Blu is the New Green for Second Home Buyers

The Breezehouse modular home that had its open-house last week in Sonoma is one of over 100 that the Massachusetts-based Blu Homes expects to sell this year alone.

It represents astronomical grown for the company, which sold its first 100th home just last year, four years after since its founding in 2008. A spin-off of a research project at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Rhode Island School of Design, the company was founded by Bill Haney to provide “high-quality, green homes for families across North America.”

The Sonoma home shown last weekend, at 771 Donner St., is on the market and being handled by Lisa Albertson of Frank Howard Allen. She and other realtors from their Tiburon office, plus at least a dozen employees of Blu Homes, were at the open house showing off the features and advantages of the Breezehouse  o hundreds of curious visitors – many of them in the market for a new home, many just curioius.

“We’re getting a lot of interest in these homes,” said Albertson. “There must be six or seven in Healdsburg already, and a number in Marin County too.”

The Donner St. home is the first Blu Home to be open for the public in Sonoma, though another smaller one is nearby, “around the corner” according to Blu vice present of marketing Diana Helfrich. Blu Homes knows the best way they can sell their product is to have people see it, so they offer incentives to buyers to put the home on display before owners move in – or, in this case, before developers sell the home. Open houses may last a week or two or several months, depending on the agreement, and if a buyer is found during that period the terms of showing are of course revised.

The increasing popularity of Blu Homes probably has something to do with the upturn in the economy, both Helfrich and Albertson agreed, and the Boomer-heavy visitors to the home the day I was there suggest another reason for their success: the quick construction and flexible design of Blu Homes makes them ideal as second homes or retirement homes.

While company headquarters are in Waltham, Mass., all the company’s construction takes place on Mare Island in Vallejo, making same-day delivery to Sonoma County possible; but other popular regions for the homes are in New England, Michigan and even into Canada.

How quick is the construction? “This project started in early March, with the demolition of the previous home,” said Blu sales manager Bobby Harvey. “Then the foundation was laid, with three weeks to cure.

“The home was delivered April 3, in three ‘pods,’ and it takes just a day or two to erect the house.” That means essentially dropping the pods by crane into place, unlocking the folded units and putting everything in place.

You can view videos of this process on their website at bluhomes.com

From that point on, a crew of seven Blu Homes workers complete the project over five or six weeks, taking off the temporary hinges and finishing the walls, floors and features. Blu offers different exterior and interior finishes, flooring materials, built-in appliances, counter tops, hardware, tile, even lighting fixtures and built-in sound systems – all the features that help personalize a home.  Open house was June 15, and the house was move-in ready (and looking for a buyer), just over three months after construction began.

Square footage of this configuration was 2,316, with two full bedrooms and a guest room, a sitting room/library, and kitchen – and the large central room, in two halves, that gives the Breezehouse its name and appeal.

Large windows and sliding glass doors on either side of the central room, its high pitched ceilings (up to 17 feet from the standard 12-foot walls), abundant natural light and simple modern design is instantly appealing. Most Blu Homes do not include garages, and in this case as well an added structure had to be built on site for the garage.

The Breezehouse design is one of 8 basic configurations the company offers. But each is also largely customizeable, and while the Breezehouses are made as one-story houses about half of the owners, according to Harvey, use them as second stories on top of a basement, garage or other ground floor.

Other Blu Homes models do include two-stories, like the Evolution or the Lofthouse; optional ‘pods’ can be added onto the basic configuration, like a Lego set, expanding square footage or creating out-buildings.

Aside from the quick timeline, customizability, modern look and sheer groovy factor of the Blu Homes, their energy efficiency has proven to be a big selling point. The company claims their homes are “typically 50% more energy efficient than average existing homes,” due to their materials, insulation, high R-factor windows and computer-modeled site design that optimizes energy efficiency. Though the Donner St. property is not LEED-certified, many Blu Homes do reach that gold standard of energy efficiency, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.)

In fact, “Blu is the new green” was a phrase I heard more than once from clever visitors to the Donner St. house, and it’s a clearly more than a popular color choice.

Blu Home designs begin with their Origin line, ranging from 25 x 18 studios or one-bedrooms to a 49-foot two bedroom, a simple rectangular configuration priced between $145,000 to $210,000.

At the other end of the list is the Sidebreeze, a version of the Breezehouse with an extended wing, for $625,000. The Breezehouse similar to the one on Donner St. runs about $585,000, though customized features and extras can add to these numbers.

The price doesn’t include, however, the property, permitting, excavation, foundation, utility hook-ups, decks, driveways and landscape or finish painting, all of which can add substantially to the complete cost.

The National Association of Home Builders, in a 2011 study, came up with a figure of $184,000 for construction of a 2311-square foot single family dwelling, by comparison. So Blu Homes for the most part are not “entry-level” home purchases, but as Albertson noted, “There seems to be a lot of wine money out there.”

That all being said, there will probably be more Blu Homes in Sonoma’s future.

There will be an open house by Realtor Lisa Albertson this weekend (June 22-23) for potential buyers. Blu Homes will be on hand July 12-13 for another informational tour of the home and their other options.