DALLAS-AREA HOME BUILDERS' ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES GREEN HOME REGISTRY

Nation's First Database of Green-built Homes Announced in North Texas

Green Built North Texas, a program of the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas (HBA), today released the nation's first registry of homes built to a high standard of energy efficiency and environmental protection.

The registry of homes, verified to be "green-built" by independent rating companies, is listed on the www.greenbuiltnorthtexas.com web site. Home buyers can search the registry to identify homes that meet the construction standards promoted by the Green Built North Texas program.

The database was launched with nearly 800 verified homes. Officials with the program expect to have more than 2,000 verified homes on the registry by the end of the year.

Research studies estimate that 2,000 homes over the life of a 30-year mortgage is the equivalent of taking 30,000 cars off the road. And the same 2,000 homes could save more than a half million gallons of water over the same 30-year period, enough to meet the needs of about 40,000 North Texans.

"We created this registry to allow home buyers the opportunity to find homes built to the exacting standards of the Green Built North Texas program," said Phil Crone, who administers the program for the HBA. "We hope the registry will promote discussions between buyers and homebuilders about green-built practices and products going into these new homes."

Homes on the registry must meet high standards of climate-specific construction protocols that address six categories of construction: job site management, water efficiency, indoor air quality, energy efficiency, material usage and homeowner education.

The registry can be sorted by homes under construction and those that are completed. The registry also can be sorted by builder, by subdivision, by city and by zip code.

Many of the largest volume builders in the region are participating in the program and approximately a dozen verifiers in North Texas perform independent determinations of compliance with the program's residential standards.

"It is an enormous step for North Texas to have a registry for identifying builders who are building green homes. Home buyers can decide at the framing stage how far their budgets will allow them to go in making their homes green," said Paul Cauduro, director of government relations for the HBA.

"The flexibility of our program allows participating builders higher-performing homes at just about any price point. Home buyers are quickly discovering that GBNT homes are a wise personal investment, netting quicker returns and a higher resale value due to the ever-increasing cost of utilities," Mr. Crone said.

The Green Built North Texas program has approximately 150 members, including homebuilders and industry suppliers. The registry was named the best program in the nation last year by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

NAHB's National Green Building Conference, one of the largest events of its kind in the nation, will be held in Dallas next May at the Anatole Hilton Hotel.

www.dallasbuilders.com

-Phil

2 Comments
House Extension Specialists said:

Fantastic,..........IT is really and high time to think about ... I appreciate the job that you people have done. People should be educated about green house effect and it is right time to make every one understand the need of a green house. All the best.....
October 2, 2008 3:54 AM
New Subdivisions | New Home Builders Metro Atlanta said:

It is certainly time for more energy efficiencies in our homes. It's logical to conclude that consumers will start to demand this as we move forward.
October 14, 2008 12:41 PM

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