802 Homes to release free home design catalog aimed at lowering construction costs

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A new project from the state of Vermont is aimed at lowering home prices and increasing availability.

The 802 Homes Catalog will be released later this year, featuring home designs the state hopes will increase future development and give Vermonters access to affordable and accessible homes.

According to Realtor.com, the average price of a home in Vermont is over $400,000.

“The goal certainly is not a nice-looking catalog of homes. The goal is homes in the ground at prices that Vermonters can afford,” said Jeff Duby, 802 Homes Catalog project lead.

The 802 Homes Catalog is a project from the State Agency of Commerce and Community Development. The goal is to provide Vermonters with 10 complete construction plans for a variety of low-cost, accessible, and adaptable homes, spurring development by eliminating some design costs.

“We’ll have our catalog of ten home designs ready, freely available to the public, anyone that wants to build in Vermont, really,” Duby said.

An important goal of the project is to help Vermont’s senior community have the opportunity to age in place.

“Just recognizing that there’s a lot of folks that would like to age within their communities, within walkable areas, but their options for housing is rather limited,” Duby said.

The agency is seeking feedback on the project from Vermont seniors, hosting virtual feedback sessions to discuss the proposed designs. Agency officials said the homes are designed to be as versatile as possible and are not aimed at seniors only.

As for construction cost, officials said it is too early to estimate.

“Lord, I wish I had a clear answer right now. We’re still halfway through the design phase now. We’re trying to do everything we can to move that lever down to that more affordable price. So we’re trying, again, to look at the designs through this lens of affordability by design and how we can design the homes in a smart way to reduce some of those development costs,” Duby said.

By eliminating some design costs, the project could make home building more affordable, officials said.

The full catalog is set to be released by the end of the year. Vermont seniors who would like to give feedback on the designs can register for two virtual sessions later this month.