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Viewing report
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2010 US Home Owners' Perception of Green and Innovative Materials in Buildings
Frost & Sullivan, Nov 2010, Pages: 118
Overall, awareness of green homes is relatively high – with nearly half of all survey respondents knowing what a “green home” (as defined by Frost & Sullivan) is when unaided. Specifically, awareness is highest among current home owners. Overall, future home owners have higher familiarity and future plans to install all of the various green home products/services surveyed compared to current home owners. Future home owners cite stronger future intentions to install all of the various green home systems/green products surveyed if a state/federal government or utility company grant/rebate is available compared to their current home owner counterparts.
Research Overview
This Frost & Sullivan research service titled 2010 US Home Owners' Perception of Green and Innovative Materials in Buildings assesses awareness of green homes, green materials, and green products. It measures U.S. home owners’ and future home owners’ (those who plan on purchasing a home within the next two years) preferences of green homes, green materials, and green products/services. It also analyzes purchase decisions and process, importance of features/attributes, as well as current and future usage and implementations, plans to implement, and reasons for the decision.
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Market Overview
Future Home Owners Give the Thumbs Up to Green Products and Services
The overall awareness about green homes is high, with almost half of the respondents surveyed identifying green homes unaided. Awareness about green homes is the highest among current home owners, but it is the future home owner segment that has higher familiarity and plans to install all of the various green home products/services surveyed. This is especially true if a state/federal government or a utility company offers grants or rebates. Current home owners are only moderately aware of the Federal Home Star Program for home owners, but they are even less aware about utility company rebates. Generally, rebates and grants are only somewhat enticing to current home owners investing in various green products and services. Most future purchases are likely to be made with the intention of reducing the costs of home maintenance, rather than mitigating the negative impact on the environment. “Not surprisingly, the largest percentage of current home owners report that the overall cost of a home had a significant influence on their decision to purchase a house,” says Christina Alfaro, Research Associate with Frost & Sullivan’s Customer Research Team. “The same results are reflected in the indices when limited control expenses (overall cost, tax, and insurance expenses) are chosen by the majority to have the highest influence on the home purchase decision.”
Home builders and contractors should not be deterred by the importance of the overall costs of a house as a purchase criterion and instead, should focus on the emphasis placed by future home owners on green home products and services. Suppliers of green products and services should consider touting the long-term financial benefits of green homes. Promotional messages that combine returns-on-investment with environmental benefits could go a long way in persuading cost-conscious future home owners. Most future home owners think that the use of green products would have a high impact on the environment and cost reduction. When comparing future and current home owners, it is interesting to note that the former appears to have greater aspirations of being environment friendly. However, they are not as knowledgeable as current home owners of home ownership costs (loan, taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities). Thus, future home owners are more likely to want to own a dream home, while current home owners are more familiar with the true costs of home ownership. “While current home owners would like to incorporate more green home products/services in their homes, doing so will require monetary resources and physical effort that are not always freely available and acceptable,” notes Alfaro.
Three-quarters of future home owners expect to purchase an existing home; however, more than half delay purchases by 18-24 months. The vast majority of current home owners’ homes are at least six years old and the owners are familiar with or currently have energy-efficient lighting (55 percent), and advanced window (glazing) systems (25 percent). Green products and services such as energy-efficient lighting or home insulation, which are not cost- or effort-intensive, are more popular than those that require steep up-front investments. For instance, the setting up of solar panel systems involves considerable effort and money. Such labor-intensive installations have fewer takers than easy-to-install systems such as lighting and home insulation.
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