High Energy Costs Fuel Spike in Green Home Construction

AEN News

Washington - New report shows how residential green building will be worth $19 billion to $38 Billion by 2010. Homeowners faced with rising utility costs are looking more and more towards energy-saving new home construction as a more viable alternative in today's market.

June 6-Results of a McGraw-Hill Construction/National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) survey indicate that 2005 saw a 20 percent increase in the number of home builders producing green, environmentally responsible homes. The study indicates that number will grow by another 30 percent this year.

The new report - Residential Green Building SmartMarket Report - details these findings as well as additional information on the burgeoning green home movement.

After several years of slow but steady growth across the country, green home building -- which applies innovative and environmentally sensitive construction techniques and products to reduce energy and water consumption and improve residential comfort and safety -- is rapidly moving into the mainstream. By 2010, the value of the residential green building marketplace is expected to boost its market share from $7.4 billion and 2 percent of housing starts last year to $19 billion-$38 billion and 5-10 percent of residential construction activity.

"Green home building is not a fad, but a trend, and one that is increasing at rapid rates," said Harvey Bernstein, vice president of Industry Analytics and Alliances for McGraw-Hill Construction. "The data we recently collected indicates builders will reach the tipping point by early next year, where more builders will be producing green homes compared to those not."

This finding is a powerful one, Bernstein said. "With more builders creating green homes, and more consumers buying them, the rest of the industry will follow and increasingly begin to incorporate green features or practices into their homes and home building products."

"It's clear that more and more of our members are incorporating environmentally sensitive and resource efficient techniques into traditional home building practices," said Jerry Howard, NAHB executive vice president and CEO. "It is a natural progression as home builders stay atop market trends."