Will Plummeting Prices Stall Green LEED Certified Home Builds?

The real estate market right now seems to be doing a great impression of Walmart with their falling prices campaign. As more families lose their homes to foreclosure, as house prices drop and couples see the equity in their homes dissappearing before their eyes, one has to wonder what effect all this will have on the gains made in selling the concept of building green, designing and building green homes.

We were contemplating a major green renovation of our own home that has now been postponed as it would be almost impossible for us to recoup the investment when selling our home. the tumultuos market has seen us lose almost $60,000 of our equity in the past 12-15 months, and looking forward, do not see the market making a turn around in a timely enough fashion to allow us to recover the costs of renovation, let alone turn a profit in say five years. Crunching our own numbers, the monthly budget savings would just about cover the construction loan payments. In a bull market, greening our home would make economic sense when we sold it, as we would recoup our investment, and turn a profit. Foreclosure is not a worry for us, but we are feeling the pinch of lost equity as a result of lower home values due to the glut of inventory now on the market.

Solar is popular because of the rebate programs, and other green renovations (such as kitchen cabinets) for health reasons, or because it is the right thing to do. Question is, will consumers considering home renovations be willing to pay a premium to build green in a depressed housing market? If not, what will the effects of a stalled green building movement be?

Leave a comment, share your comments on this important question to the green building industry.