“To an extent, that incentive will resonate with a certain subset of buyers,” Kannan says, “but for the vast majority of people, it’s not enough.”
Add in health benefits, though, and builders have a message that gets people’s attention. In fact, Kannan thinks the biggest opportunity lies with the group RCLCO calls Healthy Greens, those buyers who consider potential health benefits of green homes to be the most important factor in their decision to buy a new home. When asked about their willingness to pay a premium for the health benefits of a green home,
54 percent of Healthy Greens were willing to spend an extra $10,000, 32 percent were willing to spend $17,000, and almost 15 percent were willing to spend at least $20,000— with no expectation of a financial payback.
“When you change the argument from one of saving a few bucks on monthly electric bills to one of limiting exposure to carcinogens, there’s a market that extends beyond financial issues,” Kannan says. “Our conclusion is that the motivation of personal health was the most powerful message.”
It’s powerful because it’s universal, and it dovetails perfectly with the emotions tied to the decision to buy a home, says Jeff Kingsbury, managing principal of Indianapolis-based green building consultant Greenstreet Ltd.
“If you ask anyone, ‘Do you care about the health of your family?’ the answer is a pretty resounding, ‘Yes,’” Kingsbury says. “That’s where successful green marketing has ended up.”
Breathing Easy
A green house changes one family’s life.
At 5 years old, Brooke Madden should have been spending her days learning the alphabet, jumping rope, and playing tag on the playground. Instead, the Georgia kindergartner spent most of her time being sick. Severe allergies to pollen sent the Madden family to the emergency room on a weekly basis as the little girl gasped for air. Steroid breathing treatments bloated her little body, and she missed countless days of school.
“You feel so helpless as a parent,” says her mom, Jody Madden.
In researching ways to help their daughter, the Maddens learned about the EarthCraft House program, a sustainable building system that improves indoor air quality through sealing air spaces and filtering the fresh air that comes into the house. They put their house on the market and went shopping for a house built to EarthCraft standards.
“When we told people we were selling the house, they thought we were crazy,” Jody says. “They said, ‘Why don’t you just rip up the carpet?’ EarthCraft goes above and beyond that. It’s a totally different feel to the house when you have all the stuff they put in it for EarthCraft.”
The Maddens bought a Haven Properties house in the Windemere neighborhood in Cumming, Ga. Haven Properties builds all its houses to EarthCraft standards and has all its houses certified by EarthCraft inspectors. Since moving in to the house, their lives have changed dramatically, Jody says. Brooke hasn’t been to the emergency room once, and she doesn’t have to do breathing treatments anymore.
“She’s totally fine,” Jody says of her daughter, who is now 8. “She’s not missing school because of her breathing. She hasn’t seen an asthma doctor at all. It’s a huge, 180-degree change because she was so sick. We love our house, obviously.”
Hearing is Believing
Atlanta-based Monte Hewett Homes uses a simple, dramatic demonstration to show buyers how blown insulation can give them both energy efficiency and peace and quiet, even in the middle of the city. The company was kind enough to film it for Builder. Check it out on YouTube.com.