Over recent years it seems as though we as a society have become accustomed to the WalMart mentality.  We walk through the aisles (or Model Homes) and try to figure out which product will give us a ‘Great Value’ – That store brand bag of potato chips for example.  It tastes the same, costs less… Why not.

Well, this mentality is making its way through so many aspects of our lives.  However, when you look closely – even that store brand bag of potato chips is not the same as Lay’s.  It likely has artificial colorings, flavorings and preservatives that make it taste similar.

In terms of Green Real Estate, I’m starting to see the trend Greener home features try to be placed on the ‘Value Rack’ – It seems as though Energy Efficiency and building products related are being tossed in to the mix to add a perceived value.  Kind of like those potato chips.

We have a number of builders in the Houston area that are getting it right and doing everything possible to add REAL value.  Then there is the perceived value.

For example, an Energy Star builder that uses a Radiant Barrier to make a home more energy efficient.  (Not based on any builder in particular. Just using this as an example)  This home costs less per square foot than the competing builder in the community.  Why?  How could that be when the claims are that they are just as efficient?  I mean, it has a Radiant Barrier, right?

That’s simply not the case.  Not necessarily, anyhow. 

The Radiant Barrier is just one piece of the puzzle.  When a home is built to be Energy Efficient it starts before the slab is even poured.  When done correctly it takes everything in to consideration – From the floorplan, windows and even what direction the home faces sometimes. 

Performance testing in most Green Building Programs is required on every single home – where as in recent years some became accustomed to being able to only test 1 in every 10 or so homes. 

The homes with that excellent value per square foot are typically vastly different.  In production built homes the cost difference between a great and ok home is on average less than $15,000 when looking at apples to apples in size.   When you take in to consideration the cost to maintain the home, systems being replaced, how the home will look in 6 years when you go to sell…

Is it really worth it?  Combining this series now with my Dirty Little Secrets lets take an in depth look at the store brand bag of potato chips.  First and foremost – Do the homes really perform differently enough to make a difference in value?

Stay Tuned.