Green Homeowners are spreading the word

The green home market is now a 2 billion dollar industry, according to McGraw-Hill Construction in market research presented at the recent National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) National Green Building Conference.

85% of green home owners are happier and more satisfied with their new green homes than they were with their old non-green homes. And the “green buzz” is strong - 28% of surveyed homeowners reported first hearing about the green home concept through friends and acquaintances.

The research also found that:

• The new green homeowner is affluent and well educated, in his/her mid forties and married, and also more likely to be from the Southern or Western states. Women are also more likely to be green homeowners.
• Home operating costs matter. 63% report lower operating and maintenance costs as the key motivation behind buying a green home. Additionally, nearly 50% report environmental concerns and family health as motivators.
• Lack of awareness, higher costs, and scarcity lead obstacles. The top three obstacles, all hovering over 60% of respondents, were oriented around education, additional costs involved in green homes and the availability of the homes. However, when looking at the “biggest” obstacles, green homeowners view education as the biggest hurdle to overcome.

The research also indicated that homeowners have also been very active in green remodeling and renovating. 40% of actively renovating homeowners are doing so using green products or technologies, such as energy efficient windows.

McGraw Hill Construction Press Release.

NAHB Press Release.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 29th, 2007 at 6:55 pm and is filed under Going Green, News & Analysis, Remodeling, Green, Home Improvement, Renovations, Building, Green Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.