- Yeah, here in Newport News, the big news in affordable housing is how Habitat for Humanity is using the latest in construction technology to solve one of the oldest problems facing a lot of cities; how to build more affordable housing fast.

- On a traditional built house, you would have to lay a foundation, the cinder blocks and the bricks around the bottom.

You would have to add a floor system.

And then build the walls.

So, in contrast to that, it is quite a bit quicker to do this.

- [Jeff] Craig Meadows has a 30 year career of building homes the old-fashioned way.

- You'll have an L-shaped kitchen that comes around here.

The refrigerator is on the end.

We have a nice island here.

- [Jeff] But now he's walking us through something brand new.

- And when it gets to the windows, it'll actually stop and create the windows itself.

- [Jeff] A 3D printed house that may just be the home of the future.

- So what you're seeing here is the 3D printed finish.

- Meadows is chief of construction for Habitat here in Newport News in Williamsburg where that 3D future is now, with 3D homeowners already moving in.

(people cheering) To the first 3D printed houses in the country, not just new homes, but also affordable homes.

- When we turned over the house and realized that we were gonna be the first entity in the United States to put a homeowner and a 3D, I was living it.

We were living it, and not just thinking about it.

- [Jeff] 3D doing in days at this work site, what often takes weeks, using AI assisted blueprints to quickly form concrete walls and windows spaces that are thicker than brick or board.

- This fresh layer for the next day bonds to the layer below it.

- So that 3D printer goes layer, layer, layer, layer all the way around the perimeter of the house.

- That's correct.

- [Jeff] In their early stages, these 3D homes look sort of like something from "The Flintstones," but after they're finished, well, see for yourself.

- We have gotten calls from everybody, including North Carolina to ask us about how this process works.

And I know every day that more people are exploring the idea of 3D printing.

- [Jeff] Habitat's CEO Janet Green explains that their 3D printed homes actually cost 15% less to build than Habitat's traditional homes here in Newport News.

And because 3D is also so quick to get those thick concrete walls up, 3D printing saves habitat both time and money.

- It was faster for us, it was more cost effective.

And we'll have a more energy efficient product for the Habitat families that are gonna buy these homes.

- [Jeff] Here at these new side by side 3D homes in Newport News, Sierra Romas and Corinne Mann say they're excited to be Habitat's first 3D next door neighbors.

This is Corrine's 3D home here on the right.

- I'm actually happy I picked my house as a 3D home, and to know that I'm one of the few who in the beginning right now that has this home.

I feel like that's gonna be like the next couple of years.

Other people are gonna have that house too.

So, I'm the start of it.

- [Jeff] And that's Sierra's 3D home over on the left.

- In an economy like this, first, it's a rare opportunity to be able to afford a house, let alone have a 3D house.

And so to me that means stability, and that it's more innovative, it's more sturdy, it's more durable.

I get to be a part of the first.

So, it's only gonna get better from here.

- 3D printing is just another tool in the toolbox.

It's not going to solve our affordable housing crisis, but we are happy to be the first to try this new technology.

- You've got two houses on this side of the street, but you see what a whole 3D neighborhood across the street?

- I think that would be terrific, if we could do 10 and 20 homes at a time.

The machine is quite quiet and we could run the machine 24 hours a day if we wanted.

That way we can create more affordable housing.

- [Jeff] Which brings us back to Charlotte.

- Yeah, it's my understanding that, you know, they're framing up the one story house in a day, day and a half versus wood construction.

- [Jeff] Where Habitat's already building larger developments like their newest neighborhood here off West Boulevard.

- Our site here is 39 home sites.

And so yeah, we're looking at all the technology, 3D printing, prefabrication.

If you have a 20 lot or a 30 lot neighborhood, that's where it becomes more practical.

- [Jeff] And maybe even more necessary, says VP for construction, Bob Glusenkamp.

Especially when you look at Charlotte's need for affordable housing.

- Our pipeline of homeowners is enormous.

Last year we took over 1900 applications for, in a single year.

We'll build at a maximum 75 to 100, or we'll start that many new homes.

So yeah, I think it's part of, I think it's part of the overall puzzle.

- [Jeff] And Glusenkamp adds that solving that puzzle in Charlotte may start with what they're building here in Newport News.

- Well, I think first of all, I mean aesthetically I think it looks great.

I mean, it looks kind of like a, you know, a rough stucco finish to it.

I mean I've seen 3D printing on small models, you know, two or three feet.

But to take it to something that's say 1200 square feet, that's pretty significant.

You know, they're the first ones to do it.

I think it, you know, will spread very quickly.

The ease of it, the speed of it, people will take off.

But you know, somebody has to be first.

- And Habitat leaders here at Newport News and Williamsburg, as well as back in Charlotte say, it's not about how many 3D printed homes they build or how many traditional homes they build.

It's about how many families they can move into that affordable housing.

That's the real measure of success.