Homes for the new era

When financing starts to be feasible again and the wounds of the crash are mostly healing, what will people look for in a mountain residence? Well, much of the same things they will seek in an in-town residence: smarter more practical design, lower energy costs, lower maintenance costs, less focus on luxury and more on quality. Energy in-efficient "mcmansion" style houses have high costs of ownership and many will question the value proposition. Large square footage or super-high-ceiling spaces will become more scarce when buyers are not only considering the cost to buy, but the cost to heat and cool as well. Imagine a buyer that insists on knowing the annual kilowatt hour use they should expect!

This article in the Washington Post previews the changes:
Recession Should Change Tastes
By Elizabeth Razzi
Sunday, December 28, 2008; Page F01

What will change specifically for second home buyers in the mountain recreation towns? In touring many western mountain towns over the past few years I've seen many attractive properties that turn a blind eye to the practical matters of snow handling, passive solar opportunity, maintenance cycles required for various materials, and heating costs. These costs -- after all -- were trivial compared to the high values of the homes themselves. Builders were selling to a public that could afford not to consider these costs.

Can we define values in new mountain home construction that transcend the traditional prestige-based notions of good, better and best? In other words, can a design be so fitting for its environment and its owner that it is not judged by level of luxury but by the quality of life it offers? Can we really design structures that have very low ownership costs? If we could, can these designs become a new ideal for ownership rather than a compromise?

Well I'm convinced that one impact the financial implosion will have on the Valley is to make Davis more popular. To the question of 'what do we do now?' the answer may well lie in the details of home design, siting, systems and materials. In addition to the house itself we should look at the cost of maintaining driveway, yard and land. The Total Annual Costs of ownership (not including purchase costs) can include maintenance, gas, electric, water, snow plowing, homeowner's association, cleaning, and lawn care. Who compares total cost of ownership before they buy in Canaan? Sure, they think about it in concept and ask about the HOA fees, but few actually made purchasing decisions with these costs in mind. If homes were to emerge that had radically lower Total Annual Costs, I think they would now find a ready market.

Town or Village living is consistent with the creation of radically lower Total Annual Costs. Because of its compactness and location, Davis offers the best buy in: power, water, sewer, road maintenance, personal auto useage, lawn care. Compare the village life with the artifical "estate home" arrangement of a typical Canaan development -- home after home on it's 2-acre lot with septic or private sewage treatment, a well, a lawn, a big HOA fee. Mountain town life, on the other hand, puts homeowners in a community setting with the ability to walk to grocery, restaurant, or shop -- or to head out on a hike or mountain biking loop without ever starting the car. What's more, many groups or families wish to ride in one car and then do different things on any given day. Having only one vehicle in the driveway is not a problem when so much can be done on foot.

I envision a vibrant town lifestyle at the doorstep of Canaan Valley.

The offset to Annual Costs is to put the property in the vacation rental market. Sharing their home with renters is each owner's decision and can go even further in lowering the bottom-line annual cost. Because mountain homes are often not used full time, it is important for any development to ensure cost-effective and reliable systems for renting the property.

In the conceptual master planning process, we had always thought it important that the Riverwalk structures be cost-effective. What the real estate crash and economic meltdown does is accelerate a shift toward properties designed for energy and cost efficiency, designed to suit a new ethos in mountain home ownership.

What the meltdown will do to the future Riverwalk residence amounts to a big push further in the direction of design and construction for lower total costs of ownership. It is exciting to think that we have the opportunity to define a mountain town lifestyle with Davis Riverwalk, while at the same time offering a solution for the new era in Canaan Valley real estate development.