A new report reveals key factors driving the growth of the residential green building market, most notably that they are perceived to be higher quality and better value than traditionally built homes.

“New and Remodeled Green Homes: Transforming the Residential Market” estimates that the green homes share of the construction market was 17% in 2011, and predicts that it will rise to 38% by 2016, based on the five-year forecast for overall residential construction.

According to the study, which surveyed NAHB builder and remodeler members about their green building practices, factors driving the growth in the green home building and remodeling market include:

• Customer interest in quality for both new homes and remodeling projects. For contractors doing a high volume of green homes (at least 60% of the homes they build), this factor is magnified, with 90% who regard higher quality as an important trigger for building green, compared with 72% of builders overall.

• Customers are strongly value-driven—around two-thirds of builder and remodeler respondents state that customers request green homes or remodeling projects in order to lower their energy use or save money, more than twice any other factor.

Higher first costs for building green were noted by a much lower percentage of builders as an obstacle now than in 2008. The study also revealed the key practices and technologies taking over in the residential marketplace as a result of the shift toward green:

• More than 80% report that energy efficiency is making today’s homes greener compared with two years ago. The use of energy-efficient features was the top practice by nearly all surveyed builders and remodelers, regardless of their level of green building activity.

• Indoor air quality is growing in importance and focus for home builders. Sixty percent of home builders believe that efforts to improve indoor air quality make homes greener than they were two years ago, and 95% of high-volume home builders report including features that impact air quality.

The report, presented at the NAHB National Green Building Conference and produced by McGraw-Hill Construction, was designed to provide key insights into product and market opportunities in the single-family home building and remodeling industries. For a copy of the report, click here.