PUBLIC POLICY: GOING GREEN IS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE 

PUBLIC POLICY: GOING GREEN IS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE (Elon Musk; Did you know that most of the new

homes in Albuquerque are built and certified to one of the highest efficiency standards in the country?)

Steve Hale; Program Director for Build Green NMBrian McCarthy; Abrazo Homes

Jesse Deubel; Casa Verde Builders

If “Going Green” is a Competitive Advantage in Housing

Who is the Competition?

RegionalLocal

Existing

Boom Times All around New Mexico’s Borders

New Mexico is stuck in the doldrums

Green Programs are all around us

Most Green programs are localBoulder Has a program Mandating efficiencies to equal

HERS 60 to HERS 25 (based on Size)Austin initiated 1st rating program in country (1991)Scottsdale AZ program = HERS 70Santa Fe Green Code HERS 70 to 0 (based on size)

New Mexico scores at 24 of 50 in State ranking of Energy Efficient States

However, homes here in New Mexico are some of the Highest Performing Homes in the country. They are Certified under a statewide voluntary program which is based on national standards

What does this mean?What will happen now that funding for the Sustainable

Building Tax Credit has run out?Will builders now go backward with regard to energy and

water efficiency?

NM is not competitive in the Southwest

Don’t blame HousingPublic Policy

Business Friendly (Not yet)Rely on Federal too much and they are tightening their

beltsWhat would it have taken to get Elon Musk here?

We are in a slow recovery but it is crawling!

The other competition

Existing and other local builders

Voluntary Green Programs are a peek into the Future…available today

Energy EfficiencyWater Efficiency

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)Net Zero (ready for Solar PV, etc)

ComfortBuild Green NM has Certified 4070 Homes

Price vs. PerformanceChange the Paradigm!

Appraisals do not count much, if any, for an Efficient home

Hello? we pay mortgage, taxes, interest and utilitiesEasier to sell based on price (I sell the “cheapest”

home) vs. a knowledgeable sales force for “high performance” homes

“First Cost” vs. “Life Cycle Cost”

Buyers want the most for the money (Most what?)

Sales people should avoid words like “sustainable”, “environment”, “Global Warming”, “price-per-square-foot” Tim O’Brien

“It’s not about first cost it’s about operation and maintenance costs too”

The “Mileage Sticker” for homes

Appraisals and Mortgagesare available that consider energy savings

Who Benefits in this new paradigm?Homeowner Lower utility bills, better comfortBuilder Higher appraisal and selling price,

referralsCommunity Less need to expand infrastructureState $ not going to utilities can expand

purchasing power of homeowner and water savings are a big issue in New Mexico

High Performance Homes as seen by 2 local Production Builders

Brian McCarthy Abrazo Homes

Jesse Deubel Casa Verde Builders

Thanks!

Steve HaleProgram Director: Build Green NMbgnm@comcast.net