Flooring For A Healthier Planet & A Healthier You!

In China's warm and moist Anji county - a pilot county for eco-friendly and green construction - over 148,000 acres of bamboo groves thrive. A far cry from the polluted industrial centers, this fresh, bucolic, mountainous region is known for wholesomeness, producing eco-friendly products such as white tea, alpine vegetables and flowers, bamboo shoots, and (you guessed it) beautiful, sustainable bamboo flooring that gets carefully laid inside every HAVEN.

We have chosen to work with Calibamboo as a reliable and ethical source of bamboo flooring, who sustainably harvest their bamboo from well-managed groves in pristine Anji county. 

Hardwood flooring for HAVENS

A HEALTHIER HOME

Not only is bamboo flooring incredibly strong and aesthetically pleasing, it's also better for the health of everyone in your home!

Almost all conventional flooring is smothered in toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like formaldehyde. These compounds off-gas into our homes, often getting trapped and continuously circulated into the air we breathe which has been shown to cause serious health problems. A home that makes you sick is definitely not a sanctuary, and therefore not a HAVEN. 

Calibamboo's floor test results rank as "Ultra Low VOC" and in fact, they publish their test results online for the public to see - a level of transparency you won't often come across.  

A HEALTHIER PLANET

Did you know bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth? In can be harvested every 3-7 years without negative environmental impact, making it an endlessly renewable resource. 

Use of Calibamboo flooring is having a great impact on this gorgeous planet we call home. 

Here are their stats at the time this was written:

www.calibamboo.com

Pretty amazing, huh?! 

Doesn't it feel great to #dogoodthings?!

7 Real Estate Trends To Look For In 2018

With new technologies in building and energy coming to the forefront, environmental trends catching on, fresh ideas and solutions being generated constantly, and a housing crisis that is finally being predicted to start turning around, it should be an interesting year for real estate in America.

Whether you're a developer, a first-time homebuyer, or simply looking to find a home that makes you happier, it's useful to be informed about what to expect and watch for in the housing market. 

Here are the expert's predictions for 2018 real estate in America. 

SHORT-TERM RENTALS

2018 will see the continuous upward trend of short-term rental appeal. Tools like Airbnb have made lodging more interesting, giving us all access to home experiences we may otherwise not be able to have. 

Short-term renting gives homeowners a whole new income stream potential, renting their whole home or space in the home. Because Airbnb accesses a global community, rental fees are often three to five times the local and regional market! That's a pretty good return on investment!

Our NEST sub-option was designed with an Airbnb/short-term rental space in mind, offering a separate all-contained living space with appealing modern style. Learn more about how to make your HAVEN pay for itself with short-term renting. 

FRACTIONAL INVESTING

Rather than hand over huge sums of money to invest in real estate, many investors are diversifying and relieving themselves of responsibility with fractional investing.

You can go in with other investors or with friends and family you trust to own part of a property rather than the entire property. 

Peer to peer lending and crowdfunding are helping to facilitate this process, assisting new investors to break into the market. 

Real estate remains a smart and promising investment, providing a consistent and reliable stream of income. 

INCREASE IN LENDING

Banks have been tight for years, but 2018 will likely see a turnaround in that trend.

Experts predict that in 2018 banks will begin actively pursuing buyers and offering more diverse loan opportunities. 

Homeowners--and especially investment buyers--should see more buying opportunities
 

SMALLER LIVING

One solution for increasing the housing stock--and thereby helping to alleviate the housing crisis--has been the emerging trend of tiny living and mobile living. 

People are becoming more and more interested in genuine fulfillment and are finding that big square footage doesn't correlate with overall life quality. 

Experts predict this will become more and more of a norm, especially in big cities. 

 

MILLENNIAL BUYERS

"New buyers are millennials," states this recent Forbes article. 

Most millennials would prefer to live in urban areas, but end up settling into suburban homes (something for developers to keep in mind!). 

What do millennials want in a home?

• Big kitchens
• Open floor plans
• Home offices
• Energy efficiency
• New technologies
• Ideal locations

So basically - a HAVEN ;)
 

COLIVING

Unfortunately, many home-buyers are still struggling with affordability, making coliving a sensible solution.

Some people return to family homes while others live in communal roommate setups. In fact, many startups are popping up to meet this demand with hip shared living spaces. These communal arrangements typically offer each person or couple their own living quarters with the kitchen and living areas being shared with other inhabitants, where social life and a philosophy of community are built in. 

Our HATCH sub-option caters to this demographic, transforming the extra space in your HAVEN into an extra area for coliving.  A mother-in-law suite, a nursery, a room for returning college grads, millennials hoping to save money for a while, or another coliving setup: we designed the HATCH sub-option to nurture relationships and promote bonding.

PREFAB MODULAR HOMES AS A SOLUTION TO THE HOUSING CRISIS

One solution to the housing crisis is to increase the stock of homes. Prefab modular homes are an excellent response to this economic need with their lower construction costs and faster turnaround time. 

Developers are looking toward smaller, modular, prefab homes to increase housing stock faster with less on-site labor. Estimates show that such units can be delivered to a developer 50% faster than a standard build-out, permitting leasing to begin much sooner! 

Experts predict the demand for modern prefab homes will expand at least 15% annually, reaching over a million by 2020. 

Ready to jump ahead of the crowd and get started on your build?