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Ownership of 'Green' Homes Expected to Increase Rapidly,
According to New Report From McGraw-Hill Construction
The Green Homeowner
SmartMarket(TM) Report Predicts $20 Billion Market Over Next
Five Years
NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2007
/PRNewswire/ -- McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The
McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP)
, today released The Green Homeowner SmartMarket(TM) Report,
produced in conjunction with the National Association of Home
Builders, providing insight into the mindset of the "green"
homeowner and the homeowner remodeler using green products.
The major findings of the report include:
-- The market for true(1) green homes is expected to rise from $2 billion to up to $20 billion over the next
five years.
-- Standard homes are becoming increasingly green, with homeowners using green products for 40% of their
remodeling work.
-- Most Americans find out about green homes through word-of-mouth, followed by television and the Internet.
-- Green homeowners are happy with their homes and are recommending them
at rates significantly higher than recommendation levels of other industries.
-- Homeowners are buying green homes because they are concerned about the health of their families,
as well as to reduce energy and other home operating costs.
-- Education and awareness of green ranks as the most important obstacles, slightly higher even than the
additional first costs associated with building green.
"Our findings are
particularly powerful because they point to the reasons behind
the market trends we're seeing of the increasing number of
green homes," said Harvey M. Bernstein, vice president of
industry analytics, alliances and strategic initiatives for
McGraw-Hill Construction. "People are spreading the word about
their green homes, which is most effective because that's how
buyers are hearing about the opportunities of green. It's a
cycle that is bearing out in the marketplace."
McGraw-Hill Construction
found in prior studies that residential builders and the
commercial industry believed that the additional costs of
green were by far the most significant challenge to more rapid
growth in green building. But for homeowners, today's survey
shows that while costs and the availability of green homes are
still an obstacle, the most important issue is lack of
awareness.
"This information gap is
actually a great opportunity for the industry, as well as for
the media, nongovernmental organizations and government itself
to provide more effective communication of the advantages of
green homes," added Bernstein.
The size of the homeowner
remodeling market that is using green products is large: 40%
of homeowners remodeling their houses are doing so with green
products, especially their windows and heating and cooling
systems.
As Bernstein concludes,
"Again, the industry needs to listen to what the consumer is
starting to want in their homes. As we look at changes within
the slow residential market, green is a phenomenal opportunity
area."
"This study reinforces the
need for the steps we have already taken to help "green" the
home building and remodeling market," said Ray Tonjes, chair
of the Green Building Subcommittee for the National
Association of Home Builders.
"We're almost finished with
the first consensus-based standard for green home building and
remodeling, we've significantly expanded our education
offerings and we're launching the NAHB National Green Building
Program. NAHB is bringing green to the mainstream," Tonjes
said.
The research comprising the
core findings of The Green Homeowner SmartMarket(TM) Report
was conducted with NAHB support. The definitions of a green
home were pulled from the NAHB's Model Green Home Building
Guidelines, which can be found at
http://www.nahb.org/gbg. For more information on The Green
Homeowner SmartMarket(TM) Report, please visit
www.analyticsstore.construction.com.
(1) Definition of a True Green Home: True Green Homes are defined more
narrowly as homes that contain elements in 3 of 5 environmental building
categories: Energy Efficiency, Indoor Air Quality, Water Efficiency,
Resource Efficiency, and Site Management.
For more information on the
National Association of Home Builders, please visit
www.nahb.org.
About McGraw-Hill
Construction:
McGraw-Hill Construction,
part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP)
, connects people, projects and products across the design and
construction industry. Backed by the power of Dodge, Sweets (http://www.sweets.com/),
Engineering News-Record (http://www.enr.com/),
Architectural Record (http://www.architecturalrecord.com/),
GreenSource (http://www.greensourcemag.com/),
and Regional Publications, the company provides information,
intelligence, tools, applications and resources to help
customers grow their business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves
more than one million customers within the $4.6 trillion
global construction community. For more information, visit
http://www.construction.com/.
About The McGraw-Hill
Companies
Founded in 1888, The
McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP)
is a leading global information services provider meeting
worldwide needs in the financial services, education and
business information markets through leading brands such as
Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and
J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280
offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2006 were $6.3 billion.
Additional information is available at
http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.
Source: McGraw-Hill Construction
CONTACT: McGraw-Hill Media
Contact
Kathy Malangone
McGraw-Hill Construction
+1-212-904-4376
kathy_malangone@mcgraw-hill.com
Web site:
http://www.construction.com/
http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/
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