Fine Homes

Joe Cline – Austin Real Estate Broker asked:


“Modern technology, owes ecology, an apology” is an old saying. In the case of the new technology in building homes, this proverb seems to be false. Those energy and resource efficient green homes built in Austin are real gifts from modern technology to the environment. Green Homes have become a buzz word in Austin and with technological innovation leading to more energy savings, green technology is making progress towards becoming synonymous with ecology.

Breathe Easy

Many green homes are built using toxin-free building materials like bamboo or straw inorder to combat indoor air pollution, which is much worse than outdoor air pollution. Unhealthy air inside a room is capable of causing serious health problems like cancer and respiratory ailments like asthma. The non-toxic building materials used, include paints without volatile organic compounds and toxin-free insulation materials made from soybeans. This means that you can breathe fresh, non-toxic air.

Energy Dependency

The demand for Green Homes has steadily increased nowadays as they attempt to totally eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment and human health. These green homes take advantage of renewable natural resources, where possible. These green homes reduces our dependence on conventional energy sources as they generate energy from alternate energy sources such as sun, wind, geo-thermal energy and bio-mass for their energy needs. Moreover water conserving irrigation systems help green homes use 50% less water than standard homes. Water conservation such as this has become very important with many places experiencing less rainfall and longer more intense dry weather conditions.

Green Homes, Cost-Efficient Too

The net cost of owning and operating a green home is usually far cheaper than owning a standard home. Upfront costs may be higher because most of the architects and home builders don’t have the knowledge and experience to build green homes as efficiently as standard homes. However, people living in these green homes save money month by month, as many green homes use 30% less water and 30% less energy than standard homes. Over the years these moderate savings, add up to BIG savings. Green Homes will also keep you healthier, which means, fewer expensive doctor visits and fewer days missed to work.



Regarding design, green homes can be every bit as welcoming, cozy, and spacious as non-green homes. Additionally, there are a wide range of designs available from which to choose when selecting your green home. You can go modern, traditional, neo-classical or for the adventurous even go geodesic dome style. The trend in going green in Austin has grown rapidly. With more and more builders, architects, and contractors learning about Green Homes your choices in a healthy, efficient, and green home are growing!

SO, what are you waiting for? Get your own Green Home and hold the keys for a greener and healthier tomorrow.

Real Estate Advisor asked:


Green homes are eco-friendly homes that are energy efficient and use ecological design and sustainable resources. There has been a tremendous increase in awareness of the benefits of green building in America among builders and home owners alike. With home builders finding it easier to construct green homes, the number of green homes constructed throughout the country has gone up remarkably.

Ecological concerns and the increasing awareness of the advantages of green homes have led to an upsurge in green homes in the country. Concerns about the impact their homes have on the environment have prompted some homebuyers to opt for green homes.

Building green homes is no longer a remote concept these days. Over disturbing facts about global warming and indoor air pollution, today, the top priority of the National Home Builders Association and the American Institute of Architects is constructing green buildings.

There is sufficient data around that indicate that the building of green homes is on the rise. According to the figures provided by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) (who developed the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system), the number of buildings with LEED status in America has increased from 38 in 2002 to 669 now. Green buildings are progressively entering the mainstream with more and more buildings getting LEED certification.

Given that green buildings do not cost very much more than traditional buildings, and that they actually reduce energy bills, the building of green homes is on the rise. A green building is not only less expensive to live in but also spikes in value by 7.5 percent on average and improves return on investment by 6.6 percent on average.

Green building concepts begin to rise everywhere as the number of individuals who want to remodel, build or buy green homes are rapidly increasing. Architects and developers are responding to satisfy this growing demand. Green buildings have been found to appreciate faster than traditional buildings.

What was once a patchwork of green buildings in several cities has now increased to encompass whole communities and neighborhoods. According to a McGraw-Hill Construction survey in 2006, about two-thirds of builders would be building green homes in America this year. Green buildings are firmly mainstream now with federal government and 15 states requiring new public buildings to meet the LEED standards. In fact, four U.S. states and 17 cities offer incentives for private buildings built to LEED standards.

With rising government initiatives, consumer interest and the number of green developers and builders, the green building revolution is all set to go to a new level.