Home Builders Focus on Green Homes

The Wall Street Journal says "home builders, aware they can't cut prices low enough to compete with bargain foreclosures and existing homes, are increasingly playing up their green homes." The WSJ interviewed Meritage Homes from Phoenix in June about their green features that are standard in their new development. Read more here.

DOE Announces $30 Million for Energy-Efficient Housing Partnerships

The U.S. Department of Energy today announced 15 research and deployment partnerships to help dramatically improve the energy efficiency of American homes. These highly-qualified, multidisciplinary teams will receive a total of up to $30 million for the initial eighteen months of the projects to deliver innovative energy efficiency strategies to the residential market and address barriers to bringing high-efficiency homes within reach for all Americans.  A total of up to $20 million per year will also be made available for the partnerships for three potential one-year extensions. These research and deployment partnerships will provide technical assistance to retrofit projects and will leverage industry expertise and funding to support DOE's energy efficiency retrofit programs.  This effort will support the Department's Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative, announced by Vice President Joe Biden in April, which brings communities, governments, private sector companies and non-profit organizations together to deliver energy-efficiency upgrades - or retrofits - to whole neighborhoods and cities. Read the complete article.

Green Market to Surge

Environmental Leader reports according the the latest issue of EL Insights from 2010 to 2015, the total US green building market value is projected to increase from $71.1 billion to $173.5 billion,  EL Insights also reveals that green building is a source of economic opportunity and has potential to create 2.5 million American jobs, which is about a 30% increase in jobs within the construction industry.

Green is Alive and Well!

Recently it has seemed that energy and environmental issues have taken a back seat to the noise and smoke of the foreclosure, REO, and Short Sale market. Inevitably, this major issue has sucked up a lot of attention with the public and within our real estate industry. In fact, there is a lot going on in the "green" area as well. Let's look at some good and a little to create caution.

Commercial real estate and business in general have been very active in adopting energy efficiency and a variety of environmental improvements. With financial challenges to commercial occupancy and investor returns, the ability to create immediate improvements to the rental bottom line have really caught the attention of building owners as well as major tenants. This activity creates discussions and "general interest" press coverage about things like Walmart and the Kroger grocery chains saving millions of dollars on utilities across the country. Homeowners see these stories and are more open to your messages that upgrades can produce measurable savings.

EcoBroker® Carson Matthews, tracks the sale of third-party certified homes in the Atlanta market on his website; and he reports that these homes are a larger percentage of the market than they have ever been, and they are selling with fewer days on the market. That's very good news. EcoBroker® Cheryl King's company, Hybrid Home Living, has been working with investors in the Phoenix market foreclosure properties to use green upgrades to make the homes more attractive and marketable. This innovative approach helps clear these properties from the market more quickly and upgrades the existing housing stock. These are two examples of green activity in what is still a troubled real estate market.

Government incentives at federal, state, and local levels are making it easier for homeowners to improve their homes at more reasonable cost. Some of the federal tax credit incentives will end this year, unless they are extended by Congress. This creates a good reason for homeowners to get these eligible upgrades done before December 31. Other incentives are in place until 2016, but the cost of these alternative energy projects is probably as low now as it will get with plenty of contractors available and the equipment companies competing for a smaller retrofit market. Lots of state and local incentives are showing up with incentive dollars approved in past years and just now getting actual funding at the local levels. Keep your eye on Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency and stay in touch with your state energy offices (find them through the National Association of State Energy Officials) for these benefits available to the sphere of homeowners you connect with regularly - and for yourself! In addition to all of these programs, the Home Star legislation is still working its way through Congress as part of the Jobs Bill. That program will add additional incentives for quality retrofit projects.

A note of caution: consumers are being bombarded with "green" claims. They are leery of things that sound too good to be true. As EcoBrokers we spend a lot of time and effort identifying and avoiding greenwash. With the current market sentiment, this becomes even more crucial. The comfort and health messages of good environmental choices do resonate with homeowners. Saving money is important as well, but they hear a lot of exaggerated claims, so go easy on that message. "Future proofing" - preparing now for the inevitable rising utility costs in the near future - is a personal security message that also gets good responses. Use the tools, use them professionally, and be prepared to back up all of your statements. You have the background to stand out with authentic professional service.

So, Green is NOT dead. It has been hiding a bit and is really coming back to the attention of your clients at a time when the market need is great and the opportunities are numerous. Learn what is going on in your market and what your target clients need the most. There are good programs out there. The "free lunch" financing is gone and will not be back, at least in the foreseeable future. Use what is there, explain to your customers and clients how they will benefit and build your business on the solid footing of good advice.

Despite a 5 percent growth in population, Fort Collins, Colorado’s annual greenhouse gas emissions haven’t increased since 2005, thanks in part to the city’s 1999 greenhouse gas reduction plan. But as abnormal weather, including longer drought periods, shorter and warmer winters, and bigger wildfires, gain frequency in the state of Colorado, Fort Collins is intensifying its efforts. The city’s latest Climate Action Plan aims to reduce annual emissions 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. The plan, along with its high use of wind power and its distributed energy generation initiatives, earned the city a place on NRDC’s list of 2010 Smarter Cities.

“We have put all of our efficiency and renewables initiatives into a carbon framework,” says the city’s Energy Services Manager John Phelan, “with a priority on achieving reductions from efficiency and conservation.” To help reach their goals, the city is also prioritizing an expansion of its already successful Climate Wise program for local businesses, which has saved Fort Collins 116,970 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent each year and more than $12 million in energy costs since it’s creation in 2000.

Business Wise

The Climate Wise Program in Fort Collins began with the voluntary participation of just 13 local businesses, who were each provided with an on-site assessment of the businesses energy use, pollution output, solid waste, and business-related travel and transportation, followed by an action plan for implementing conservation projects. In exchange, each participant attends two meetings per year, where they network and share feedback with other members and stay abreast of related innovations, and submits an annual report detailing progress.

As of 2009, the program has saved Fort Collins over a million tons of heat-trapping pollutants, or 40 percent of the city’s overall reduction since 2000,

while participation has increased to nearly 200 businesses.

Fort Collins aims to capitalize on this success by expanding the program with 130 new partners and expects to ramp up the savings on heat-trapping pollutants to over 200,000 tons in 2010—more than double the programs savings in 2007. To help new partners get started and veteran partners implement more conservation projects, the city will be bulking up the Climate Wise team and resources. The success of the program thus far earned it recognition as one of Harvard’s top 50 Innovation Government Programs in the United States.

Not So Strictly Business

It’s not just businesses that are getting energy savings help from the city. According to Phelan, a new home energy efficiency program rolled out in January. “For the first time we are able to look at homes from a whole house perspective,” says Phelan. To get that perspective, the city is offering “highly subsidized energy efficiency audits” at 25 percent of the true cost that is technically available to all electric customers, though it may take a while to reach them.

And the savings don’t stop at the audit. The city also has an extensive list of rebates for residential customers, covering upgrades including air sealing, insulation, windows, fan motor replacement, furnaces, boilers, central air conditioning, heat pumps and evaporative coolers. Phelan says residents can also take advantage of rebates for clothes washers and dishwashers, incentives for CFLs at local retailers, and in some cases multiple rebates for one purchase. “You could get a rebate from us, a rebate from the gas company, a rebate from the governor’s energy office and a federal tax credit. So it’s a good time to do things,” he says.

In keeping with that attitude, the city’s plans also include the Utility Directors 21st Century Utilities Project that will have city workers assessing and upgrading water pipes and electric services that have been underground for 50 to 60 years, and a $15 million city investment, matched by the Department of Energy, to implement a Smart Grid system. “The ball is rolling,” says Phelan.