The National Association of Home Builders recently reported — citing statistics from the Commerce Department — that the sales of newly built single-family homes fell 11.5 percent in August.

Builders recognize that green building can be a profitable enterprise for them. And that’s the only way that environmentally friendly construction will truly enter the mainstream: It has to make financial sense for builders and developers.

If you could guess, what would you say is the top reason why most consumers choose a green-built home?
Is it because it’s healthier to live in one? Maybe because it’s good for the environment?
Of course not: It’s money — green of a different kind — that drives people to build or purchase a green home.
This not-so-surprising fact was the key finding of a new survey for the National Association of Home Builders. The survey asked consumers what they considered the biggest benefits of living in an environmentally friendly green home. The top answer was that such homes boast lower monthly …read more

Every month, the National Association of Home Builders quizzes its members about the strength of the homebuilding business. The association has been doing this since 1985. That’s a long time, but not once in the history of this report have homebuilders been as pessimistic about their livelihood as they are now.