Green home building is progressing rapidly toward the mainstream as homeowners and builders focus on more sustainable home features that treat the environment—and the consumer’s wallet—more gently. The rising costs of all types of energy are a primary driver, according to industry experts. Amid all this progress, change is expected in the market.
Significant growth in green home building activity is expected over the next five years, according to a survey by the NAHB and McGraw-Hill Construction. This year, the value of the residential green building market is expected to range between $12 billion and $20 billion. By 2012, that market worth is expected to double to between $20 billion and $40 billion.
Building green also helps sell homes in a declining housing market, according to 40 percent of builders surveyed by the NAHB and McGraw-Hill. Among builders, quality now ranks first as the most important reason for green building, the survey reports, with energy cost savings and “doing the right thing” running a close second as motivations.
As green home building becomes more mainstream, it will expand to encompass sustainability issues and market concerns not currently addressed on a large scale. According to Peter Yost, residential program manager for BuildingGreen LLC and a former member of the NAHB Research Center staff, there will be a greater emphasis on water efficiency in green-built homes to combat the water shortages expected around the United States.
Yost also predicts a stronger link between construction and transportation, reflecting a growing awareness of how important efficient transportation systems are to sustainability. Pressures from building code bodies and insurance companies will move passive survivability into the mainstream, as well, improving how homes perform during disaster situations and extended loss of power and services.
Improvements will be made to first-generation green products and technologies, expects Yost, and green product certification or labeling programs will help homeowners and builders identify those that perform to their claims.
