Retail learned long ago to sell experience, identity, and trust. Housing is still selling square footage.
For years, the housing industry has relied on a simple equation: price per square foot. It’s clean. It’s easy. It’s measurable. And it’s increasingly irrelevant. Because the way people experience homes—and the way they assign value to them—has fundamentally changed.
That’s the core idea behind the latest episode of The Valuation Metric, where Sara Gutterman sits down with Dennis Webb, a longtime industry leader who helped transform Fulton Homes into one of the first builders to fully embrace energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and healthy living as core business strategies—not optional upgrades.
What makes Webb’s perspective so compelling is where it comes from. He didn’t start in housing. He started in retail. And that difference shows up immediately.
Retail understands something that housing has largely ignored: The customer is the center of the entire system. In retail, you don’t sell fabric—you sell how something fits, how it feels, how it reflects identity.
In housing, we’re still selling square footage.
As Dennis tells it—drawing on his vast experience when he served as vice president of operations for Fulton Homes—that disconnect has real consequences.
Cati O’Keefe is the editorial director of Green Builder Media. She has 25 years of experience reporting and writing on all aspects of residential housing, building and energy codes, green building, and sustainability.
What Is a Home Actually Worth?
Retail learned long ago to sell experience, identity, and trust. Housing is still selling square footage.
For years, the housing industry has relied on a simple equation: price per square foot. It’s clean. It’s easy. It’s measurable. And it’s increasingly irrelevant. Because the way people experience homes—and the way they assign value to them—has fundamentally changed.
That’s the core idea behind the latest episode of The Valuation Metric, where Sara Gutterman sits down with Dennis Webb, a longtime industry leader who helped transform Fulton Homes into one of the first builders to fully embrace energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and healthy living as core business strategies—not optional upgrades.
What makes Webb’s perspective so compelling is where it comes from. He didn’t start in housing. He started in retail. And that difference shows up immediately.
Retail understands something that housing has largely ignored: The customer is the center of the entire system. In retail, you don’t sell fabric—you sell how something fits, how it feels, how it reflects identity.
In housing, we’re still selling square footage.
As Dennis tells it—drawing on his vast experience when he served as vice president of operations for Fulton Homes—that disconnect has real consequences.
Watch/Listen to the full episode here.
By Cati O'Keefe
Cati O’Keefe is the editorial director of Green Builder Media. She has 25 years of experience reporting and writing on all aspects of residential housing, building and energy codes, green building, and sustainability.Also Read