In Silicon Valley, home of tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple, housing is scarce and extremely expensive. To deal with the problem, Google invested in modular homes as a temporary housing solution for its employees.
Google Invested in Modular Homes
The Wall Street Journal reported that Google collaborated a $25-30 million deal with a start-up modular building company named Factory OS. The agreement includes building 300 homes that will be used as temporary housing for employees struggling to find a permanent residence.
Housing prices in cities like San Jose, San Francisco, Cupertino, and Palo Alto have some of the most expensive homes in the country. The median home price in Silicon Valley is about $888,444–up from $535,614 in 2012.
The deal with Factory OS will bring down construction costs about 20%-50%, which is quite significant, especially when building 300 homes. This will help to keep building costs down while helping usually expensive areas more affordable.
Google may be paving the way for other companies around the country in big cities like New York to follow their lead. Modular home building could potentially become normal for large companies.
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