A new player with a very familiar name has entered into the residential homebuilding market.
"Amazon (AMZN) is making its foray into residential real estate," and the housing industry should fear it's new competitor, according to an article by Melody Hahm.
"Last week, the Alexa Fund, which invests in companies harnessing voice technology, participated in a $6.7 million round of funding to back Plant Prefab, a Southern California-based smart home builder," explains Hahm to follow up on news first reported by Eugene Kim.
According to Kim, Plant prefab builds prefabricated, custom single- and multifamily homes, and the investment follows "Amazon's launch of more than a dozen new smart home devices powered by Alexa." All in all, Kim characterizes the move as a step toward Amazon owning the smart home space.
Hahm clearly thinks Amazon has a strong foothold that could give way to a much larger footprint in the industry. "There’s an obvious synergy between the future of home building and Amazon’s vision for the world," writes Hahm.
Read the full story: Why the housing industry should fear Amazon
Post-Pandemic Home Building Trends: More Bedrooms, Smaller Homes
U.S. homes are adding bedrooms while getting smaller, according to two seemingly contradictory articles published on the same day from different data sources earlier this month.
Housing Construction More and More Frequently the Product of Two Companies
The history of U.S. housing construction has traditionally been the story of many companies building a few homes a year. Now two companies alone are out-building the rest of the top ten homebuilders combined.
How Proptech Could Change Planning and Development in the U.S.
Proptech (a portmanteau of property and technology) promises to change the world of development and planning.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority