TurningHoustonGreen

The last two days were the Realtor Sneak Preview for The Parade of Homes in Houston.  I took some time to visit about 12 of the homes on the tour in the North Houston area over 2 days.  David Weekley and Wilshire have several homes in the Parade that already advertise as being green and highly energy efficient, but what blew me away were the others.

I keep hearing from folks that Green is just too expensive to do, people do not want it, Houston is not ready, etc.

Well, I took a close look at what some of the other builders were doing and my goodness, so many GREEN features.

For example, I visited the McVaugh Custom Townhomes on East Shore in The Woodlands.  I noticed highly efficient windows, radiant barrier, zoned a/c and heat because it is 3 levels, radiant barrier, the usual suspects in most homes these days.  Then I noticed very little carpet in the place, Central Vaccuum, (both of which are great for indoor air quality) highly energy efficient appliances..the list went on and on.

I also went to a few others in The Village of Creekside Park and it was the same thing in Single Family homes.

As I ended my Parade and went off to work some more I was left thinking…exactly HOW MUCH would it take for these builders to go all out green and make Pristine Indoor Air Quality and Ultimate Energy Efficiency in the homes?  Not a whole lot.

If the builders are already selling these GREEN Features because people want it, what else could they add and homebuyers not even know they are buying GREEN?  More and more buyers want no carpet, HEPA Filters in their HVAC, LOW or even better…NO Utility Bills…  This seems to be a no brainer?

I think some builders and developers may be underestimating the wants and needs of homebuyers in Houston.  It also appears that if we were to all take a serious look at the TRUE costs of going GREEN, the cost difference may be negligible in many price ranges.

I would love to Challenge a Custom Home Builder that is NOT GREEN to reconsider and take a look at what they are putting on the ground.  Let’s see what the real price difference is!  Any Takers?