Looking for a 3D-Printed Home? Wells Fargo Has Mortgages with Lender Credits

Wells Fargo just said it’s ready to issue mortgages on homes built with 3D printing technology. The Austin-based startup ICON, now a leading U.S. robotic construction firm, is building the homes.

At a prior ICON-built development in partnership with Lennar, the financing was handled by Lennar itself. Now, Wells Fargo will issue loans for ICON homes and provide a lender credit of 50 basis points to buyers. That translates into significant upfront savings: about $1,000 per $200,000 borrowed.

The Wells Fargo decision sends a message. Robotically produced homes are entering the mainstream. They can be valued the way standard construction is valued. They can be sold, financed, and insured by a leading bank.

It’s all part of innovation to produce homes people can afford.

Robotic Construction: Ready for Prime Time?

3D printing is a robotic construction method. The concept has been watched closely by builders over the past decade.

ICON produces robotic machinery, software, and building materials for homes. The firm first obtained a permit to build a home with 3D printing robotics in 2018.

The giant developer Lennar was interested, and willing to invest. Lennar and ICON put plans together for a development of 3D-printed homes outside of Austin, Texas. The BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group provided architectural guidance. Construction began in 2022. Soon, the effort resulted in a community of 100 houses.

With the robotic building method, fewer people are needed to work on the site. It’s a cost-efficient building technique. It integrates AI, drone technology, sensors, and automated machinery. It can carry out most every phase of a project: design, scheduling, deployment of personnel, equipment logistics, site inspections, demolition and excavation, welding, drilling, assembly, bricklaying, drywalling—you name it.

The first Lennar-Icon project sold out. Another project took shape. Buyers came.

Now, ICON wants to make the technique available to builders in general. The company’s new Titan 3D printer will cost a developer just under $900K. The new machine can construct buildings with multiple floors.  

Builders have already put in orders for hundreds of the machines. Builders that prefer to rent the machines can submit a $5K deposit and take the company’s training course.

Building Lender Confidence—And Future Plans  

Wells Fargo will lend funds to builders interested in buying 3D printers for home construction.

To make the investment work for builders, there’s also a need for financing options for 3D home buyers. Do lenders consider robotic building viable? Will the titles to these homes maintain their market value? Could mortgages on robotic construction be insurable?

The announcement from Wells Fargo suggests that the answer to all of these questions is yes. Builders now know that the 3D printed homes they produce have a market, and buyers will be able to apply for loans to purchase the homes.    

How has ICON built trust with Wells Fargo? The companies had already forged a relationship. ICON worked with the Wells Fargo Foundation, which undertakes charitable financing projects. For several years, they collaborated on 3D printed homes to provide options for people who need it.

By 2024, ICON was working with Wells Fargo to create homes in the Community First! Village, which addresses the needs of unhoused people in the Austin area. ICON’s Initiative 99 challenged architects to design homes that could be constructed by its 3D printers for no more than $99K. With a Wells Fargo grant of $500,000, a nonprofit project was launched. ICON made the six winning designs available for use by architects and builders, wherever affordable housing is needed. Jason Ballard, ICON’s co-founder and CEO, expressed a hope that hundreds or even thousands of homes will be created through Initiative 99.

And now, Wells Fargo will be ICON’s key lender for 3D printed homes for sale.

It’s the latest vote of confidence in the field of construction robotics. And it suggests that 3D techniques are poised for growth. Given the need for attainably priced housing, the robotic construction site may soon be a familiar sight.

So, How Do You Print a House?

It starts with computer files containing digital design plans. The robotic construction machinery translates the plans into actual work on the ground. The automated, one-ton machine handles all the basic steps. Concrete presses through a huge nozzle. Back, forth, back and forth.

A specialized concrete is used. Wells Fargo says it’s designed to emit less carbon than standard concrete.

Layer by layer, it forms the walls of the house. Those distinctive horizontal lines on the outer and interior walls? Those rounded corners? Those will be visible clues that a giant 3D printer formed the main structure of the home.

Then, humans will finish the job. They’ll install the windows and doors, and the roof. They’ll craft the electrical and plumbing systems. And the result will be a home that’s strong, durable, and safe.

Extra pieces and scraps are minimized in the robotic process. ICON says builders discard some four tons of materials when building the typical U.S. home. With ICON’s process, there’s very little waste.

And the house is completed in days. The job can be done in spite of shortages of workers and materials. That’s a game changer in an industry that’s so heavily reliant on both. Some industry watchers now consider robotic construction as a workable answer to the question of how to build an affordable home.

The Future of Robotic Home Building: What’s in Store?

Using a massive 3D printer to build a home seemed flashy, cool—a fun startup business, maybe a fad. But it found traction in an industry that was scrambling for ways to add homes to the market in bulk.

The technique could offer a good deal of promise for answering climate and environmental questions. Creators of the I99 designs showcased ways the homes can save water, for example. Other designs featured homes meant to stand up to fires or storms. The homes can sport architectural features that suit particular locations.

And now there’s multi-story robotic construction. New machinery, developed by ICON, can print a complete home—from the foundation to the roof. So, fewer people will be needed on site. The new machines are faster, and need less preparation time before construction starts. ICON says this will allow a home to be built at half the cost of prior 3D homes.

At a time of climate and affordability challenges, robotic construction could play an important role for upcoming generations of deed holders.