Why It’s Still So Expensive to Build Homes in America
The problem with modular housing.
New homes under construction in Vacaville, California.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergListen to Odd Lots on Apple Podcasts
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Everyone has an opinion on why housing is so expensive in America — and to be fair, there are probably a lot of reasons for it. But one simple factor is that homes are expensive to build. Unlike many other physical objects, they haven’t gotten cheaper over time. So why is this? And why haven’t we found a way to bring down the cost curve by building modular housing in factories or on assembly lines? On this episode, we speak with Brian Potter the author of the new book The Origins of Efficiency. Potter also worked at a modular homes startup that failed, and is also the author of the excellent Construction Physics newsletter. So we talk about what he’s learned about housing, as well as broader questions about how operational efficiency is achieved over time across a range of industries.