Daniel Kaufman sits down with Mike Carroll and Micah Thompson of Blue Heron Homes, a modular builder in central New Hampshire, for the conversation the three of them usually have on the phone.
They start with ski towns and small New England towns that are losing the people who keep them running: firefighters, teachers, nurses, plow drivers, line cooks. From there they get into what it takes to build a starter home that working people can afford.
In this episode:
- Why so many towns couldn't be rebuilt under their own zoning, and how ADUs add housing without rezoning
- The lending gap: buyers approved for $350K–$400K with no land yet
- Does modular save money? A builder's view and a developer's view
- Containers, panelization, flat-pack and 3D printing, and what scale changes
- Sears catalog homes, and why fewer options means lower prices
- Modular vs. manufactured: the misconception builders fight every day
- Why "affordable" and "workforce" housing need better names
- Aging towns, shrinking schools, and young people moving away
Guests: Mike Carroll and Micah Thompson, Blue Heron Homes (blueheronhomesnh.com, launching soon)
Host: Daniel Kaufman, Dan Ventures