Builders with 'Green Experience' Fared Better During Recession

The recession apparently hit thosernbuilders experienced in green construction with less severity than other homernbuilders according to a new study on energy-efficient and green home buildingrnwhich found those builders remained in business at higher proportions thanrnthose not knowledgeable on the subject.   The GreenrnHome Builders and Remodelers Study was unveiled Monday by McGraw HillrnConstruction at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) annualrnconference.  </p

Green homes made up 23 percent of thernoverall residential construction market in 2013 and are expected to grow tornbetween 26 percent and one-third of the market by 2016.  This equates to a doubling in the value ofrngreen home construction over three years, growing from $36 billion in 2013 torn$83-$105 billion in 2016, based on the current McGraw Hill Constructionrnforecast for total residential construction. rn</p

The publisher says the green growth is occurringrnas the economy improves because communities have incorporated green principlesrninto building codes, ordinances, and regulations.  There is also improving quality, widerrnavailability and affordability of green products.  More educated consumers and rising energyrncosts are also providing green construction a growing competitive advantage.  </p

 The study found that </p<ul class="unIndentedList"<li51%rnof builders and remodelers find that it is easier to market green homes, uprnfrom 46% in 2012 and 40% in 2008. </li<li68%rnof builders (up from 61% in 2011) report their customers will pay more forrngreen, with 23% reporting that their customer will pay more than 5%</li<li84%rnof remodelers report the same (up from 66% in 2011), with 55% reporting theirrncustomers will pay more than 5% for green features.</li</ul

In 2013, 16% of builders were dedicatedrnto green building with more than 90% of their projects green, and another 20%rnwere highly invested in green activity with 61% to 90% of their projects green.rnBy 2015, that is expected to increase, with 20% of builders expecting to bernexclusively working on green buildings, and 24% doing 61% to 90% green work.rnRemodelers are also increasing their attention to green work, with 16%rnreporting more than 60% of their projects are green today, expected to grow torn23% doing this amount of green remodeling in 2015 and 32% by 2018.<br /<br /The research indicates that as the residential market improves, construction isrnbecoming bifurcated, with green builders accelerating the depth of their greenrnwork, and new or returned entrants into the market focusing on traditionalrnconstruction practices.<br /<br /"Green experience was a significant part of what kept builders in businessrnduring the recession,” said Harvey M. Bernstein, VP of Industry Insightsrnand Alliances, McGraw Hill Construction, “and now, those same firms arernembracing the competitive advantage they earned by deepening their delivery ofrnenergy-efficient and green homes. We also see firms reentering the market thatrnare using traditional home building practices versus green practices becausernthat’s what they know. However, the broader availability of green buildingrnproducts and practices, a more educated consumer and an increase in activity atrnthe regulatory level will also encourage this group of builders to learn greenrnpractices over time.”<br /<br /"This study shows that more and more builders are incorporatingrnenvironmentally sensitive and energy and resource efficient techniques intorntraditional home building practices, and we expect to see even stronger growthrnin the coming years,” said Matt Belcher Co-Chair of NAHB’s Energy &rnGreen Building Subcommittee.  “Greenrnbuilding expertise provided builders and remodelers with a competitivernadvantage during the housing downturn, and now as the market continues tornrecover, NAHB members stand ready to meet the increased demand.”

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