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Here it is -- the New American Home 2008. "The sprawling, two-story plantation-style residence in a prestigious Lake Nona, Fla., subdivision has a $4.8-million price tag and, as a featured attraction of the International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla., pulled in thousands of visitors last week," writes Gary Dymski. The house may be nearly 7,000 square feet (with an additional 2,950 square feet of covered outdoor living space), but it is also totally green. Read all about it here.

Many of the industry pros visiting the IBS event in Orlando believe that the NAHB's new Green Building Program will put added pressure on builders and contractors to perform.

In the past, most new home buyers seemed more concerned with ammenities, such as countertops and flooring, than energy efficiency.

But it's been slowing turning, says John Barrows of J. Barrows Inc., an East Hampton remodeler builder. Barrows, a green-building instructor in Orlando, says more and more new home-buyers are concerned with the energy performance of their home. He says it's about consumers being more educated.

Most contractors seem to believe that as green building becomes the norm, it will be up to them to bear more responsibility. "Our competition is the resale home," says Tony Panza of Turtle Pond Builders, a Southampton custom-home builder. "To beat the competition, we have to offer green and energy efficiency."

Builders who turn out green products will have a distinct advantage, he says. Prospective home buyers will expect new structures to be more eco-friendly, use less energy and be better insulated. Those old standbys, wood floors, vaulted ceilings and custom kitchens, will be secondary

Officials from the National Association of Home Builders, sponsors of the International Builders Show in Orlando, Fla., last week, predicted about a 10 percent drop in attendance from the 2007 event. Apparently, they were pretty accurate. Attendance for the 2007 show was about 104,000; the figure for 2008 dipped to 92,000, a drop of about 12 percent, according to the NAHB.

Continue reading "Attendance down at Orlando builders show" »

A chuckler from the International Builders Show ...

Last night, Kathleen Waltz, publisher of the Orlando Sentinel, was the guest speaker for an event staged by the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Her topic: how to stay vibrant in tough times.

On Thursday morning, Waltz resigned, ending 34 years with the Tribune Co. Apparently, she didn't think much of her own advice.

But Waltz did tell staff members on Thursday that she had made the decision to leave several weeks ago.

This is my fourth show, the second I've attended in Orlando. And the International Builders' Show event is good to the press. Last year, exhibitors supplied the press room with bottled water and juice. Good thing, too. Refreshments of any kind are expensive. Sandwiches, sodas and coffee are available at food stands in the lobby, but the prices are, well, almost as high in New York. A sandwich goes for $9.75. Coffee, a 12-ounce size, is $3-plus nearly everywhere.

Anyway, there's no bottled water in the press room this year. No juice. We've got to rough it.
And, watchful as the press can be, more than one colleague has noticed the lack of complilmentary bottled water.

"The industry must really be on hard times," said one writer.

The National Association of Home Builders, sponsors of the annual International Builders Show, arrange several daily press conferences, and the biggest turnout so far was a few minutes ago to announce the launch of the National Green Building Program.

No big deal. Everyone knows today is Green Day at the show in Orlando (where it's sunny but cool).

The talk among industry pros down here is all about the dip in the industry. There are stories of foreclosures and bankruptcy, and it can be a bit depressing. No state has been hit harder recently by the sluggish ecomony than Michigan, which also is suffering because of a hard-hit auto industry.

But, thank heaven, for some gallows humor. Bob Jones, a Bloomfield Hills, Mich., builder, opened the green building press conference with what has become his standard greeting while attending the show: "I tell people, 'Hi, I'm from Michigan and I'm here to make you feel better."

The official launch tomorrow of the National Association of Home Builders’ green building program is an obvious signal to the construction industry. By creating a national standard, the NAHB is telling its membership to emphasize energy efficiency and eco-friendly materials when building and remodeling.

And industry professionals gathering here in Orlando this week for the annual International Builders’ Show, among the largest of its kind in the world, seem to understand the need for change.

A national standard means it won’t be business as usual. Local trade associations, including the Long Island Builders Institute, are expected to tweak guidelines from the new national standard to create even stricter local guidelines based largely on regional climates and conditions.

“It’s a front-burner issue for us now,” said Michael Watt, executive vice president of LIBI, “and the national standard pushes it out front even further.” Watt expects LIBI to release it’s own green-building program some time in the next six months.

NAHB’s National Green Building Program covers education and continual training for industry professionals, and it also includes a certification program. New homes will be graded in seven specific categories, and points achieved will earn structures bronze, silver or gold ratings.
The NAHB program is similar in concept to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). But among residential builders, the LEED program often is perceived to be architect driven and applies mostly to commercial structures.

Also, for each building, LEED certification can run up to $5,000; NAHB certification should be in the $1,000 range.

On Long Island, some alterations to the NAHB program make sense, says John Barrows, a green-building expert and LIBI member who owns J. Barrows Inc. in East Hampton. “For example, we’re pushing for points in whole-house dehumidification,” said Barrows, who is serving on a LIBI green-building committee. Adding a whole-house dehumidifier allows air-conditioning systems to work more efficiently and reduces energy consumption. “In areas with high humidity, that will be a good change.”

Another typical change for Long Island is recognizing the use of outdoor reset controls, energy-saving devices that allow gas- and oil-fired boilers to run at lower temperatures.

Barrows, who is teaching several green-building courses at this event, says changes must be approved by NAHB. “They’ll typically allow changes if they are more cost effective and considered an improvement on an existing guideline,” Barrows said.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a nonprofit that oversees the implementation of business standards worldwide, is expected to approve NAHB green guidelines some time in April. Afterward, the hope in the industry is that new-home buyers and homeowners planning remodeling projects will proclaim green as a favorite color.

How do your new home plans rate in the NAHB Green Building Program? Visit www.nahbgreen.org to see.