November 2013
| Business World Magazine | 23
code-compliant home,” says Morrow.
For builders, Morrow says it has pro-
vided new means to promote craftsmanship
and expertise. “Those that do it successfully
are using green building practices to distin-
guish themselves in the market place,” he
says. In this capacity, Morrow says builders
are have done more to foster understand-
ing and acceptance of the practices, thereby
leading change in the industry more so than
consumer demand. And in many cases, the
general public is still just beginning to un-
derstand and appreciate the values in being
green. Of course, in other cases, there are
enterprises involved in the housing industry
that could benefit from a little catching-up
too. In this regard, Morrow uses an example
involving valuations of conventional cars ver-
sus hybrid models. Today, side by side price
comparisons will reflect greater value in the
hybrid model due to its fuel efficiency and
imparting of cost savings over its lifecycle.
The industry has yet to fully realize similar
premium valuations with respect to green
homes. Morrow says the NAHB continues
to provide education and work with groups
such as those within multiple listing services
so they might better understand the value of
high performance homes. That work appears
to be paying off too. Earlier this year, the Ap-
