Sonja - We think Energy Star homes will become more and more desirable.   They save 17-25% on energy costs versus a typical home, plus in our area the energy companies offer an additional 5% discount on energy, EVERY MONTH!  And the 1100 homes certified through just one company in NC in 2007 saved an estimated 430,000 pounds of coal.   Talk about saving long term resources as well!

Sonja, With the push this day and age to go *GREEN*, I ,too, see more and more people heading in this direction, especially since it will save them money.  Also smaller homes mean less in taxes.. this is an issue I am facing we 3 of my buyers.

It seems GREEN housing is not only a house trend.  The world is going green and it is great.

   Penny I am all for it and I thinking pollution as well. You might believe in global warming or not but pollution is here. And I am very concerned about quality of our food and water.

    Valerie I think with the size part of it is this foreclosure scare buyers are more careful and I am very pleased to see that

Yes Gary! And it was about time hope we will see more and more of it.

Valerie - in our area, property taxes are based on the assessed value of the home, rather than square footage.   So reducing square footage but increasing the luxuriousness of the interior and exterior finishes will not result in any tax savings for homebuyers here, unless the overall goal is to purchase smaller homes at a lower cost - which will mean limiting the costs of the upgrades.

Yes Penny, but smaller home gets us back to lower energy expenses as well as upkeep.