What do buyers want in a green home?

The 2010 AVID Home Design Driver Research Survey provides some insight into what features today's home buyers equate with a green home. AVID Ratings is a a leading provider of enterprise-level surveys specializing in the home building industry. The AVID survey studied the preferences of nearly 12,000 North Americans who have built a new home in the past nine years. The survey participants were selected because, having been through the process of building a new home, they would understand the trade-offs and cost factors involved

The survey included six buyer segments, defined as

• First Time Buyers - Growing families seeking initial homeownership and single/couples (no kids) seeking initial homeownership
• Move Up Buyers - Single/couples (no kids) seeking larger/better home and growing families seeking larger/better home
• Second Home Buyers - Professionals seeking secondhome (vacation home)
• Displaced Buyers - Professionals relocating and families seeking a smaller home due to change in family situation
• Empty Nester Buyers - Semi-retirees/retirees seeking age restricted communities or mixed-age communities
• Custom Home Buyers - Seeking custom luxury homes

Survey participants were asked what they would choose if they were to build a new house today. Features were rated as 

• Must Have
• Really Want
• Might Be Nice If Affordable
• Might Be Nice If Included
• Not Important

Overall, survey respondents labeled 60% of the green features as "Must Haves."

Paul Cardis, CEO of Avid, oversaw the report and says "The interest in energy efficiency surprised us."

Energy-Efficiency was rated as a "Must Have" by all buyer segments. 74.2% of Custom Buyers, 63.9% of Second Home Buyers, 62.5% of Empty-Nesters, 57.7% of First Time Buyers, 52.6% of Displaced Buyers, and 51.6% of Move-Up Buyers rated energy efficiency a "Must Have"

What were the green features considered "Must Haves?"  Energy-effiency features like energy-efficient appliances, high-efficiency insulation, and high-window efficiency were rated as "Must Have" by the majority of the respondents in all but one buyer segment in one category.  With U.S. Displaced Buyers, high-window efficiency was considered a "Must Have" feature by 38.8% of the respondents while 42.5% rated it as "Really Want."

All but one buyer segment rated Recycled/Synthetic Materials as "Might Be Nice If Affordable." 35.5% of U.S. Empty Nesters rated it as "Really Want" while 33.9% considered it "Might Be Nice If Affordable."

Chuck Miller _{GMB   CGP  CGB   MIRM   CMP   MCSP   CSP}

President / Builder - Chuck Miller Construction Inc.

(208) 229-2553

www.chuckmillerconstruction.com