4. Making an impact
America’s Households by the Numbers
Rental portfolios have social and environmental impacts. In its Making Room: Housing for a Changing America exhibit, AARP illustrated the type of housing that currently exists compared to the household sizes that are most common in the United States. There is a great disparity between the number of smaller households and the appropriate size homes. Cities desperately need more ‘right-sized’ housing units to serve smaller households, and investors have an opportunity to create housing that is in high demand with a strong tenant base. Building an ADU can also provide jobs and support the local economy. Hiring local architects, designers, builders, and tradespeople supports the economy with jobs and housing. Care to make an ecological impact? Residential buildings comprise 22% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. An 800-square-foot ADU built to basic code uses less energy than a 2,200-square-foot high-performance house due to the reduced heating and cooling loads. Building small saves occupants money in utility bills, making the dwelling more resilient and reliable. Smaller dwellings, especially internal conversions, use fewer material resources and can rely on the original dwelling to provide part of or all of the building envelope, one of the most resource-intensive aspects of a new build. If you’re interested in learning more about adding an ADU to your portfolio, consider attending an All About ADUs class in your market. Or you can learn more about ADUs in my book, Backdoor Revolution – The Definitive Guide to ADU Development. Final Thoughts
28 % Single people living alone
25 % Couples (no children)
20 % Adults sharing with other adults
20 % Nuclear Families (two parents, children 21 or under)
7 % Single parent families (one parent, children 21 or under)
KOI PETERSON (503) 395-4248 Best-Selling Author and Owner Accessory Dwelling Strategies LLC
Kol Peterson, the owner of Accessory Dwelling Strategies LLC, is an ADU expert based in Portland, Oregon, who has helped catalyze the exponential growth of ADUs in Portland over the last decade through ADU advocacy, education, consulting, policy work, and entrepreneurship. He is the author of Backdoor Revolution-The Definitive Guide to ADU Development. He was the founder of Caravan- The Tiny House Hotel, the first tiny house hotel in the world, and organizer of Portland’s popular ADU Tour. He consults with homeowners about ADUs on their property, and teaches ADU classes for homeowners and for real estate agents in Oregon, Washington, and California and runs a national ADU Specialist designation with Earth Advantage.
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