Green building. Resource-efficient construction. Sustainable design. These are the buzzwords for home building—and home buyers—now and in the future. Success for builders and buyers, however, involves creating a common understanding of what these terms mean.

For example, too often the assumption among builders is that new home buyers want what green building offers—energy efficiency, resource-efficient construction materials, improved indoor air quality, etc.—until they have to pay for it. Then, forget it. They would rather spend those extra dollars on the status items—granite countertops, whirlpool tubs, etc. The basic assumption is that green building must “cost” more and thereby eliminate the opportunity for cherished extras.

To consumers, words like green building, resource-efficient construction and sustainable design are builder terms. Home buyers speak their own language, and understand and embrace green building only when it is explained in their terms. To buyers, energy efficiency means something. Improved indoor air quality means something. Water conservation means something. Saving old growth forests means something. That all these things together mean a new home that offers more value and a more comfortable living environment is the ultimate definition of green building.

To help create a common language around green building, Cahners Residential Group—Professional Builder, Luxury Home Builder, Professional Remodeler and HousingZone.com—partnered with industry manufacturers and associations in a first-of-its-kind, online green building survey aimed at consumers and builders. Participating sponsors include CertainTeed, Willamette Industries, Austin Power, U. S. Green Building Council, E-One Corp., PATH (the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing), Koch Industries, New England Classic, Whirlpool Corp. and James Hardie.

Posted at www.housingzone.com, web browsers were pointed to the survey from several sites on the Internet, including banner ads on Yahoo!, NAHB.com, CNN, Captain Planet, ImproveNet and Realtor.com.

In addition, the green building survey was highlighted in bi-weekly e-mail newsletters from Professional Builder and Professional Remodeler, as well as in the PATH newsletter.

To complete the survey, consumers answered more than 20 questions on green building, while home builders completed a 50+ questionnaire.

The data gathered in the following pages is the first—the benchmark—study of green building in the residential construction industry. It defines where our industry is today as well as the green building opportunities and obstacles before us.

That as an industry we must seek new ways to preserve and develop land and construct homes while conserving resources is critical. That builders want to deliver homes that meet buyer needs and offer the greatest value is most definitely true. That buyers seek such homes is certain.

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