It would be interesting to know how many of the new apartments are being built without basements in Manhattan.  There are also many new renters with the new Ft Riley soldiers.

Michele-

looking at the residential building permit counts since 1996, 504 were not single family.  Of those it appears 389 did not have basements.

Storm shelters are important to many of my clients. ICF homes are an option for affordable homes without basements that offer good protection in storms. 

With so many military buyers coming into our area from all over the country, I have been asked a variety of interesting questions that I don't normally encounter from the usual local or in-state buyers. Having lived in Kansas my entire life, I realized I need to brush up on my local and state FAQs. I knew it was time to do my homework when I was asked to rattle off the average rainfall for Manhattan and had to use the good ol' default answer, "I'll have to check on that and get back to you."

I mention this because suprisingly, I had a military buyer ask me this exact question that you are addressing in this blog. I had to say that I wasn't sure, but guessed about half and half. Thanks for doing the research. Next time I will have the correct answer, no more educated (or uneducated) guessing.

Kelvi-  ICF homes and slab homes with storm shelters are also viable options that are affordable.  Under a staircase or shelter in a room without windows is often recommend for storm refuge also.

I have learned that ICF homes cost approximately 5% more to purchase initially, but when you factor in the savings due to the incredible energy effeciency the homes provide, it only cost about $1 more per month to own an ICF home.

I have recently seen homes marketed with 'insulated slab home' what is this exactly?  As I understand, the slab is insulated with foam or a material of the like-but isn't a slab foundation already insulated by the soil around it?  Is this a marketing ploy or something actually benificial to the home.