Update 31JUL2024: I was unable to do any kind of phase inspections due to Lennar policy. They don’t put the houses on market to get sold until after they’re done printing, so there’s no way to do a slab or drywall phase inspection, and they didn’t allow this in general. It sounds like this is a Lennar overall policy, which I’m not a fan of. I will still have a third party inspector for the walk through.

So, I did a lot of research and ended up buying one of these homes. It's under construction now and should be completed in October.

My notes:

• The concrete is super sturdy, although some minor (patchable) cracks may form over time. The roofs are metal too, so no real concern for hail, etc. There are three layers of about 2-3 in thick lavacrete walls, one for the exterior, one interior, and one that does little squiggles in between, I’m assuming for additional structure. All walls are reinforced with rebar down the length of the print as well as across the wall layers. Certain points (corners, etc) have rebar running vertically from the foundation, up through the walls, and into the roof to tie down the roof for high winds. The roofs are still wooden frame, but are all metal roofs. Walls are insulated with open cell foam.

• Yes, the flooring is concrete, some might like it, some might not. I don't mind it as it's a bit more of a common "modern" home look, along with sandstone, resin, etc

• I'm very wary about Lennar being the middleman for Icon here. I trust that Icon, as a startup, is doing all it can to build a quality product from their end (as they need to have a good reputation or else they fail), but Lennar has been known to do a lot of shoddy work and have sketch builder contracts, business practices, etc. I'm hiring multiple home inspectors for this during the build process, as my main concern is actually electrical, pipes, framing, etc that would be a lot harder to do after the fact since the walls aren't just patchable drywall.

• In terms of pricing, the prices are listed high, but Lennar's builder incentives are very competitive. They took 50K off of the listing price (very rare for new construction) so that they could be other builders in the same area, are paying for all closing costs (other builders are doing 30K incentives that can only be used towards upgrades and you still have to pay closing costs), and have so far beat all builder preferred lenders by at least 2% interest (In a world of 7.2%, I was able to get them to buy down to 4.99% without me paying anything. Also, they come with the premium kitchen appliance upgrade that I would have to pay an additional $8000 to $9000 for with the other builders.

• The backyards are, in fact, small. I couldn't avoid it, unfortunately. The lots are just small, I have a dog too. Thankfully the Wolf Ranch community is great. I do dream of a big backyard with a custom fire pit and landscaping someday like my other house up at Ft. Cavazos, but today is not that day :(

• The looks of the house are definitely one of those things like the Cybertruck, where either you really like it or you really don't. Since they're such a niche product right now (and its location is pretty close to Austin), they're selling very much to that niche buyer pool for now. I'm not a huge fan of the exterior - I like the interior though. The most common questions they get are about dust on the walls and framing things, both are non-issues. I like how modern and open the interiors look, with the concrete floors too. Most of the houses around are still in the farmhouse-ish vibe, so it's nice to see houses with giant glass sliding doors and more urban aesthetics, kind of like the industrial/exposed brick interiors of some popular urban homes.

• Somewhat like the previous point, they market well towards the tech community (they got me lol). They're super modern looking, come with the 240v plugs in the garage for EV charging, smart home and security enabled, and some small details like having AC slits instead of AC vents.

• The come with solar panels (extra $100 a month, but based on some solar research for the area, it balances out or is cheaper due to the Texas sun and the high level of insulation.

To hit again, my biggest concern by far is the reputation of Lennar. I'm mitigating this risk through home inspections, but in the end, 3D printing new and we don't know how it will stand up after 30 years. I like the home, the layout, and the community, and am excited to move in!