Congress explores green home loans
Congress is looking into making loans for green homes and energy-efficient remodeling projects more affordable. Sam Eaton reports energy efficient housing could offer a bright spot in a slumping market.
A green house amid gray houses (iStockPhoto)
More on Housing - Real Estate, Sustainability
TEXT OF STORY
Renita Jablonski: Today Congress takes a look at a bill that would make loans for green homes and energy-efficient remodeling projects more affordable. From the Marketplace Sustainability Desk, Sam Eaton reports.
Sam Eaton: Throughout the housing boom, green building was often brushed aside as too costly. But with home sales in a rut, energy efficient housing could now offer a bright spot. The House Financial Services Committee is holding a hearing today on boosting the number of government-backed, low-interest loans for green homes and remodels.
Sustainable housing advocate Stockton Williams says the legislation would not only stimulate the housing market, it would help consumers.
Stockton Williams: Green homes can save them money. And that's important at a time when gas is $4 a gallon and higher and home utility rates are skyrocketing in many parts of the country.
Stockton says federal leadership is essential in making green building affordable to the masses.
But not too much leadership, warns the National Association of Home Builders. The trade group urges Congress to stay away from any mandatory green building rules. It says consumer demand for energy efficient homes has been slow to take off.
I'm Sam Eaton for Marketplace.
Comments
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From Alpharetta, GA, 11/09/2008
As a consultant for a german green homes manufacture believe congress should make it easier to find money for projects. Lookins for loans to build homes and move the company here to the US
From Washington, DC, 06/17/2008
Stockton Williams failed to mention that the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has spent the past two years on creating a consensus-driven Green Building Standard (www.nahbgreen.org) that was just submitted last month for ANSI Certification (www.ansi.org). NAHB is also offering a Certified Green Builder designation(www.nahb.org/cgpinfo) to industry professionals. I wouldn't term this as "green-hype".
06/11/2008
Yes, I'm sure the builders enjoy the hype behind marketing their product as "green," but don't want too much oversight of whether or not it really IS green. After all, during the housing bubble, the industry wanted big govt out of it's business as so many did, but when the bubble burst, this industry held its hand out to congress for a bailout, didn't it?
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