Consumers will Pay Premium for Green-Built Homes

U.S. home buyers are willing to pay a premium for more environmentally friendly, green-built homes, according to a survey from Green Builder Media.

More than half of homebuilders surveyed (250 residential builders across the U.S.) said that buyers are willing to pay a premium of between 11-25 percent for green-built homes. The same builders report that the average green home buyer is between the ages of 35-50 with a college degree and fair understanding of green products.

Ninety-Six percent of homebuilders in the survey group intend to incorporate more green building materials and processes into their business in 2007, according to Green Builder. Just 51 percent of those same builders currently report using green products or practices regularly.

The primary reasons builders provided for not using more green products were price and availability.

Sixty percent of those surveyed currently market some of the homes they build as green homes.