home is the result of a two-year collaborative effort between Leslie Lok and Sasa Zivkovic, who are architectural designers, PERI 3D Construction, and CIVE, one of the leading engineering and design/build contractors in Houston.
If 3D printing becomes streamlined, imagine what it can do for inventory issues!
Invisible Solar Panels Appear Just Like Historic Italian Terracotta Roofs
Solar panels are an incredible way to go green while cutting back on electricity bills. But, let’s face it, they don’t exactly create the curb appeal most homeowners want.
Thanks to an Italian company called Dyaqua, solar panels won’t be an eyesore for much longer.
Dyaqua is handmaking solar panels designed to be indistinguishable by the naked eye from regular terracotta roof tiles. And they are starting with heritage buildings—aiming to improve energy efficiency without altering their overall historic appearance.
They look exactly like the terracotta tiles used by the Romans, but they produce the electricity that we need to light the frescoes. Since we needed an extensive lightning system, we could either keep consuming energy, leaving poles and cables around and disfiguring the landscape, or choose to respect it and save millions of euros.
‘Good Deeds’ Housing Program Makes Homeownership Possible for Big Sky Locals
Beth and Jeremy Marlington met while working at a ski school in Big Sky, Montana, back in 2009. They each planned to stay in Big Sky for a couple of years, but soon, 12 years had gone by.
During that time, the married couple moved between houses, condos, and apartments, often having to leave when landlords opted to switch to more profitable short-term rentals. After having a baby, the Marlingtons needed more space—but housing prices were out of reach, as inventory in the ski town often gets scooped up by investors looking to turn properties into short-term rentals. Finding a home seemed hopeless.
At least until they heard about the ‘Good Deeds’ program.
The program, modeled after Vail’s InDEED program, “helps preserve existing inventory for locals serving the community.” With local real estate agent Tallie Lancey guiding them through the process, the Marlingtons found a condominium and are now happy homeowners in Big Sky.
Have an uplifting story to share? Email contributors@nowbam.com with good news the real estate industry needs to know about!
