Saw that - surprise! - the Montana Building Association opposes tighter, more energy efficient building codes. The argument?
The Montana Building Industry Association argued against the changes, saying they would cause more harm than benefit. The group said that most houses, especially more expensive homes, were already built to the higher standards.
It is the buyers and builders of lower-priced homes that will have to make the most changes - causing a price hike for those least able to afford it.
Dustin Stewart, with the building association, said that people who build their own home often like to leave the basement unfinished to make it affordable at first. They will no longer be able to do so.
This is an argument that's heard a lot from builders around the country who are faced with increasingly tight building codes. Basically, builders argue that increased efficiency results in higher home costs, putting houses out of reach for those at the bottom of the economic ladder. Even if these folks rent, the argument goes, building costs will be passed on to renters in the form of higher rents.
First, is it a bad thing that more people will rent? And what's not mentioned is that the consumer saves money on the utilities, which more often than not come straight out of the renters' pocket.
Whatever. The days of enormous subdivisions filled with enormous houses offered up in exchange for the enormous loans rapacious lenders were foisting on consumers are over. It's time for builders to come up with a new business strategy.
It's easy to forget with all the heady talk about alternative energy - solar and wind and geothermal - as a panacea to our fossil fuel dependency, none of it works without increased energy efficiency. |
