We hope that someday soon all mainstream building practices will be green, and we won’t have to use the word “green” to describe these best practices. In the meantime, to help spread the word and build awareness among real estate shoppers, homeowners, developers, and, well, everyone else who lives in a house, Building Green TV has partnered with real estate advisors RCLCO (Robert Charles Lesser & Co.) to bring you ongoing research on green homebuilding trends.
There is good news. Including signs that green building is well on the way to going mainstream. RCLCO reports in a recent survey of home builders that 40%-50% of homes built in 2010 are expected to employ green construction methods.
But there’s still a long way to go. Commercial construction is leading the green building movement. 50% of new construction is residential, yet residential construction comprises only 5% of all green building today.
The environment presents a challenging market position for home buyers, who are largely unaware of the impact homes have on global warming. The EPA estimates that buildings contribute as much as 40% of our environmental impact. By contrast, 73% of homeowners thought their homes had either “no impact” or an “acceptable impact” on the environment.
Only 3% of home buyers check off “environmental methods and materials” as a purchasing priority, though 10% list energy savings, and environmental interests are not incompatible with the most popular motivators like change in family status, retirement, and moving up to capitalize on appreciation.
RCLCO and Building Green will be bringing you a lot more hard information like this over the coming weeks, so check back often for updates.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
COMMENTS