The housing market in North Texas has many rethinking their dreams of owning a home.
Potential home buyers have little wiggle room between high interest rates and low inventory. A local company using technology to form and frame houses much faster hopes to be part of the solution to the state's housing shortage.
The CEO of Netze Homes told NBC 5 that using recycled steel and 3D Former software, his company can build a new home in as little as three months.
"A lot of people are moving to Texas, and we have a huge housing shortage, said Nejeeb Khan, CEO of Netze Homes.
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"New construction is at its lowest today, and it takes time to build. Nine months, 10 months, 12 months. What we're really creating is a solution here, having a home in 12 weeks," he said.
NBC 5 toured the Netze factory and watched digital renderings come to life. Crews use a large machine to turn metal sheets from recycled cars into beams, door frames, and all the necessary parts to build a home.
Khan showed homes in different stages of construction in a new development in Corinth. It's one of five Netze home projects underway in the Metroplex. He says that while people are used to seeing steel in commercial construction, until now, it was too costly for residential construction.
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Khan says this 3D technology is the game changer, helping to speed up framing and improve efficiency by reducing construction costs by 10 to 15% while also cutting down the timeline and leaving little to no material waste. Once printed, the building pieces arrive on site ready to be connected, going from slab to move-in prepared in 12 weeks. Khan says the faster build time lowers overhead costs for salaries, insurance, site security, etc.
'It's unheard of. Nobody has done this before," said Kim Maher, VP of Sales and Marketing for Netze Homes.
After leading her real estate firm for decades, realtor Kim Maher joined Netze, sold on steel.
"Home building has been done the same way for thousands of years, and when you can build a product made of steel that is so strong and can beat any winds or extreme weather not burn down in a fire, that intrigued me," she said.
Maher says it's piquing the interest of prospective buyers too. Weeks after opening, by late October, they'd already sold several homes in The Oaks, a green pocket community with 17 homes in Corinth.
Maher says many prospective buyers are curious about the company's mission to be environmentally friendly.
Netze is short for net zero. The company says each 2500 square foot home saves 50 to 60 trees. The steel prevents mold growth and is pest, fire, and corrosion-resistant. And the spray foam insulation and roof design boost energy efficiency.
"I think everybody is so money-conscious right now. I think every penny counts, so when you can save up to 50% on your energy bill, you know, month after month, that is huge," said Maher.
"Steel is flat and straight," Khan explained.
Khan also says steel framing is more versatile and allows for luxury touches like smooth floating walls that don't need baseboards.
"A lot of the details you see in million-plus homes, and we want to bring it to everyone," he said.
Khan says style, speed, sustainability, and the potential for long-term savings make a difference when interest rates are high, people can afford less, and the area needs more homes.
Netze is working to bring its steel-framed homes to several North Texas cities. The company announced its building of 60 townhomes in a project in McKinney, expected to be complete late next year.
