The markets continue to tank. It's a bear out there. We don't understand what will happen in the next week, month, or year. What should one do if, like my potential client Marina, one needs a bigger house, one's existing house needs repairs and investment, and one can't find a suitable house in the area?
To build or not to build...how does Marina answer that question? After analyzing this dilema from all angles, it is still not clear what she is to do, given that the price of land, of construction, of services, are all in question at the moment. We don't know if they will hold. The demand is shrinking, people are nervous about the future, and it feels like and odd time to stretch into one's next house.
"Can we build green, at a moderate price per square foot?" Marina asked. "It's not even in question", I answered. To make any move towards the future, to take risk at this moment in time, it's GOT TO BE GREEN.
I tell my clients that, not unlike the correction in attitude that is happenning in the markets, we must correct the reasons and expectations behind building a house, altering the human landscape, changing the Google map cyber space.
#1- It's not worth our collective effort and price to build anything but green.
#2- It's important that we build green for our personal enjoyment and not just for resale value.
#3- Expect that if you are building green and the house of your dreams, that you should live in it at least 5, probably 10 years to capitalize on your investment.
#4- Embrace the lifestyle and new and different joys that come with living in a green house
#5- In the resale market of the near future, the inventory will be divided into green and not green. Green will always be a better investment.
As I write this blog, I'm already planning on picking the perfectly ripe, sweet papaya from my backyard for breakfast; a perk of having a green home and garden. As for the stock market, I called my husband to buy me Apple, and he asked how many, and did I need milk too. I meant for him to buy me Apple stock, when it was at an all-time low. Monday we will have a new chance to build green or to buy Apple. It's all about investing for the future, wouldn't you agree?
