For many, one of the most important reasons to choose a new home over an older one is the environmental advantages a new home provides. Today, more and more consumers are ranking green building and the energy efficiency it provides as their top requirement for their dream homes. This article from Builder and the Hanley Wood Data Studio highlights new home builders’ increasing commitment to green building, according to the most recent findings from McGraw Hill Construction’s Dodge Construction Market Forecast.
The 2015 Smart Market Report, taking both quantitative and qualitative approaches, surveyed a total of 249 builders, remodelers, multifamily firms, and conducted nine in-depth interviews with homebuyers who purchased a home within the last year.
Nearly one-third (31%) of builders report that over 60% of home projects they’ve built this year featured green technology. By 2020, more than half (51%) of builders project that they’ll reach that same level of green work.
“Our studies demonstrate that home builders still think of green homes as an important trend,” said Dr. Donna Laquidara-Carr, industry insights research director at Dodge Data & Analytics, during a Wednesday presentation at the 2015 Greenbuild conference in Washington, D.C.
Builders are driven by multiple factors to build greener homes, including customer demand (68%), energy cost increases (66%), green product availability and affordability (66%), greater valued recognized appraisers (66%), and code, ordinance, and regulation changes (65%).
One thing worth noting this year is that builders are considering those top five triggers almost equally important, instead of one or two triggers being dominant. According to Laquidara-Carr, this is a sign of a maturing green market.
The use of renewable technology has also grown over time. This year, 76% of surveyed builders report offering renewable energy on their projects, compared to 65% two years ago. By the year 2018, 85% of builders will offer renewable energy on their products.
