To say our housing market is in a slump is like saying Hurricane Katrina was just a few heavy winds!  It’s bad.  So what are home builders doing to attract buyers, they are “greening” their inventory.  Because we all know that green is the hot buzz word of the day and put eco in front of anything and people will come a running!

I’ve been reading in the Wall Street Journal how the big production builders are adding green elements such as Energy Star rated appliances and increased insulation so they can market their homes as “green” and sell them.

My question is why aren’t these few features standard in any home? And why are they only implementing them now – when forced by a housing crunch.  This leads me to believe that if our housing market wasn’t in such dire straits then the big builders would not be using any green features at all.  The WSJ agrees with me as they state “it is a strategy born out of neccessity.”

Basically it all comes down to money.  Homes built truly green cost a few more dollars yet they are better built.  Why? Because truly green built homes exceed building codes, we go above and beyond what is required of us.  When any contractor comes up to you and says “oh yeah I build to code” you should run the other way.  We green builders have a saying around that, “building to code is just the bare mininum anything less would be considered illegal!”

Although I despise the “greenwashing” in my industry, eco-terrorism is not the answer either, which is what is suspected in some housing developments in Washington State.

If you are in the market for a new green home please keep the ancient code of Hammurabi in mind: “BUYER BEWARE”