KANSAS CITY, Mo. — SAB Homes is officially the first builder to pull a permit to build a new home in Kansas City, Missouri, in almost four months.
That begs the question, why?
Curtis Tate with SAB Homes helped answered that question.
"The way we’re going to construct the house is going to be a little bit different," he said. "The equipment going into the house is going to be a little bit different, but at the end of the day you’re going to get a more efficient home.”
Efficiency — that's the key factor.
Four months ago, KCMO incorporated higher home efficiency standards into required building code.
"Insulation values, construction science, HVAC loads," Tate said.
Changing to the new standards, and changing applications to reflect them, hasn't been easy.
"It has been obviously a lot of trial by fire," said Will Ruder with the Home Builders Association for greater Kansas City.
He describes an at times difficult and confusing application process.
"We weren’t getting any comments back. It’s just, 'No, this is wrong, this is what you’re missing, start all over again,'" Ruder said. "So we didn’t have that kind of back and forth that has been a hallmark of successful code transitions.”
So builders had to keep going back to the drawing board, both with their designs and applications. It took time.
"The technical competencies, the methods, the materials," Ruder said. "They already exist in the market. It's how you compile them in a way that is acceptable to the city's interpretation."
It matters because every new home adds to the Kansas City area's low inventory.
That low number of available homes hurts new home buyers, old home buyers, and even renters.
Ruder says it's fairly simple — low supply means high demand. High demand means high prices.
Another complication — new, more efficient homes will be more expensive up front.
"And it could be anywhere from 15 to 21 thousand dollars depending on the size of the house," Tate said.
If buyers can get over the initial sticker shock, they'll find themselves in a home that could potentially reduce their energy bills Tate says by around $2,500 per year.
It means they'll be cheaper in the long run. In roughly 10 years, that buyer will more than likely be saving money compared to homes built to the old standard.
So in theory, newly constructed homes will be cheaper long-term, but people need homes now.
"I would think that that shortage would increase just because there hasn't been a permit pulled in 100-plus days," Tate said.
Ruder says the fact that SAB Homes was able to figure it out means there's potentially a light at the end of the tunnel.
"From what I've heard, all of the other builders around town are really really close," Tate said.
Ruder and Tate say if SAB Homes can crack the code and learn how to comply, others will too.
Barring any other external factors or supply chain complications, the new home construction standstill could come to an end.
"We want to make sure that we can turn these plans around so that they can turn into permits so that they can turn into homes," Ruder said.
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