There are three groups of buyers most likely to boost the green home building industry.Are you “Forest Green,” “Greenback Green,” or a “Healthy Green?” According to Shyham Kannan, director of Research and Development at RCLCo in Bethesda, Md., these are the three groups of buyers most likely to boost the green home building industry.
“Forest Greens” have little purchasing power, but they buy for altruistic reasons. “Greenback Greens” are interested, but price-sensitive and buy green verses non-green based on cost factors. “Healthy Greens” are highly educated, more affluent cultural “creatives” who equate energy conservation with healthy living.
According to Kannan, it is the “Healthy Greens” that will drive the residential green building market.
A homebuyer preference survey conducted for RCLCo found that only 10 percent of respondents based home buying decisions on energy savings, while 3 percent based decisions on the use of green materials in construction.
According to the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the driving forces behind the move for green building are concern over global climate change, increasing consumer demand for products and designs that promote health and wellness. Proof that green building does not cost an unreasonable amount to build, when compared to a conventional home, is also a significant factor.
Green building is more evident in commercial buildings, says Randall Ball, a real estate appraiser with Bell Consulting in Laguna Beach, Calif. At a recent Developing Green conference held by the ULI in Pittsburgh, Penn., it was the consensus of conference participants “that an overall lack of consumer demand—as yet—has kept the movement from gaining the same amount of traction in the residential sector as it currently has in the commercial sector.” According to the ULI, the residential sector currently contributes only 2 percent of the green building industry.
One big factor in keeping residential green building low is the difficulty of appraisers to calculate energy improvements in terms of increased value. This is due to a lack of standards with which to measure increased value from energy-related improvements and/or upgrades. This is expected to change as the number of homeowners with energy-efficient homes increases.
Your professional mortgage broker can provide information regarding lenders who give credit for energy savings and their positive impact on housing affordability when determining the amount of a mortgage loan.
Premiere Mortgage has offices on Maui and Kaua‘i and provides a wide range of services to the real estate community. Tricia Morris may be reached on Maui, in Kihei, at 874-8800, Wailea, at 891-8900, West Maui at 665-8800, on Kaua‘i at (808) 822-2300, or toll-free at (800) 813-7711.