Healthy-built Homes and Living Spaces...What are both the eco-friendly and the traditional buyer after? Possibly a quality experience found in "green" homes. What's it like actually to live in a "green" home AKA an environmentally-conscious dwelling? ...in the early morning hours, to bounce out of bed on to floors that are warm to your feet, radiant floor heating, comfortably amble over bamboo flooring, shower in a gorgeous solar-heated spa, and deeply inhale pure, toxin-free air? "Wonderful!" investors here in the Asheville real estate market tell us.
You, too might yearn to look at the azure sky as your low-e passive-solar windows bring light and warmth to your home. You might have to smile as your wind turbine churns away like a giant mobile catching energy that soon will convert to your delightfully shrinking utility bill.
No wonder energy-efficient, low-impact eco-built homes are so popular here in Asheville, North Carolina's real estate market. We've been watching green building flourishin the area for the past several years and expect the trend to continue. Right now there are 25 such homes (such as the one to the left that we showed to an eco-investor this week) on the market and over 300 in various stages of completion.
They range in price from about $200K to in the millions, and include single family residences and penthouse lofts in our newest green built multi-unit development within walking distance to downtown Asheville.
"Back in the day," people thought of eco-friendly habitats 
as places only "earth-muffins" lived.Not any more.
Today's contemporary finishes, bamboo and cork flooring, poured concrete and/or granite counters, stainless, stone, steel and glass accents speak to savvy eco-investors who know the value added in such features.
Here, for example is an interior shot we took of the kitchen in a home we previewed recently for a client who will be relocating to Asheville after the holidays.
Notice the colorful granite and energy efficient stainless
appliances as well as the hardwood floor.
Value-added: 30 percent to 60 percent less energy than a conventional home, using renewable, recycled and least-toxic building materials, located to minimize its environmental impact, highly efficient with low operational costs and uses renewable energy, resource-efficient, conserves water and produces little construction waste, durable, low-maintenance and high quality, gives a healthy indoor environment for you and your family, and for many, best of all, featuring easy-to-care for, sustainable landscaping that also protects the ecosystem.
Resource: "Answering the question 'Why am I choosing to build green' is an important FIRST detail to consider in your conceptual design process or renovation plan of your home."
Resource: For interesting information about Healthy Built Homes including the Gold, Silver and Bronze Ratings Scale click here.
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