One of the few good things to come out of this flat-lining market is a push to innovation here and there that raises customer expectations along with the quality of the product. That is why green certifications and above-code energy efficiency ratings are increasingly less likely to be seen as unique by homebuyers anymore. They are becoming the new normal, particularly now that even production builders are rolling out marketing plans that highlight adherence to one or more green or energy-conservation standard. 

A feature recently posted by Ecohome magazine, for example, highlighted green-construction initiatives by three production builders: Betenbough Homes, based in Lubbock, Texas; Elite Homes, based in Louisville, Kentucky; and KB Home, based in Los Angeles. 

Betenbough designs and builds its homes for certification to the National Green Building Standard, which was developed by National Association of Home Builders’ Research Center in collaboration with the International Code Council. The focus for NGBS- certified development projects is on preservation of topography and natural resources, storm water management, greater density, and proximity to mass transit. Both Elite and KB Home are building to guidelines set by the Energy Star for New Homes program. (That program currently is in transition to more-stringent guidelines, known as Energy Star for Homes Version 3, which takes effect on January 1, 2012.)

In West Texas

Betenbough plans to complete 400 homes by the end of the year, with prices starting at $110,000, the Ecohome story notes. Built to qualify for a Bronze rating under the NGBS system, the homes feature panelized construction, with exterior walls insulated to R-13 and sealed using Zip System sheathing and tape. In one of its developments, the company also is building 12 semi-custom homes, ranging in size from 2,500 to 3,600 sq. ft. and in price from about $92 to $98 per sq. ft., including landscaping.

Near Louisville

Elite – known to many as a participating builder in the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” television series – is currently building 70 Arts and Crafts-style homes using single-story and 1.5-story plans, both of which incorporate universal design standards. Priced from $279,900, the homes are designed to shave from $200 to $400 a year off utility bills. Buyers of the first four homes in the development, known as Villas of Rock Springs, will get a $30,000 discount, Elite told Ecohome.

In Southern California

KB Home – which recently rolled out its Energy Performance Guide “mileage sticker” program, based on a HERS Index energy performance rating of each home the company builds – is building all of the homes in its Milan at West Hills development, in Valencia, California, to meet Energy Star for Homes requirement, and installing a 1.35 kW photovoltaic system in each house as a standard feature. (The PV system can be upgraded, however, to a capacity limit of 3.15 kW.) 

These are relatively large and expensive homes, though pretty much in keeping with Valencia’s reputation for affluence. The floor plans range from 2,941 to 4,028 sq. ft., and prices start at about $514,000. 

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