L to R: Ira Futterknecht, Dan Nguyen, Charley Dixon, not pictured: John Deacon
Four Virginia Tech students earned first place for their research paper on zero net energy demand and home building in the Meritage Homes Residential Real Estate Challenge sponsored by the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management and Meritage Homes.
Student teams were tasked to write a research paper over a 10-day period, and the top prize was $5,000. Winners were announced earlier this month.
In April, the team submitted a paper analyzing zero net demand and home building, specifically answering the questions, "What are the impacts on this becoming a code requirement for builders, utilities, and consumers?," "How will the additional costs incurred to build or remodel a home be balanced in the market place?," and "What construction changes will be necessary in order to build Zero Energy Homes cost effectively?"
Virginia Tech's winning team consisted of John Deacon of Forest, Virginia, a May 2014 property management graduate, Dan Nguyen of Fairfax, Virginia, a senior double majoring in real estate and property management, and Charley Dixon of Herndon, Virginia and Ira Futterknecht of Demarest, New Jersey, both senior double majors in real estate and building construction.
The team will make a presentation on their winning report at the next Program in Real Estate Industry Advisory Board meeting in November.
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