Builders looking for ways to sell more high-performance green homes for more money can glean insight from the February issue of Professional Builder magazine. In it, Suzanne Shelton of The Shelton Group summarizes research from the company's 13th Annual Builder Pulse Study. The study asked homebuyers a series of questions designed to reveal what they actually thought and knew about green homes, and how much they were willing to pay.
The study got responses from more than 2000 of what Shelton calls "Energy Savvy homebuyers." Shelton's researchers also polled 100 builders—drawn from the Pro Builder and EEBA audiences—to gauge how well they understood this market.
Here's our take on three of the main findings.
1. Most buyers can't clearly define what constitutes a "green" home or what the must-have features are. And, the features they do list as essential don't match those on most builders' lists. For instance, just 38 percent of buyers said a green home had to include a high-efficiency HVAC system, something all builders understand is needed.
There was also some confusion when it came to terms like “green,” “high-performance,” “sustainable,” and “net-zero.” Builders who assume that buyers understand these terms risk losing sales.
Shelton's advice is to remember a fundamental but sometimes ignored sales and marketing principle: emphasize benefits. Focus on selling a comprehensive package that promises quality, comfort, health, and peace of mind, while also showing buyers how your homes deliver those benefits. "And avoid industry jargon and green speak."
That, of course, means emulating what the most successful green builders are already doing, and what EEBA has long promoted at its conferences and trainings.
2. Buyers will pay more for green construction than builders think. Shelton says that while nearly half of respondents indicated a willingness to pay 6 to 10 percent more for a green home, two-thirds of the builders surveyed believed they would pay no more than an additional 5 percent. About a fifth of the builders surveyed doubted buyers' willingness to pay any extra.
This finding confirms to us that builders who don't properly market these homes are leaving money on the table.
3. Customers want to do business with companies that take a stand on issues they care about. When it comes to green building, they want to be able to tell their friends, family, and associates that their builder is a company known for its environmental commitment.
Shelton says that builders that want to be known for that will design homes with materials that are visibly green—items like rooftop solar, reclaimed wood walls, and learning thermostats—and will highlight those in their marketing materials.
In an age when people increasingly use social media to seek public approval, builders who help them do so will reap rewards.
The Professional Builder article includes a number of additional valuable insights and is well worth a read. You can find it here: https://www.probuilder.com/shades-green-how-builder-and-buyer-views-sustainability-diverge