Home ownership? AI may be your best hope

Architects using a tablet at a construction site.

Image: Getty

A February National Association of Realtors study cited that record-high home prices combined with record-low inventory have created an affordable housing supply crisis in America. A subsequent study found that a lack of affordable housing is now the country's biggest obstacle to home buying. 

Can AI play a role? If the answer to the housing crunch is more homes, then technology may help streamline the complex construction and development process. Companies like TestFit are using AI to streamline feasibility studies, a long and complex process that must be conducted prior to building. It's part of a broader trend of introducing AI to an age-old sector in various small but powerful ways to speed up the pace of construction, everything from equipment management to 3D design.

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"Pioneers integrated drawings and the model years ago, but the industry has stagnated until recently," says Clifton Harness, co-founder and CEO, TestFit, which just closed $20 million in financing. "TestFit is the first and leading company to connect pro forma, construction cost, and asset design in our building configurator software, de-risking decisions and enabling critical time-savings when developing new commodity real estate." 

All of this is playing out against a national backdrop of mounting urgency. The Biden administration in May unveiled a plan to ensure that five years from now, the American homeownership dream will once again become attainable. One key component of the plan includes continuous investment in new construction and working with private companies to "improve building techniques" to accelerate development.

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