Boxabl looks to create a better housing solution
A new factory-built housing solution, Boxabl, is growing in the sands of Las Vegas.
Boxabl wants to dramatically reduce housing costs on a worldwide scale while making housing more compatible for a mass production process.
The company offers foldable, stackable housing units with key components pre-built into the structures. With a footprint of roughly 20-foot by 20-foot, or approximately 375 square feet, the units can be folded into an 8.5-foot unit for easier transportation and delivery.
“We think if you can build housing on an assembly line, you can dramatically reduce the cost and increase the quality,” Galiano Tiramani, founder of Boxabl, told HBSDealer.
Founded in 2017, the company has been streamlining its production techniques while working to reduce shipping costs. Shipping initial units were expensive and cumbersome, according to Tiramani.
Boxabl has since updated the materials and building equipment it uses for producing the units. All raw materials are processed by computer for quick, accurate assembly.
Once delivered, the structures can be unfolded and set up in nearly an hour.
Boxabl units featuring insulation throughout the walls. Essentially, the walls are single laminated panels that don’t include studs, making the building envelope tight with no thermal bridging.
“It’s almost designed like a refrigerator or cooler,” Tiramani explains.
All electrical and plumbing is pre-built into the structure. Once set up, It just needs to be connected to the grid via outlets on the exterior walls or connected to an existing main house on a property. The structures are also suitable for off-the-grid needs.
Boxabl’s initial offering is the Casita, which includes a full kitchen, bathroom, and living area. The cost of the units is just $50,000 with Boxabl saying the structures will save money through insulation technology and LED lighting included within the system.
Housing affordability and availability continue to be an issue in the market.
The latest existing-home sales report from the National Association of Realtors shows the housing supply at the end of January totaled just 1.04 million units, down 1.9% from December and dropping 25.7% from one year ago (1.40 million).
At the same time, the median existing-home price for all housing types last month was $303,900, up 14.1% from January 2020 ($266,300). The median existing single-family home price was $308,300 in January, jumping 14.8% from January 2020.
This summer, Boxabl will increase production after moving into a new 170,000-square-foot production facility in Las Vegas. Designed by automobile manufacturer Porsche, the facility expects to produce 3,600 Casitas annually with a potential $180 million in revenue in year one. Additionally, the new factory also promises to provide more efficient production, Tiramani says.
In the past year, Boxabl has received more than $1 billion in preorders from 20,000 potential customers.
But with a staff of just 20, Boxabl has been quickly ramping up its hiring efforts, Tiramani said. Additionally, Boxabl is looking to raise more funding from outside investors.
Here's a one-minute pitch video that illustrates the Boxabl concept.
