Survey Says Green Homeowners Paid More But Are Happy With Their Choice

At the International Builders Show in Las Vegas last week the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shared some interesting information with attendees.

The organization conducted a survey of green homeowners in an effort to better gauge their level of satisfaction with with home choice. Green homes are more expensive than traditional ones but the survey showed the majority of green homeowners were very satisfied with their choice, according to the Mother Nature Network.

Turns out there is more to living in green home than good environment karma.

GuildQuality conducted the survey on behalf of the NAHB. It was 37 questions that were both qualitative and quantitative and geared specifically towards homes certified by the National Green Building Standard. Certified buildings included conscious decisions about energy-efficiency (such as high-performance window and appliances), water conservation, resource conservation, indoor environmental quality and site design (one as noninvasive as possible).

Modern green design has been in practice since the 1970s, according to the NAHB Green, however, all of the 187 participants' homes had been built in the last three years.

More than 50 percent of the participants admitted they spent more building a green home than they would have a non-certified one, but 92 percent of participants said they would build or purchase a green home again.

Energy efficiency and lower utility bills were the two most common sources of satisfaction by the survey participants. Water conservation was the component of their homes they were least satisfied with, claiming they felt it could have been more efficient.

The survey was presented at the International Builders Show because the data will help green home builders going forward. Matt Belcher, a Missouri-based builder and co-chair of the NAHB's Energy & Green Building Subcommittee, explained the importance to Mother Nature Network:

"Historically, studies have focused on interest in green among buyers in the market or on trends as reported by industry professionals. While that's certainly important information for all those in the industry, it doesn't always get to the heart of what new buyers want to know, which is: 'How satisfied are green homeowners with their decision?' This data provides groundbreaking information that can be of value to the general public as well as the industry."

The full survey results cann be viewed as a PDF here.